As the year begins winding down, many managers are thinking of ways to show gratitude to their team members. While monetary rewards, thoughtful gifts and holiday parties are welcomed and appreciated, there are additional heartfelt ways to show your appreciation.

According to speaker, consultant and best-selling author, Dr. Cindy McGovern, if you want to show your hard-working and loyal staff that you truly value and appreciate them, you should listen to them. They have ideas, complaints and personal struggles, especially after a year as tumultuous as 2020.

If you are looking for the best ways to show appreciation to your sales reps, read on. We’ll share Dr. McGovern’s top ways to show gratitude in this issue of Promotional Consultant Today.

1. Get their ideas. You never know who might be thinking about your company’s next big initiative. As a way of showing you value your sales reps, ask them for their feedback—and then listen. Dr. McGovern says that when former PepsiCo CEO told the corporation’s thousands of employees that they should take ownership of the company, one janitor took it seriously. He suggested dusting Cheetos with chili powder instead of cheese powder and the result—Flamin’ Hot Cheetos—ended up being one of the brand’s top sellers.

2. Enable your team members to solve problems. What’s something that isn’t working quite right on your team or in your organization? Invite your sales reps to solve the issue. You could sweeten the deal by offering a financial reward to the employees, adds Dr. McGovern. She gives an example of two workers at Audi who noticed ventilation systems continued to run even when no workers were present. They suggested shutting off the ventilators overnight and saved the corporation more than $120,000 a year.

3. Adjust for personal needs. Each one of your sales reps has different needs. Some may need to adjust their work hours due to family obligations. Others may need to work from home occasionally, while some may need extra time off. As a way of showing your gratitude, find out what your sales reps want and need the most, and then make that happen for them. Dr. McGovern says companies as large as GE and as small as five-person companies offer flex hours to help their employees and to boost their ability to recruit newcomers.

4. Celebrate their good deeds. According to Dr. McGovern, when you recognize your team members’ good deeds, you encourage more helpful behavior. Consider Hardee’s, which handed over a $1,000 check to a teenage employee simply because the worker offered his arm to an elderly customer who was walking to the car with the aid of a walking cane. If you spot an act of kindness or generosity among your sales reps, recognize it.

5. Involve your sales reps in service projects. There are many ways to give back—especially this time of year. Involving your employees in charitable activities is a great way to show you value them while also helping the community. Dr. McGovern says that businesses that give back are as popular with their own employees as they are with the recipients of the goodwill.

Showing your gratitude doesn’t have to be complicated or costly. Sometimes, the most meaningful ways of showing appreciation come down to listening to your employees. Consider the points above when you are looking for ways to show employee appreciation this holiday season and all year long.

Source: Dr. Cindy McGovern is a top-rated speaker, consultant and best-selling author of Every Job Is A Sales Job.

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