Hello and welcome back to Buzzing About HR. I'm Kate, and today we are talking about one of the most underrated, most powerful tools in your people toolkit. Appreciation. Not the fluffy, vague thanks team kind that gets dropped in a team's chat like a sad balloon and then immediately forgotten. I mean real appreciation that actually lands, boosts morale, and makes people want to bring their best to work. And the best bit? It costs you nothing. Not a penny. Not even a biscuit. Although Hazel has asked me to clarify that biscuits are always welcome and should be considered a reasonable adjustment for well-being. She's currently supervising this recording from her bed, which is code for I'm listening, but I'm also judging you. Right, let's get into it. It's the 76th day of January. Payday is nearly here, hopefully. And if morale feels a bit wobbly, this episode is your quick reset. Also, side note, it is absolutely chucking it down today. The rain is coming down like cats and dogs. I'd like to thank Noah personally for cracking on with the ark. Hazel would like to thank Noah too, mainly because she's just realised she may have to wee in the rain and she's not emotionally prepared. Why this matters right now? This time of year can feel a bit grey. Everyone's back. The novelty of a fresh start has worn off, and you can literally feel the energy dip in some teams. And when energy dips, you start seeing the classics. Less initiative. More grumbling. More not my job vibes. A bit of quiet disengagement. Managers getting shorter. Teams getting quieter. Here's the thing. Most people don't need a pay rise to feel better today. They need to feel seen. They need to know their effort counts. An appreciation is one of the fastest ways to create momentum again. Especially in small businesses where culture spreads at the speed of gossip. Hazel agrees. She doesn't do annual recognition programs, she does immediate feedback. If you scratch her ears once, you are her favourite person for life. If you forget, you are dead to her until further notice. The problem with generic praise. Let's start with what does not work. Thanks everyone. Great job. Appreciate all your hard work. Nice sentiment, but it's basically HR beige. It doesn't stick. Why? Because it's not specific. And our brains don't store vague praise as meaningful. It just floats by. If you want appreciation to change behaviour, build confidence, and increase performance, you need three things specific, timely, connected to impact. In other words, what did they do? When did they do it? Why did it matter? The appreciation advantage framework. Here's a dead simple structure you can use, even if you're awkward with feelings and would rather deep clean the office fridge. Use this. The action. The impact. The repeat. Here's an example. Thanks for calling that client back within the hour. It stopped the situation escalating and we kept the relationship strong. Keep doing that. It's exactly the standard we want. That takes 15 seconds and it lands. Now let's make this doable for busy managers who are running on caffeine, calendar alerts, and the quiet hope that nobody asks them to just jump on a quick call. The five-minute appreciation routine. If you do nothing else from this episode, do this. Daily 30 seconds. Send one message to one person recognizing something specific. Teams, Slack, WhatsApp, email, carrier pigeon, whatever you use. Weekly two minutes. Do one quick team shout out. Not a big speech, just a couple of specific wins. Quick shout out to Sam for handling that late delivery issue calmly and keeping the customer updated. Also to Priya for spotting the error before it reached the client. Monthly, five minutes. Write one impact note. This is the one that makes people tear up in a nice way. One paragraph. Specific, genuine. You made a difference this month. Because you can literally schedule this. Put it in your calendar. Make it part of how you lead. And if you're thinking, Kate, I don't have time for that. You do. Because you definitely have time for the fallout when people feel invisible. Also, Hazel would like me to remind you that if she can schedule three naps, two snack audits, and a full perimeter check of the garden every day, you can schedule one appreciation message. She is nothing if not consistent. How to make it feel real, not cringe. I know some managers panic and think appreciation has to be emotional and awkward. No. It just has to be true. If you're not a natural cheerleader, borrow this tone. Calm. Specific. Matter of fact. You're not writing a Valentine's card. You're reinforcing great work. Try these. I noticed you did X. It made Y happen. Keep doing it. That's it. Simple. Strong. No cringe. And appreciation isn't only praise, it can be trust. Try these. I'm giving you this because you've shown you can handle it. I want your input because you've got great judgment. I'm trusting you to lead this piece. That is appreciation too. The appreciation menu. Now, here's a helpful way to think about it. People respond to different types of recognition. So think of appreciation like a menu. You do not serve the same dish to everyone and then act surprised that half the table hates coriander. Here are a few types you can use. Recognition of effort. Thanks for sticking with that when it got messy. Recognition of judgment. You made a really smart call there. Recognition of reliability. I can always count on you. That matters. Recognition of improvement. I've noticed how much you've progressed on this. You should be proud. Recognition of impact. Because you did that, we avoided a complaint and the client stayed with us. Recognition through opportunity. I want you on this because I trust you. You'll notice none of this involves balloons, trophies, or a forced team building exercise where everyone has to share a fun fact. Hazel's fun fact is that she can locate a dropped crumb in a 10 meter radius. Your team do not need that energy. Different people like different types of recognition. Here's where a lot of managers go wrong. They appreciate people the way they personally like to be appreciated. Which sounds logical until you remember humans are wildly different. Some people love public praise. Some would rather crawl into a bin than be applauded in a meeting. So ask the simplest question. When you've done a great job, how do you like to be recognised? You can even give options. A private message, a public shout-out, more responsibility, time to learn something new. Being trusted to make decisions. A thank you in front of the client. That one question reduces awkwardness and makes appreciation actually land. And if you are thinking, I don't want to make it weird. It's only weird if you make it weird. Ask it casually in a one-to-one, same as you'd ask, how do you like feedback? Or what helps you do your best work? The Hazel Test. Hazel has a very clear recognition preference for the record, public praise, immediate treat, and a small speech about how brave she is for walking past a wheelie bin. But here's the lesson. Hazel does not respond to vague praise. If I say good girl, she looks at me like for what? Specify your feedback human. If I say good girl for coming back the first time I called you, she lights up. Action, impact, repeat. Your team are the same, just with less tail wagging. What appreciation is not, quick reality check. Appreciation is not avoiding performance conversations, praising people to keep them quiet, overlooking bad behavior because someone is brilliant at their job. You can appreciate someone and still hold standards. In fact, strong teams do both. A simple way to think about it is this be generous with recognition. Be clear with expectations. Be consistent with consequences. Common mistakes to avoid. A few quick traps managers fall into. Mistake one, only recognizing the loud people. Quiet contributors keep businesses running. Notice them. Mistake two waiting for a big win. You want to recognize the small behaviors that lead to big wins. Mistake three. Making it about personality rather than behaviour. Instead of you're amazing, try you handled that complaint calmly and you kept the customer on side. Mistake four. Using appreciation as currency. Not if you do this for me, I'll praise you. No. Appreciation is not a bribe, it's feedback. Mistake five. Saving it for annual reviews. Annual reviews are fine, but if your only recognition is once a year, your culture will feel like a dentist appointment. Necessary, but nobody is excited. The quick checklist. If you want to start today, do this. Pick one person. Think of one specific thing they did well this week. Tell them what it was, why it mattered, and what you want more of. Then repeat tomorrow with someone else. Consistency beats big gestures. And if your team is currently thinking, we only ever hear from the boss when something's wrong. This will change that. Also, let's be honest, if you're only speaking up when something goes wrong, you are basically running your management style like a smoke alarm. Useful but stressful. The seven day appreciation challenge. Here's a simple challenge you can do this week. Day one, message one person privately with specific appreciation. Day two. Thank someone for reliability or consistency. Day three. Recognize good judgment. Day four. Recognize improvement. Day five. Give someone an opportunity as recognition. Day six. Do a quick team shout out with two specific wins. Day seven. Write one impact note. This is not about being syrupy. It is about being intentional. FAQS Let's do the questions I get all the time when I talk about appreciation. FAQ one. What if it feels fake or awkward? If it feels fake, you're probably being too generic. Go specific. Focus on behavior and impact, not personality. You don't need to be gushy. You need to be genuine. FAQ two. Won't people start expecting praise for everything? No, not if you do it properly. You're reinforcing valuable behaviours, not handing out gold stars for breathing. Link it to impact and standards. F AQ three. What if I'm worried it'll create jealousy in the team? Then spread it around and make it fair. Notice different types of contribution, not just the loudest person or the one you get on with best. And if you're recognising someone publicly, keep it factual. Here's what happened and why it mattered. FAQ4, what if I have someone underperforming? You can still recognise what's going well, but don't use appreciation to dodge the real conversation. Appreciation is not a substitute for performance management. Do both. People respect leaders more when standards are clear and balanced. FAQ five. Should recognition be private or public? Ask the person. Some people thrive on a shout out, others hate it. If you don't know, start private and build from there. FAQ six. How do I keep this consistent when I'm busy? Make it a habit, not a heroic effort. Daily message, weekly shout-out, monthly impact note. Put it in your diary. If you can remember to pay your VATI bill, you can remember to recognise your people. FAQ7. Does this actually improve performance? Yes, because people repeat what gets noticed. When the right behaviours are recognised, they become part of the culture. And culture drives performance even when you're not in the room. FAQ 8. What if my team rolls their eyes at this? Then you start anyway and you keep it specific. Cynicism usually comes from inconsistency. If they're used to only hearing from you when something's wrong, it will take a minute for them to trust the change. Do not announce it like a big initiative. Just do it quietly and consistently. So that's your appreciation advantage. It's simple, it's free, and it works. Start small. Be specific, do it consistently. And if Hazel is listening, yes, you can absolutely recognise your team with biscuits. Just don't call it a well-being initiative and then buy the cheapest ones known to humanity. People can taste resentment in a rich tea. Also, if you are listening while it's raining where you are, shout out to Noah again. We appreciate the ARC effort. Hazel appreciates it too, mainly because she would like indoor toilets to become a thing. Thanks for listening to Buzzing About HR. If you found this useful, share it. With a manager who needs a gentle nudge to notice the good stuff, not just the problems. Catch you next time.