10 Team Building Games and Activities for Under-Appreciated Team Issues
There are times that the team feels under-appreciated for their efforts especially when there had been too much pressure and stress on the project they finished. Feedback from leaders may not always be available in every instance that a member needs it. When the team feels underappreciated for the things they have done, this could lead to productivity, attendance and performance issues. Most often, people don’t leave their jobs because they are tired or pressured about it. When asked, their usual response was about the lack of validation and appreciation of their work. It is a basic human need to feel appreciated for the things that they put effort and value in to and when there’s a lack of these would cause restlessness and unwarranted feelings of remorse about their jobs.
Managers and leaders should invest time to provide activities and sessions that allow their team members to feel appreciated for their work. When the workforce of an organization is unhappy and unsatisfied with their jobs, their output and production will be greatly affected.
It usually doesn’t take much for a leader to extend their appreciation to their team members. A small token of gratitude, tap on the back and a genuine thank you can go a long way for the team. A personal touch is needed when giving appreciation to a person, however, the workplace may not always be a place for this kind of practices. Instead, a great way to enforce this attitude in the work environment is by creating and doing activities that engage the team and allows the management to communicate their thanks.
This can also apply to specific members of the team that may be feeling left out and feeling unappreciated for their contribution. There are times that co-workers outshine their colleagues that some might feel underappreciated for the efforts that they have done for the project. These members will eventually start feeling useless and lose confidence in their affecting their personal productivity as well as the organizations’.
Help bring the difference to the culture at your workplace by conducting activities that can relay thanks and appreciation to everyone. Make sure to spend time with your team. The time that you allot for the team can already mean that you are aware of them and appreciate every contribution they have done. Form simple tasks like coming into work on time and not committing any attendance issue is already due for thanks to them. When they feel appreciated for these basic tasks, they will be more driven to deliver the results of greater tasks that you will assign to them. Have the team engage in team building activities and conduct employee engagement activities could help address any issues regarding feelings of being underappreciated.
1. Have a Rewards and Recognition events regularly
One way of showing the team your appreciation to make sure that they are given recognition and rewards when due. This can happen by giving certificates, plaque or any tokens of appreciation. You can consider having this activity monthly, quarterly or annually. Do this by specifically creating an event that could run for at least an hour. Draft the event program and make sure that all members get the chance to be recognized. Another way of showing gratitude to the team is by having a special recognition platform. This is great for the organization that houses a huge number of teams and employees. Make the platform a web-based system so that everyone can access it. Allow the team members to send their thanks publicly to each other through the platform. Managers can also easily relay their appreciation to their respective teams by giving it a shout out to everyone on using the platform.
2. Surprise your Team
Stress is a contributing factor to the feeling of being underappreciated when left unchecked could lead to health problems for your team. There’s no better way to make it up for an underappreciated team than to give them a surprise. The surprise could be anything from throwing a surprise pizza party, the movie treats, invite them for free lunch or give them gift certificates. Surprise promotes the feeling of happiness and contentment. Treat your team to these little surprises every now and then especially when they had just won over a great project and delivered great results. When treats are not readily available, you can offer to give the team an extra hour for lunch, an extra break for the day or allowing them to go early only when possible. These little surprise merits of appreciation already mean a lot to a team member especially to those that are struggling with feeling unappreciated.
3. Celebrate Milestones
Sending an office blast for milestones like birthdays another great way to send your appreciation and care for them. Make this event a regular activity to keep their spirits up. You can show this by publicly greeting and wishing them a happy birthday on their big day. Throw a small party with the team to celebrate the day. Another alternative is to give them the time off on their special day. They might prefer spending the day with their loved ones. People who have stayed longer on the job tend to feel restless about their task so never forget to say thank you and celebrate their anniversary at work as well. This goes to show how much you appreciate them staying and doing their jobs diligently. Work anniversaries can be celebrated by giving them certificates of appreciation and publicly recognize their efforts and contribution to the team and to the organizations’ progress.
4. Create memories together by taking the team to a quick getaway
The team may not be up for events like rewards and recognition programs or they could feel little under the blue due to the contributing stress from being unappreciated. Another way to get them to feel your appreciation is to take them out for a vacation. This kind of team getaway is a good way to destress and communicate to them your genuine and earnest thank you for their efforts. Uplifting their spirits also means that they will be more enthusiastic about their jobs and would be able to be more productive. These vacation getaways are best done on a beach where they could feel relieved and away from the workloads, or your team may prefer going on a nature trip to have a breath of fresh air. Any of these options will be a great choice so long as you get the team to go out together to send your big thanks to them.
5. Have the suggestion box on standby and available
Suggestion boxes are there for a reason. Team member feels appreciated when they know that leaders and managers will be able to hear them out. Just by keeping the suggestion box available, you can already create an impression that you are ready to hear what they can say about their jobs. This is a good way to start addressing issues about members feeling unappreciated. The suggestion box can be a means of communication especially for those that are not comfortable with direct communication and doesn’t like parties or events.
6. Create a thankful environment
A simple thank you can mean so much to your team members and colleagues. They can make it a habit and inflict the attitude of being appreciative to co-workers. Creating this kind of environment can eliminate the chances of the team and members from feeling unappreciated. Make sure to say thank you on a real-time basis to create a personal touch which can really go a long way. A simple stick notes saying thank you to a colleague or to your team is already a great start for them to replicate the attitude to everyone in the workplace. A thankful workplace creates a feeling of belongingness to each of the members.
7. The employee of the Month activity
Team members should be able to get the chance to snag the employee of the month award. Allow your team to vote whomever they seem to consider as the best performing colleague to relay their appreciation to their co-workers and make sure to include a team of the month category to let everyone know they have done their best and they are appreciated for it. An employee of the month award is almost present in all organization. This is the usual basis for promotion and movement of an employee in a company. When an employee works hard and is recognized for their efforts, they are more driven to achieve results which are always good for the company. In return, these hardworking employees deserve recognition by posting their pictures on the hall of fame as the employee of the month. They will take pride in their contribution and will influence colleagues to do the same which can only mean progress and productivity of the team.
8. Annual Merit Increases
When feasible, make sure that there are necessary increases in pay for employees especially for those that really work hard. You can base merit increases on their yearly performance to give back to the efforts they have put on for the team and company. Merit increases are also one way to keep the employee looking forward to their stay in the company. Your team will want to give their best performance consistently all throughout the year to get this increase. You can have the team review how well they have done for the year and give an equivalent increase in pay, but again this can only be possible when it’s feasible with the company’s finances. If not, consider the next option:
9. Incentivize
One way to make sure that the team feels appreciated enough even when “thank you’s” are not always present is to set up an incentive for those who did well and hit their personal targets. This is to make sure that the everybody gets a little of something in return for the efforts they have contributed to the team’s growth. The incentive can be in a form of pay increase, bonus allowances, gift certificates, company merchandises or any of the available resources that you can give to them. The incentives will also factor the drive of your team members to meet their personal target and as well as the team’s objectives. Companies usually use these strategies to keep their employees drive for work and at the same time giving them back something in return for their passion to make things happen and the results they give.
10. Appreciation Day
Allot a time for the team to get together. Allow each team member to write something that they appreciate from their co-workers including you as the leader. Let everybody read what he or she has to say to each other. This will make sure that if there might be anyone from the team feeling underappreciated knows otherwise that their efforts don’t go unnoticed.
