Measuring Appreciation: How to Know if Your Staff Truly Feel Valued

Think back to the last time someone genuinely thanked you at work – not with a voucher, but with words that showed they noticed. Chances are, that moment stayed with you far longer than any bonus.

Amanda Arrowsmith, former CPO at CIPD captured this perfectly recently on the Lead With Thanks podcast. She shared; “It’s those unexpected moments where someone seeks you out and thanks you when they don’t need to. When you work in HR, you have to deal with some hard things like redundancies. And when someone asks you how you’re doing, and thanks you for hearing them and being totally human with them, it means a lot.”

Most UK organisations accept that feeling valued fuels performance. The real challenge is turning that belief into consistent, everyday habits. Because appreciation isn’t a line item on a budget or a ceremony once a year – it’s something that’s shown and repeated until it becomes part of the culture’s DNA.

Appreciation, recognition and feeling valued

Before we dive in, it helps to separate a few ideas:

• Appreciation – quick, genuine thanks in the moment
• Recognition – more formal, often tied to result
• Feeling valued – the deeper sense of respect, belonging, fair treatment and steady support.

All three matter, but it’s the feeling of being valued that roots people in their roles. Pay and benefits bring them through the door, but fairness, trust and regular appreciation make them stay.

Why it matters

When people feel valued, they bring more of themselves to work. They share ideas, stay longer and show up with energy. Teams that feel appreciated collaborate faster and take more creative risks because they trust they’ll be supported if things go wrong.

The data backs it up. A McKinsey study found that the top reasons people quit were not feeling valued by their organisation (54%) or manager (52%) and lacking a sense of belonging (51%). These are deeply human needs – and none require grand gestures. They’re built on small, steady signals that effort is seen and that people matter.

So what do those signals actually look like?

What “feeling valued” looks like day to day

The best cultures don’t leave appreciation to chance. They weave it into the everyday. Five habits stand out:

1. Appreciation in the moment – The thank-you that lands when effort is fresh makes the biggest impact. “Hannah, your calm saved that client call.” “You unblocked 400 users before they woke up.” Simple, timely words ripple for weeks. Remote teams can try a weekly wins thread to keep it visible.
2. Fair, timely recognition – Keep recognition close to the work. Swap once-a-year ceremonies for shorter cycles, like monthly round-ups that highlight both big wins and quiet backbone tasks. If the same names appear, widen the lens.
3. Respect in decisions and feedback – Involve people early, credit them publicly and use phrasing that invites ideas. “What might I be missing?” lands better than “That won’t work.”
4. Belonging that’s felt, not stated – Design hybrid meetings so remote staff can join equally. Rotating roles like summariser or timekeeper can help quieter voices be heard. Vary social formats so everyone can take part. 
5. Managerial support that shows up – Managers who clear roadblocks, secure training and ask “How can I make your week easier?” send powerful signals of value. A short monthly check-in covering what went well, what’s stuck and what’s next can transform relationships.

Building rhythm into the week

These habits are great but how do we bring them into practice. Here is a brief example of how the week can flow:

• Monday – open with a quick round of wins.
• Midweek – send a recognition note tied to company values.
• Thursday – invite one “voice of the team” suggestion.
• Friday – share a short wrap-up celebrating people behind results.

The key isn’t size, it’s consistency. Small, steady gestures compound into trust.

Measuring what you can’t see

These gestures, alongside appreciation might seem intangible, but they can be measured. Short pulse surveys, 1-to-1 feedback or tools like the Thankbox Workplace Appreciation Quiz reveal where your culture shines and where it might need care – across belonging, recognition, fairness and support.

If you pair those insights with data you already track – turnover, eNPS, participation in rituals – then you’ll see clear patterns.

From insight to action

But data alone changes nothing. Share the results openly, choose one or two focus areas and set small, visible commitments. Maybe each team lead gives one public thank-you a week. Maybe every monthly meeting includes a “voice of the team” moment.

Ready-made prompts and templates – like those built into Thankbox for Teams – make it easy to keep momentum going, track who’s being recognised and ensure appreciation stays consistent across hybrid teams.

Spotting the cracks early

You’ll often see early warning signs when appreciation fades: fewer volunteers for projects, quiet meetings, slower replies, rising frustration about fairness. None are failures on their own, but together they suggest people don’t feel seen.

Habits that quietly erode value

Sometimes, you can do everything right, but there might be some hidden habits which go unnoticed. Here is what to watch for:

• Saving praise for annual reviews.
• Praising inconsistently, creating favourites.
• Taking credit by accident.
• Dismissing ideas too quickly.
• Micromanaging or skipping development talks.

Each might seem small, but together they send one message – that effort doesn’t matter.

What good looks like

Tsvetelina Hinova, co-founder of Thankbox, sums it up simply: “You don’t need a big programme to move the needle – you need simple habits every week.”

Those habits share a few traits: they’re specific, regular and shared by everyone.

• Say thanks while effort is fresh.
• Weave recognition into team rituals.
• Let peers recognise peers, not just managers.
• Balance tangible rewards with learning and trust.
• Support managers to notice effort and share credit.
• Give people a voice and act on their ideas.
• Celebrate progress, not just perfection.

A light platform like Thankbox for Teams helps turn these habits into rhythm – prompting shout-outs, surfacing hidden contributions and helping appreciation become a shared, measurable practice.

The payoff

Feeling valued isn’t a soft perk – it’s a hard driver of engagement, retention and performance. When appreciation, recognition, respect and belonging show up in everyday moments, people do their best work and feel proud to do it here.