Take a moment to remember the most meaningful celebration you’ve experienced. What were you celebrating? Who was there? What made it memorable or enjoyable?

Celebrations are an integral part of life. We celebrate to mark a moment in time, remember a specific victory, or attribute value to someone or something. We celebrate things like holidays, birthdays, and major life events. Celebrations create a sense of belonging and help us feel connected to something larger than ourselves.

Now, when was the last time you experienced that same sense of celebration at work? How long has it been since you felt that a coworker recognized your value and took the time to show you that they appreciate your efforts, or simply who you are as a person?

If you can’t think of something recent, you’re not alone. Too often, celebration in the workplace consists of stale award ceremonies or generic recognition. It leaves us feeling underappreciated and wondering why we work so hard if no one cares. According to research by the MIT Sloan Management Review, this is one of the top five reasons people are leaving their jobs.

If you’re looking for ways to help your team feel good about the work they are doing and improve their performance, consider these actions:

Learn how people like to be celebrated.

Do you know – I mean really know how your people like to be recognized? Every person is completely different. Some people want to be recognized publicly, to be presented with an award at some big company event. Others would be completely mortified. Take the time to ask whether your team members would prefer to be celebrated publicly or privately, with words or an appropriate gift, with increased responsibility and pay or with time off to rest and recharge. Or maybe they have an idea you never would have thought of.

Keep a record of this information and store it somewhere that is accessible to your entire team.

Celebrate often.

When we think about celebration and recognition, it’s easy to default to the big achievements. Those absolutely should be celebrated. And yet, there are so many things that people do every day that should be acknowledged – the less visible parts of the process that keep things running smoothly and allow the team to meet its larger goals.

Have your team think about their goals and brainstorm the milestones or statistics that should be celebrated. Then use what you learned about the way your teammates like to be celebrated to recognize their contributions.

Encourage your team to celebrate each other.

Celebration and recognition shouldn’t just be something assigned to managers and leadership. A good team has people who celebrate each other no matter what titles they hold. Recognizing people for the work they are doing and helping them see the value in it helps people continue to understand their role in fulfilling the team’s common purpose and helps them feel more connected.

Use celebrations to start conversations.

When you and your team find a reason to intentionally celebrate, don’t forget to ask what was enjoyable about the process of achieving the recent success. Listen for steps that are repeatable and identify patterns in what they like most. Then give them opportunities to use those skills tactics to achieve even greater successes.

When we take time to celebrate someone, we are communicating that we value them and their efforts. And, if in addition, you use these celebrations to affirm what went right, people are more likely to work better and give your team more reasons to celebrate.

Looking for more ways to equip your team and create more reasons to celebrate?