Why wait until the Holiday Season–or, worse, an employee’s retirement!—to tell your employees how much you appreciate their hard work? Rather, show your staff how much they mean to you and your business today! Whether you are the CEO of a large corporation, or a small business owner with a staff of five, incorporating employee appreciation into the daily grind will improve both your individual employee’s motivation as well as enhance the overall work-place environment. Here are some tried and true methods for recognizing employees and enhancing work-place motivation:

1) Reinforce Employee Motivation with a Wine Basket

Not only are gift baskets the most convenient way to send your employees the message that you appreciate their hard work, they are also easy to select and send. With the great variety of fruit, wine, and gourmet food baskets available online, sending a meaningful gift to your employees is a breeze. Many business owners will reward their employees with regular fruit basket deliveries, which can be arrange for monthly or quarterly delivery. And a gourmet food or wine and cheese basket is a wonderful way to communicate “job well done!” to an industrious employee or partner.

2) Develop an “Employee of the Month” Program

For the most effective Employee of the Month Program, let employees and managers work together to choose the mensal recipient. Such a work-place-hierarchy transcending system will prevent the Employee of the Month Program from becoming a mark of favoritism, or ridicule, and will also add a sense social pressure for high employee performance. Such collaboration will also help reinforce a teamwork environment around the office. That is, employees often recognize their colleagues’ efforts, or lack thereof, in the workplace and are eager to commend someone who is really pulling his or her own. Such a program lets the employees know that not only higher-ups, but also their colleagues, see and appreciate their hard work. Display the recognition prominently in the workplace, but also offer the recipient a certificate or plaque that can be taken home.

3) Offer Health Club Memberships to Your Employees

A productive work place is dependent upon happy, healthy employees. Daily exercise not only provides great stress release, but also boosts the immune system. In providing your employees with health club memberships, you will not only be increasing their on the job satisfaction and productivity, but also reducing the number of employee sick days your business must pay for each month.

Put some of these ideas into practice today and you will recognize a positive change in the workplace!