Five low-cost ways to show appreciation to staff

It’s nice to feel appreciated. When you receive gratitude from someone, it releases dopamine and serotonin in your brain. These are chemical messengers which improve our mood and make us feel good.

 

Showing staff that they are valued benefits everyone. It reduces stress, makes people feel happy, improves their physical health, and creates a positive working environment. When people feel recognised for the work they do, they feel more engaged and motivated, which in turn increases productivity.

 

Of course, staff should be paid the going salary for their role in the charity sector. This is especially important when people are struggling in the cost-of-living crisis. But it’s tough for small charities at the moment – with many struggling with rising costs.

 

Encourage open and honest conversations with staff and ask them what they want from the organisation. Send a survey to staff and ask them how they feel about working for the charity, whether they feel appreciated and what would make them feel valued.

 

 

Giving people a one-off payment

 

Instead of giving staff a pay rise, you could give them a one-off payment through payroll. It’s a great way to show staff you appreciate them and can have an immediate positive effect on how they feel about their work. It’s important to understand the tax implications of doing this.

 

Stuart Davis, CEO of Stuart Davis Consulting, which supports charities with their finances and operations, says it’s important to be honest with staff if you can’t afford to give them a pay rise. “Staff will be aware of financial challenges. Tell them you’ll review salaries next year and, in the meantime, you can offer them a one-off payment.

 

“From our experience of working with charities, employees do appreciate a one-off payment. It’s easy to set up and keeps the underlying salary the same. You can taper payments based on people’s salaries.”

 

The employee will have to pay National Insurance contributions and tax on the one-off payment. Davis explains that if you want members of staff to actually receive the full amount (for example, £500), you should adjust the gross amount that you pay them to cover what they will pay in tax.

 

 

A simple word of thanks

 

Make sure you thank people for their hard work. Some people will love the spotlight on them, and others won’t. So, think about how best you can do this for each person.

 

For example, you could publicly acknowledge someone’s work at a staff meeting and thank them. Or give them a call to say thank you.

 

Thriving Small Business suggests writing a thank you note to an employee as it’s more personal than an email and something that staff may keep.

 

Harvard Business Review has an article about how to write a meaningful thank you note. This includes making the message genuine and authentic by letting someone know how their actions have impacted you and others.

 

 

Give someone a paid day off

 

When everyone is stretched, it can be difficult to step away. But a paid day off is a great chance for staff to recharge their batteries and for charities to say thank you.

 

There are different ways to approach this. You could give people a day off on their birthdays each year or give people a day off for working hard on a project.

 

 

Review your benefits package

 

Look at what other charities are offering their staff and see if you can enhance your benefits package. If you can’t afford to add any other paid benefits, there are free and low-cost perks and benefits you could add. This includes flexible working.

 

A survey from The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development says that more than seven in ten (71%) say flexible working arrangements are important to them.

 

Davis says flexible working has to be done properly and is a good incentive for charities as they don’t have a huge office cost to pay. “Saying you have a flexible working policy but asking everyone to work in the office in central London once a week isn’t flexible working. I think businesses should be flexible by default and assume people set their own hours and work in different ways. The policy would only stipulate a time, or location, for work if there is a requirement for things to be done at a certain time or you need to be in the office for an urgent reason.”

 

You could offer gift vouchers to staff. Davis says to make sure these are exchangeable for goods and services, and not cash. “If a voucher is £50 or less, it counts as a trivial benefit to HMRC and the charity doesn’t have to pay National Insurance.”

 

 

Organise social events

 

Since the pandemic, the ‘watercooler moment’ isn’t always there for people to catch up with colleagues on their breaks. So, think about organising monthly socials to bring colleagues together.

 

Going out for drinks in the evening may not appeal to everyone so think of other ways you can get everyone together. For example, you could organise picnics in the summer months.