5 Employee Appreciation Quotes to Motivate Your Workplace [Video]

There are a lot of quotes for leadership that speak to the abstract idea of employee happiness. Take, for example, employee engagement author Sybil Stershic’s idea: “The way you treat your employees is the way your customers will feel.”

Reading inspirational quotes is great for a quick boost of morale, but sometimes it helps to have more actionable ideas on employee appreciation as well.

Here at Justworks, we act as the Professional Employer Organization (PEO) for thriving small businesses around the United States. We decided to pick the brains of some of those small business and HR leaders on what keeps their employees happy.

Their companies range from talent hunting to financial advising. See how Bastille Agency, Frank Hirth LLC, Area 17, and Lickability have found concrete ways to keep their employees happy and productive — no matter the team size.

Psst...we also wrote a free eBook on 109 Ways to Appreciate Your Employees on a Budget. You can download it here.

Employee Happiness as a Practice

As we’ve written in the past, employee happiness is instrumental for a thriving business. According to research conducted by the University of Warwick and the Social Market Foundation, happy employees showed a productivity increase of between 12-20% — no small number.

Below, hear advice about how some of our customers boosted employee morale through a few simple steps.

Georges Janin, Bastille Agency

Georges Janin is the founder of Bastille Agency, a company that helps businesses recruit quality technical talent. As a small business leader, he realizes he’s up against hiring competition from bigger enterprises.

“As a small company, I’m competing against larger, better funded companies who can potentially pay people more,” said Georges. ”So I like to stay competitive in other ways.”

Watch the video above to see how he competes to recruit the best talent and increase employee retention.

Brendan Donohoe, Frank Hirth LLC

Brendan Donohoe is the senior manager of operations at Frank Hirth LLC, a transatlantic tax and accounting firm for individuals, families, and businesses.

His advice focuses on understanding employees’ changing needs as the employees mature along with the company.

As Brendan put it, “Their needs evolve year after year. Motivation is helped by transparency, keeping people aware of the fact that what they do for a living adds to the value of the company day by day.”

Robyn Frank, Area 17

Robyn Frank is an HR Manager at Area17, a digital product agency with studios in Paris and New York. As someone who works within a competitive space, she discusses how her company forges a path for employees with varying needs.

According to Robyn, plotting a career path or ensuring they have the savings to reach their goals is pivotal to employee satisfaction and retention.

Brian Capps, Lickability

Brian Capps is a partner at Lickability, an app development company that has worked with big names like the New Yorker and Tumblr.

One piece of advice? Find ways to give employees a feeling of ownership.

“We take Friday and only work for things for our company,” said Brian. “It gives people a lot of ownership over the company.”

Matthew Bischoff, Lickability

As another partner of Lickability, Matthew Bischoff also understands the terrain small businesses face when competing with larger employers.

“Since we’re really small, we [support employees] in two ways,” said Matt. See below which steps he takes.

How Justworks Can Help

Justworks can help give your employees quality benefits and perks at the same discounted price enterprise-level companies receive. Perks we offer like Citi Bike memberships can also help keep your employees engaged and less likely to take sick days. And we have a modern app that will make tasks like paid time off, payroll, and government compliance simple. You can learn more about us here.