Recognition and praise comes in various forms and your must listen and be creative to figure out how to appreciate your staff. The best way is to be flexible enough in workplace rewards and recognitions to make them happy. Remember that expectations in the workplace vary greatly depending on age and circumstances in the employee's life. For example, a working mum may prefer to be rewarded with time off while a single male would prefer tickets to a football game. A good insurance package might be the most important benefit you could give someone who has a family member in poor health.

Get Personal

Getting personal to your employees is the way to get them emotionally bonded with yourself. Know when your employees have special events in their lives - good or bad - and discuss it with them.

If one of your staff has a problem with their teenage son or daughter, chat to them about it. Can you refer them to a counselor who may be able to help them? Sometime just listening is all someone wants before they can return their attention to the job. Are one of your key staff moving house? Why not offer them a day off to get organized.

There are so many opportunities to be flexible and help your staff. But first, you have to know what is going on in their life. You have to communication with them. You have to be close to them. If you can do this, you will be regarded very highly and earn loyalty from them.

Criticism Versus Feedback

Creative criticism is hard to achieve in heated debates of what went wrong and who was at fault. However, with the right balance of positive feedback through the clever selection of appropriate words, an employer can deliver his message without making staff feel condemned. If you expect to attract an employee who thrives to be as dedicated to the business as possible, an employer has to make them feel secure with positive feedback not criticism.

Job Security

The feeling of security is a common human need. By providing a secure workplace, an employer can win the employees' peace of mind, and channel it into more productive work. Many a times, employees feel unsecured making them go after another job for no reason at all.

Know your competition

You need to convince them that your company is an Employer of Choice that continues to attract the level of talent necessary for future growth. Monitoring your competition and other companies that people see as desirable places to work gives you an idea of what you need to provide to employees to keep them happy. Many companies take the wrong approach and look for things to take away from employees in the interest of cutting costs and becoming more profitable. Without the ability to attract the talent necessary for growth, profits will become another "benefit" that disappears.