Top 6 tips to make Employees Feel Important
The need to feel important – respected, valued and appreciated – is universally human. We all want to know that what we do makes a difference and that other’s recognize it.
At work, feeling important is key to job satisfaction and motivation – employees who feel important tend to work harder and stay with an organization longer. In general they are happier and more likely to go above and beyond.
01
Thank Them for Their Contributions
Saying ‘Thank you!’ is as simple as it is powerful yet it is often overlooked.When someone does something that is helpful say ‘thank you’ in the moment. When appreciation is timely and specific it has the most impact. Consider the following:
- "Good job!" This message creates a short-lasting, feel-good moment but has little impact on future work.
- “Thanks for going over that report in such detail. You caught some important points that needed to be clarified.”
02
Provide Growth Opportunities
Establish a system that collects career goals and that marks out various career paths within your organization. Not all career paths move upward. Some people prefer lateral shifts in their career and find that gaining knowledge across the organization is just as motivating as increased people management.
Talk to employees regularly to figure out where they want to head and make investments as needed to help them progress in the direction they choose.
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03
Encourage Autonomy
Autonomous decision making is based on trust and respect – two pillars of helping employees feel important. When employees feel trusted, they are free to do their best work and they gain confidence in their abilities. Encourage ownership of ideas and develop systems that help employees bring their ideas forward.
When employees know their ideas are appreciated and their decisions are supported, they work hard to come up with new and better ideas more consistently. Their peers see that creativity is rewarded and recognized and this helps to underpin a culture that values innovation.
04
Be Transparent and Honest
In transparent workplaces employees understand they are trusted and valued, and they respond with loyalty and increased levels of engagement. Within transparent workplaces employees feel connected to the organization’s mission, they are more invested in its goals and ideas, and this inspires them to work toward the organization’s goals.
- Keep employees in the loop
- Be upfront with uncertainty
- Share bad news as quickly and openly as good news
- Provide honest feedback
- Engage in difficult conversations with empathy
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05
Make Employees Feel Heard
Make interacting with employees an important part of your day-to-day work. Ask employees how they are doing. Discuss stresses they are experiencing. Get input on new directions. Ask them what they appreciate most about their work environment and what improvements they would like to see.
These conversations not only yield great ideas, they also convey that you value your people and that they are indeed important to you, to the team, and to the organization as a whole. And that is a powerful message.
06
Provide Challenging Assignments
Exposure to tasks outside of typical assignments also helps employees see the bigger picture and improves their engagement. It sends a clear message to all employees that individual effort is encouraged and appreciated. Here are some ideas for meaningful assignments:
- Increase responsibility on a project
- Provide assignments to highly visible projects
- Appoint employees to intradepartmental committees
- Assign people to leadership roles within a project team
- Have employees represent the organization at a conference or tradeshow
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