In today’s world, you can throw all the money and perks you want at people, but if they don’t feel appreciated, they’ll be out the door as soon as they’ve found something new. You might think your HR team should be the ones in charge of employee retention, but helping people feel happy at work isn’t just their job—it’s everyone’s.
Why appreciation matters more than you think
Be honest: who doesn’t love a pat on the back from time to time? When employees feel recognised for their hard work, they’re not just happier—they’re more engaged, more productive, and way more likely to stick around long-term. A low employee turnover rate means more stability for your business, and a more positive employer brand, which ripples into the way clients and customers perceive you, too. When there’s no recognition within your team, even the most dedicated employees will start checking out, and before you know it, the culture has become toxic and productivity is on the floor.
It’s this simple: If you want to keep your best people on board, you need to make sure they feel valued. And this isn’t just HR’s problem. If recognition only comes from HR, it can feel like a box-ticking exercise rather than something that actually matters. For gratitude to really take root, it needs to be woven into the everyday fabric of your business.
Leadership's role: Care deeply, challenge directly
We don’t expect you to start dishing out compliments every five minutes if you don’t mean them. The best leaders often strike a balance between caring deeply for their team and challenging them directly. This idea is linked to the Radical Candour approach, and it’s a game-changer.
Leaders who genuinely care notice the little things, support growth, and aren’t shy about giving credit where it’s due. But caring doesn’t mean coddling. The flip side is challenging your team to be better, pushing them to achieve more, and giving constructive feedback that helps them grow.
This isn’t just warm and fuzzy stuff—it’s a proven approach to improve productivity. When leaders get this balance right, employees don’t just feel good, they feel driven to succeed. And when your people are motivated, guess who gets the benefits? YOU!
How to actually build a culture of gratitude
So, where do you begin?
- Walk the Walk: Make appreciation part of your daily routine. Start by giving one piece of positive feedback per day, to get into the habit of regular appreciation. Give shout-outs, send thank-yous, and show your team that you see and value their hard work.
- Let Everyone Get in on the Action: Create ways for employees to recognise each other, whether it’s through a shout-out channel, a monthly award, or just a simple “thanks” over coffee.
- Be Specific, Not Generic: “Well done” is nice, but “Great job on landing that client after all your hard work!” is even better. Make your praise specific so it feels real and shows that you’re paying attention.
- Build it Into the Day-to-Day: Start meetings by celebrating wins, big or small. This not only sets a positive tone but also reinforces the importance of recognising success.
- Tie it to What Matters: Connect recognition to your company’s values. When employees see that their efforts align with the bigger picture, it gives them a deeper sense of purpose.
- Invest in Growth: Show you appreciate your team by investing in their future. Offer training, mentorship, and opportunities for growth as a way to recognise their contributions.
What are some real life examples?
We spoke to a few of our clients to see how they incorporate regular gratitude and appreciation into the culture of their business. Here’s a few examples of what they do.
- Have a dedicated slack/teams channel for day-to-day shout-outs across the business
- Gain client feedback after each service interaction – share the feedback on an internal channel for public praise
- Provide a half-day annual leave as a reward for Employee of the Month
- Create an internal monthly newsletter highlighting successes for teams and individuals. Personal successes/news might include birthdays, engagements, house purchases, new babies, half marathon, completion of exams. Professional might include customer reviews, new business, high value order, completion of a project.
- Have a Friday round up call each week at 3pm to include shout outs to people with both work and personal success to celebrate.
- Nominate peers for a simple monthly recognition award.. A bunch of flowers and a hand-written note outlining why they’ve been selected and what their peers have said about them.
- Have regular treat days, coffee trucks, yoga sessions and free lunches. Offer small gestures like letting people leave early for the football, close early at Christmas and increase annual leave for each year of service.
- Expense a meal up to a certain value for employees who have worked overtime to say a big thank you (in addition to extra pay).
- Give managers a small budget each quarter to spend how they like and when they like on ‘team morale’.
Jackie White, Head of Customer Operations at ESP Utilities Group, said:
“We use a system called My Rewards. Each People Manager has ‘funds’ provided to them (pro-rata’d based on their no of direct reports and topped up each quarter) which triggers Manager Awards. This allows them to give the employee an immediate £25 voucher.
The fact the Award has been given is visible to everyone in the business via the Portal. Also, all employees can nominate colleagues for a recognition card. This is similar to the Manager Award, except it’s simply appreciation rather than a financial bonus.
All of the Awards – financial or not – are called out by the CEO at the Monthly Townhall Talks. They are reviewed at the end of the year and contribute towards ‘Employee of the Year’ Awards.”
Some considerations...
- If you recognise one milestone, you need to recognise them across the board. So, if you reward an employee for winning a pitch for example, you need to do this consistently for all employees.
- Recognition should be linked to company values. If one of your company values is kindness, recognise that when you see it internally.
- Try to incorporate peer-to-peer recognition, as well as coming from the top. It helps strengthen team connections which creates a stable and happy culture.
And lastly: Gratitude equals growth
A workplace where gratitude flows freely isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s a must-have for any company that wants to thrive and grow. In the end, creating a culture of gratitude and recognition is about more than just making people feel good—it’s about building a stronger, more successful business. So, let’s stop leaving this to HR alone. They’ve got enough on their plate! When everyone plays their part, you create a workplace where people want to stay. And remember, happy employees = productive employees.
Did you enjoy this one? Now that you’re inspired to show more appreciation at work, have a look at how to build a more diverse and inclusive culture next.
Ready to diversify your team? Improve your inclusive hiring? Let’s chat.
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