When we think of motivation, we think of praise and awards, but there is a more to ensure that members of your team know their importance.

Recognition won’t work without respectful relationships. There’s no excuse not to know all your employees’ names, what they’re working on and what their aspirations are. Once you solidify a superior relationship with them, it can be as simple as verbally reinforcing positive behavior. With under performers, discover what they do well and recognize them for it and they are more likely to do more things well.

Research has found that the cornerstone of meaningful recognition was actually opportunity. “An award may be a tangible sign of recognition, but employees see an opportunity as a sign that their manager truly values them.”

Opportunities don’t have to be expensive. It could be as simple as trusting employees with important customers and/or assignments, introducing them to an instrumental figure within the organization or having a training event.

If you can reaffirm your employees’ value while your organization is having difficulty, you will keep your best people. Some people believe if you praise someone, that person is naturally going to say, “If I’m that good then I should get a raise.” This simply is not the case. They do not go hand in hand because employees can see the economy around them. They know what things are like and they just want to feel valued.

Then again, if a company starts to bring in a ton of money and doesn’t distribute some of it, people will get conflicting messages and think they’re not actually appreciated. How do you know if your “motivation program” is working? Ask your people. If you have built the relationship first, they will let you know.