The biggest Hallmark day of the year just passed.  That’s right. Valentine’s Day was this weekend and you can’t help but feel the love in the air.  Men and women all over the world are frantically bought sentimental cards, candy and flowers all in an effort to show their special “someone” just how much they care.  The US Greeting Card Association estimates that over 190M Valentine’s cards are exchanged each year between spouses and loved ones.  However if you add in the exchange activities for school aged children and teachers across the US, the estimate is over 1 billion Valentine’s  Day cards distributed in just one day.

And while it is important to share the love with your family and friends, it is just as important to recognize and thank your employees.  Why?  Gallop conducts an annual study across all verticals and job categories.  From hourly employees to VPs, the goal is to identify what drives employees to leave their current job.  Surprisingly, the things that are often mentioned the most like salary, training opportunities or immediate advancement are not at the top of the list.  The number one reason employees cite wanting to leave their job is simple.  They feel they are not recognized by their supervisor.

For many business owners and office managers, creating meaningful recognition sounds expensive.  In a perfect world you would be able to give everyone a bonus and pass out piles of cash. But for most business leaders, this is not reasonable or affordable.  So how does one make employees feel important and do it well?

There are three things that you can do to recognize and show appreciation to your teams that cost you absolutely nothing.  No trick. No joke.  According to Laurie Alm, President of Motivated Incentives, the following ideas are free and something you can implement on your own today.

First, one of the most important things is to remember your employees’ names.  While this may sound trivial, your name is your calling card.  It is personal and how we as individuals identify with ourselves.  Saying “dude or sweetie” may be your thing, but if asked, I would bet your team would appreciate you recognizing them by their first name.  They may even like if you took time to learn something about them personally. You know family, kids, hobbies etc.   At Creative Choice Group we have the benefit of a long tenured staff. However in some of the contact centers we manage, representative turnover is more common.  My solution is that I encourage and reward our Etech Global Solutions managers to take time to get to know their people.  You can see our teams are not just co-workers.  They are neighbors, champions and friends.  A little bit of effort certainly goes a long way.

Second, smile!  You may say that is easy when you live in Florida like me.  But remember a smile is infectious.  Your attitude influences those around you.  Making an effort or acting like you really want to be at work carries over to your team.  Even when you have a bad day and are stuck in a room with attorneys dealing with law suits, a smile can break up the day and keep the mood light.  A positive environment is definitely a way to retain top talent.

Lastly, say thank you.  This may sound cliché but it is the most important step.  I am not talking about running around high-fiving people. I am suggesting giving sincere praise.  Talk to your people one on one and tell them specifically what their contribution means to the firm.  Share with them how much you appreciate their effort and how they are important to you and the company.  You can do it in person or write them a personal note.  For some giving positive feedback is actually harder to do than critiquing or reprimanding someone. It might take some practice but now is the perfect time to get started.

So tomorrow make the effort to share the love in your office.  Wear your smile, call your people by their given name and take time to say thank you.  You just may find that this honest style helps your team love you and their job even more!