Many people assume compensation is the most important factor in employee satisfaction. But when you look at surveys, it doesn’t even make the top 3.
Do you know what’s consistently ranked first or second?
Feeling appreciated.
Employees want to know you value their contributions and who they are as a person. When you show genuine appreciation, you strengthen relationships and teams.
But there’s no one-size-fits-all for recognition and rewards.
You’ve probably heard about love languages and how people show and feel loved in their own unique way. Appreciation is similar.
People speak different appreciation languages, including tangible gifts, words of affirmation, quality time, and acts of service.
The Pitfall of Generic Rewards
I’ll be sitting with leadership teams, and they’ll talk about how they want to share appreciation with their team. “Let’s buy everyone Starbucks gift cards or Amazon gift cards.”
But if you understand appreciation languages, there are two dynamics at play that make a generic gift less impactful:
- Most employees do not have tangible gifts as their primary appreciation language.
- If it is their appreciation language, a tangible gift means less when everyone gets the same thing. The value comes from the thought you put into selecting something for the individual.
Let’s look at a few ways you can show gratitude to your employees in their own appreciation language.
Tangible Gifts
Remember, the thought behind the reward matters more than its monetary value. When you get curious about your team member’s personal interests, you’ll start to notice potential gifts — a fun family game for Kristin, seed pack for Amy, or Bills hat for Matt.
If you don’t naturally remember these things, or have a large number of direct reports, you might want to designate a place to keep notes.
And what if your organization goes the generic gift route? Take a few minutes to personalize the delivery.
Words of Affirmation
“Hey, you’re doing a great job”… is not impactful recognition.
Instead, provide specific, meaningful praise and compliments that show you’ve noticed an employee’s contributions. Recognize and highlight exact actions and their impact.
“Hey, you know the last two LinkedIn posts? You really took the time to consider our customers’ interests, and I loved how you shared these three points. That was so impactful.”
Quality Time
Quality over quantity is 100% true for this appreciation language. For example, my wife Jean’s would rather have 10 minutes of my undivided attention — time when she’s the center of my universe — than an hour where I’m doing other things or checking my phone.
Here are some ways I set myself up to be fully present:
- Meet in person when possible.
- Silence the phone and put it away.
- Find a quiet spot or go off-site to avoid interruptions.
- Sit with back to potential distractions, like people coming and going in a cafe.
Acts of Service
Serving in a meaningful way requires genuine collaboration and follow-through. In fact, if you offer to help and then drop the ball, it has a worse effect than not offering at all.
The key is to ask what will be most helpful and how they’d like it done. This lets you truly supports their work, rather than creating additional burden.
True Appreciation
When you want to express gratitude, be intentional about speaking the other person’s appreciation language.
Whether it’s through a thoughtful gift, specific praise, quality time, or meaningful service, the power of appreciation comes from making your team members feel truly valued.
What recognition and rewards have been most meaningful to you? I’d love to hear about it on LinkedIn.