As 2020 winds down, you might already be planning for 2021. One of the most powerful goals you can set for next year is giving your team members more recognition and appreciation.

Making employees feel seen and valued improves engagement and retention. And it doesn’t require a lot of time or money.

Here are five ideas for recognizing and appreciating your team members. Which ones are you already doing? Which ones do you want to try in 2021?

1. Be Deliberate About Giving Regular Feedback

Especially if your team is working remotely, it's all too easy to skip feedback in favor of other priorities. If you're doing this, though, your employees are missing out on valuable information from you that could make or break their future success.

2. Get Specific in Your Positive Feedback

Saying "Great job!" after a meeting might give your employee a mental boost. But telling her exactly what she did well and the impact of her actions will help her build on what she's doing right. Here's an example: "You asked great questions during that meeting, which allowed the team to notice opportunities we might have otherwise missed."

3. Use Meetings to Share Successes

Start team meetings by asking people to share their recent successes or what’s been going well. This doesn’t take long, and it makes people feel good as they start noticing what they’re actually getting done. Your employees can emulate this practice in meetings with their own direct reports, which helps build a culture of recognition throughout your company. Besides boosting everyone’s energy, getting into this habit gives you more information and insight about what is working.

4. Give Your Team Members Visibility

There are many ways to accomplish this. Nominating your team members for your company's internal recognition or awards programs will boost morale and help make others aware of their great work. You could also recommend your team members for promotions or high-profile projects, share their successes with higher-level managers, invite them to present in front of audiences they don't typically get exposure to or introduce them to others inside or outside of the company who could mentor or guide them.

5. Take the Time to Check In

The gift of your time and attention is a form of recognition and appreciation as well. Have regular one-on-ones with your team members that aren't about projects. Instead, simply ask how they are doing and how you can support them. By relating to your team members in a warm and human way, you are showing how much you value and respect them.

For more ideas on guiding your employees through challenging times, pick up a copy of "Building a Strong Team" from my Leadership EDGE℠ series.