Tag Archives: Thank You Cards;

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When Was the Last Time You Wrote Your Boss a Thank You Note?

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It is important to remember that recognition is not just a top-down phenomenon. 

Recognition is everyone’s responsibility. Which makes it a practice that is multi-directional. So much so that recognition needs to go up, sideways and down, and around to everyone. 

And, yes, recognition, praise, and thanks should go to your immediate supervisor or manager. 

We can demand that others should recognize employees, but rarely do we educate and teach staff to remember to acknowledge and thank their own bosses. 

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How Leaders Can Shine By Thanking Their Employees Better

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Recently, my wife and I conducted a ten-week emotional resilience course for some members in our church congregation. 

One of the weekly commitments that each of us worked on was keeping a daily gratitude journal. All we had to do was reflect on our day and write one or more things that we were thankful for on that day.

It certainly helped put a smile on our face at the end of each day. This was something totally in our control and cost nothing to put in place. 

Imagine what leaders in your organization could do for employees if they thanked them better for everything they do. Here are some tips you can pass along to them. 

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A Thank You Note That Generated The Biggest Raisin Cookies Ever

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It is amazing when you look back at life. You can see root beginnings of getting into the professional field you ended up in.

Where did this interest in employee recognition begin for me? I often thought it was because of my experience in healthcare and seeing the poor effect of non-specific feedback with patients. 

Maybe it had its beginnings even further back. 

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Top 10 Ways to Give Better Recognition Than Anyone Else

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Imagine if each person gave recognition just one percent better than the last time that they recognized someone. That’s all it takes to enhance your recognition practices and optimize the usage of your recognition programs. One percent improvement is all it takes. And here are some ways for you to give better recognition than anyone else every day. 

  1. Start your workday off by sending out or giving a thought of gratitude. Even if it is only one person you communicate with, imagine the difference you will make. Don’t open up your email inbox until you have emailed a message or spoken gratitude to someone.
  2. Actively smile whenever you greet someone and especially when you recognize them. Whether face-to-face or virtually through the various video conference tools, a smile engages people and sends positive, emotional, non-verbal communication.
  3. Ensure you make eye contact with people you express recognition to. When two people make eye contact when communicating, their brains actually synchronize emotional brainwaves and it enhances the receptiveness to what they said.
  4. Be enthusiastic and use a positive tone of voice when verbally recognizing others. A positive tone of voice conveys the words communicated in a healthier and better way. Work to be more excited about the recognition you give, and people will feel it.
  5. Use the person’s name in the text boxes of your online recognition programs. It is easy to neglect using a person’s name in an online program because you have selected who the message or ecard is going to. But people read the message in the box, so use it.
  6. In text, writing, or speech, tell people specifically what you’re recognizing them for. Refrain from using the too short and sweet generic statements with your recognition. Tell them exactly what it was you noticed that impressed you. They really want to know.
  7. In the same manner, be specific about how the person’s actions impacted others. Too often people do not know how their positive actions affected others. Share the impact their behaviors had on a peer, a customer, their boss, or for the company.
  8. Work on using positive vocabulary versus neutral words when recognizing people. Stop using words like, “good job” or “well done.” The words “good” and “well” are neutral. And being more specific, eliminates “job,” and “done”. Get more creative. Be amazing!
  9. Leave a voice mail message for someone expressing your thanks for their work. Try after hours to leave a voice mail message expressing your appreciation for the work an employee has done. It may surprise you how long people keep these messages and replay them.
  10. Write a well written thank-you card or note to recognize people each day. If you write one card or note a day to any employee in the organization who has affected you, you will make a tremendous difference. Those cards become keepers, and people often reread them.

Roy is no longer writing new content for this site (he has retired!), but you can subscribe to Engage2Excel’s blog as Engage2Excel will be taking Roy’s place writing about similar topics on employee recognition and retention, leadership and strategy.

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How Saying Thank You Can Be Meaningful or Empty

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Saying thank you to someone should be a wonderful expression and witness of our sincere appreciation and gratitude for a person and/or something they have done for us or others.

But what if the speaker of thanks is being manipulative with those two words that many of us long to hear? How do you know if they spoke the words with authenticity? Are they meaningful?

Let’s first examine what the words “thank you” mean. 

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Convincing Your Leaders That Recognition is Easy to Do

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Leaders play an important role as recognition givers throughout the entire organization.

However, not all leaders realize the impact they have on people through the simple act of expressing appreciation to people and recognizing their employees’ contributions.

Someone asked me to write how they could better convince their leaders that giving recognition was easy to do.

Explore the following suggestions to make recognition a leadership priority. 

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Embedding Recognition in the Everyday Life of the Company – Part 1

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One way that recognition can become a way of life in your organization is to integrate recognition practices and the use of your recognition programs into every facet of the lifetime employee experience.

This is the first of six posts that will outlines different areas along the career path of a typical employee, and where you can embed recognition into their everyday life at your organization.

Let’s take a look.

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How Adding Time and Effort Actually Enhances Your Rewards

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I have always been a big advocate of the fact that it’s the quality of your recognition that makes it a big deal.

Time and time again, I have witnessed how when you put more of a personal touch into the recognition and rewards you give, the more meaningful and effective the effect will be on the recipient and on their performance. 

I have summed this principle up before by saying, when you give people recognition you don’t have to give them a reward; when you give people a reward, you must always accompany it with recognition.

Now I have a social science experiment to share with you that validates this principle.

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Top 10 Ways To Make Great Employees Feel Like Stars

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Our companies have oodles of great employees who deserve red carpet treatment. We need to make sure we celebrate their achievements and recognize their hard work and contributions. Many of our employees quietly, and consistently, perform amazing work behind the scenes. Apply these Top 10 Ways and make your great employees feel like stars. (more…)

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5 Things Great Recognizers Do Better

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There’s something special about the person who seems to exude recognition from their pores.

These are the people that seem to appreciate others so effortlessly and you always feel good to be around them.

They are often charismatic. No doubt they are “people” people. They tend to be more extroverted – but don’t worry if you’re not. Very observant individuals and they seem able to perceive how people are feeling.

Having heard hundreds of employees speak of how a certain manager or employee is great at recognizing them, it’s good to generalize on the common qualities they share.

So what is it that great recognizers do that other people ignore?

Follow these 5 practices for yourself so you can become a great recognizer where you work. (more…)