Small Actions that Show you Appreciate your Team

This time of year, it is easy to get swept up in the end-of-the-year frenzy. As you wrap up the end-of-the-year paperwork, deadlines, and meetings, it is important to remember your team and show appreciation. Here are five small actions that you can take to show appreciation for your team as the year comes to an end.

Recognize accomplishments

One small action that you can take is to recognize accomplishments. You can send out an email to your team sharing the accomplishments that your team has made during the year. Share the goals that they have met, the projects that they have accomplished, and the impact that they have made. The email shows that you are paying attention to their accomplishments and the effort that they have put in throughout the year.

Share impact directly

On a similar note, you could ask a client to come in for a team meeting and share their story of how the organization has made an impact in their lives. Or you could collect client stories and feedback and share those at a team meeting. It is meaningful to hear directly from the community the impact that the team’s work has had.

Send a handwritten note

Another way to show appreciation is a handwritten note of thanks and gratitude. This is a small gesture that goes a long way and is much appreciated in this virtual world. The message does not have to be long. One example could be, “Thanks for your teamwork during these past stressful years. We appreciate all that you have done.” It is okay to mention the Pandemic. I think your team would even be grateful if you mentioned it.

Use social media

Another small action you can take is recognizing your team on social media. Share a post about your team and thank them for all they have done. You can create a slideshow of pictures from the year. Or you can create separate posts for individual team members, or for each department. Make sure to thank everyone.

Share awards

A fun activity that you could take to show appreciation is by creating awards for your team and presenting them to your team at a team meeting. Make sure that the awards show appreciation and do not offend people. Offending people is the opposite of what you want to do.

Examples of awards could be “Great Team Leader”, “Excellent Goal Setter,” or “Superb Client Interviewer.” Or the awards could highlight accomplishments that each team member has done during the year.

Team members have worked hard these past few years and it is important to show appreciation for their work and for their dedication to the organization and the mission. Finding small and creative ways to show that appreciation throughout the year, but especially at the end of the year is vital to your organization. It does not take much time or resources to put in the effort to show appreciation to your team.