Rules for employee appreciation differ in public sector

 Showing employee appreciation in the public sector can be particularly challenging since monetary rewards may not be at management’s discretion. Shirley Weidling, training officer at the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, advises supervisors to be true to their personal styles and support the values of their organizations when searching for non-monetary ways to reward employees.

"Everybody needs to be appreciated for things that are of value to them," Weidling said. "Some people want power, so you want to give them opportunities to make decisions or to lead projects; some want achievement, so it’s giving them the right assignments; some want to build a bigger network of people, so you want to assign them to different teams and projects; some like esteem and want public recognition, so you can make sure they get that."

Here are some more ideas:

-- Recognition needs to be timely, specific, sincere, individualized and proportionate to the accomplishment

-- Create a culture of recognition so co-workers don’t get jealous of praise

-- Solicit, and use, staff ideas

-- Send an e-mail to someone’s supervisor to show appreciation or place a thank you note in your employee’s personnel file

-- Alternate leading staff meetings to facilitate skills development

-- Showcase employee hobbies at informal brown bag lunches

-- Pencil in a reminder to walk around and look for positive things to praise

-- Give credit for employees’ ideas and allow them to shine

-- Take workers on a tour of other departments so they can see how their work has been implemented

-- Recognize longevity and service milestones

-- Ask employees what they’d like for affirmation

"People need to know they are appreciated, because some statistics show that 75 percent of people who leave their jobs leave their boss because they are not feeling valued or challenged," Weidling said. "Your business profits when your people are really engaged, and they are really engaged when you provide them with appreciation and recognition."

— Ellen Williams-Masson

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