Casely Ato Coleman, Senior Global Human Resource Practitioner, has challenged Ghanaian employers to appreciate employees through investment in their engagement initiatives to respond to their needs.

That, he said, would go a long way to drive organisational excellence.

Mr Ato Coleman, also a Visiting Professor of Human Resource (HR) at the Senegal Institute Superieur De Management, said that was a key enabler to demonstrating employee appreciation.

Mr Coleman said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) ahead of the International Employee Appreciation Day, which falls on the first Friday of March.

The Day focuses on employees in all sectors of the economy with activities to recognise and celebrate them.

Mr Coleman, a Senior Fellow of IMANI Africa, shared his recent comparative research on the implications of COVID-19 on the employee value proposition, which covered Australia, United States and sub-Sahara Africa, Ghana inclusive.

The study found three key trends, the first being a convergence of HR practices around remote working, employee wellbeing and operational excellence as employers facilitated business continuity plans to meet customer promise.

The secondly was the importance of leadership intentionality to drive employee engagement, and third, being workplace culture and good engagement to help employees to deliver their best to ensure business resilience during a pandemic.

Mr Coleman said when employees were appreciated, they became rationally committed to the values, vision and mission of the business.

He said investing in total rewards systems and putting in place learning and development policies were ways to show appreciation to employees.

Mr Coleman, a part-time lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School, said the Employee Appreciation Day was an innovation to embed the culture of employee engagement in Ghana.