Are you a small to medium business owner with several members of staff? How important are your staff to your business? How long would your business run without them?

Imagine you got into work on a Monday morning and found that none of your staff had turned up to work. Eventually, staff members starting calling in to tell you that they are sick. Not sick due to a cold or another health issue. No, they are sick of working for you.

While this would be highly unlikely, I dare say that at least most or maybe even all of your staff have skipped a day or two of work under the guise of being sick. Unfortunately, they were probably sick of their work environment and the daily grind of their job.

Most of us have worked a job we didn't enjoy or in an environment where we felt stressed and unhappy. Mondayitis can happen every day of the working week if you feel unappreciated. Some of us may enjoy what we do, but not enjoy who we do it for.

Business success is created in the quality of relations. The key for a business owner is to make staff feel appreciated. This doesn't mean you have to pay your staff more. Of course staff want to be paid well, but they also want to be recognized and rewarded.

Feedback, encouragement and trust are three things employees look for from an employer. Few staff will take initiative and ask for these things. Most staff expect their employers or managers to provide feedback, offer encouragement and show that they trust their staff. If you are an employer or manger you need to understand and recognize that you are a leader in your employees eyes.

Staff also want to be shown some appreciation for what they do. Words of recognition and encouragement can be complimented with a gift or reward of some sort - a paid staff holiday, tickets to concerts or sporting events, discounts on the products your business sells.

For the business owner with a large number of staff, rewarding each individual employee could become a job in itself - time consuming and costly. A solution to this problem is an employee benefits program. I am not talking about expensive benefits such as health insurance, commuting costs and the kid's school fees. What I am suggesting is a customizable managed program that you can offer to all your staff.

A great example is a rewards card program that provides discounts on traveling, dinning, tickets and shopping. A membership site where staff get to choose how and when they are rewarded. It is also cost effective and time saving for the employer.