While the business landscape is constantly evolving, one thing that will always remain the same is the power of showing appreciation to your employees.

Recognising their hard work and demonstrating gratitude goes a long way towards helping to retain your staff and reinforcing their loyalty to your company. As such, this should be one of your top priorities as a business leader.

So, what’s the best way to show your appreciation for their efforts and ensure your employees feel valued?

Let’s find out.

Why is it important to show gratitude to your employees?

Most companies will typically show appreciation to their employees at the end-of-year party, or to a particular staff member when they retire or leave the company. However, this is no longer enough.

Recognising your employees needs to be part of your organisation’s culture. Not only does this help foster a healthy working environment and better relationships within your team, but it also increases engagement and motivation amongst your staff as well. 

Feeling appreciated also improves staff wellbeing and promotes confidence, encouraging more effective collaboration within your organisation.

Finally, fostering staff loyalty and retaining talent will save your company time, money and precious resources – both now and into the future.

The rise of the pandemic over the last few years has allowed everyone to reconsider their priorities and re-evaluate certain aspects of lifestyle. This includes their occupation and employer.

This is why 2021 saw an alarming increase in resignation rates all over the world.

Even before COVID-19 hit, remote work was a rising trend and now, flexibility at work is almost a non-negotiable among employees. 

As we begin 2022, this looming threat of the Great Resignation is still upon us. So, how can we protect our organisations from people leaving? 

How can you keep up with your employees?

First things first, what is this ‘Great Resignation’?

Last year, nearly 35 million workers quit their jobs in the United States. The phenomenon was dubbed as the ‘Great Resignation’. 

Adobe’s 2021 survey among 5,500 workers from countries including Australia found now that 56% of Gen Z workers consider changing jobs this year. A similar survey by Microsoft revealed that 41% of the global workforce consider leaving their current employers.

The Great Resignation has taken the global stage and understanding how this can affect your employees is more crucial than ever.

As a manager or HR professional, you understand that passionate and engaged employees are paramount to the success of your organisation.

Not only does this attitude help to ensure your business goals and objectives are their priority, but it also promotes your organisation’s positive working environment and contributes to your brand’s public image.

One way to help build an enthusiastic team is by implementing initiatives that are designed to boost employee engagement levels. This helps your employees feel they are a valuable part of your organisation.

What is employee engagement?

Employee engagement is the measure of the level of motivation, passion and connection that each employee has with your company.

Their level of engagement indicates your team’s commitment to your organisation, as well as their relationships with the people they work with. It can also demonstrate their alignment with your company’s culture, values and goals.

While employee engagement is often associated with job satisfaction, it’s predominantly influenced by a variety of factors, including location, company culture and the characteristics of other employees.

As these aspects are likely to change over time, it’s important to measure employee engagement regularly to ensure that your organisation continues to address the needs of your team members.

About Vaisala

Vaisala is a global leader in weather, environmental, and industrial measurements headquartered in Vantaa, Finland. They have been solving global challenges with innovative measurement technologies for 85 years, and over the past nine decades have created thousands of innovations and taken significant technological leaps. 

As they hope to continue being a leader in the world of innovation, they recognize the importance of creating a positive work culture to foster wellness in their greatest asset -- their employees. Vaisala implemented the use of the VibeCatch employee engagement tool in order to dig deeper into their employee engagement and productivity. We sat down with their US HR Director to review the results and get some helpful insights.

The Context and the Challenges

Vaisala had identified that the traditional employee engagement platform they had been using wasn’t a sophisticated enough tool to produce the full results. 

They were looking for a tool which would enable a culture change and address employee engagement within their digital organization. 

Though the tool provided bar charts and response rates, it didn’t provide the type of in-depth analytics that allowed them the opportunity to have a big influence on employee wellbeing.