Top Tips for saying Thank You to your employees
February is upon us once more - the month of love, appreciation and Valentine’s Day celebrations. That love and appreciation shouldn’t just be reserved for your nearest and dearest though - showing your employees that you truly value and appreciate them is important too! Of course, it might be a tad tricky to do that this year, especially when everyone is working remotely and we’re all feeling the drain of a seemingly never-ending lockdown.
Since we’re currently mostly working from home, we don’t have the traditional channel of just turning around in an office and saying thank you to someone, it means we can sometimes unfortunately forget. However, the reality is that now, it’s more important than ever to say thank you. There might be less of it happening, but we need it a lot more!
Knowing the most effective way to show your appreciation involves understanding your employees, and the simplest way to do that is to ask. Getting the thank you wrong can actually have the total opposite effect to your intent, so it’s worth putting some groundwork in upfront. After all, not everyone appreciates the same type of thank you, but nonetheless we all do love a thank you, and to feel valued and appreciated.
Some startups actually ask their new employees about this as part of their induction, but if you haven’t done that and you don’t know, it is pretty easy to find out - just ask! Here are a few tips and pointers to help you simply say thank you to your employees.
Are they an introvert or an extrovert?
This should be pretty easy for you to figure out. An introverted employee is unlikely to like public displays of gratitude or thank yous in front of the team - whether that’s in the office or even on a Zoom call. Likewise, they'll probably not be happy about any public shout-outs on social media. In fact, if you ignore this and try to show your appreciation in this way, it may have the reverse effect and you'll be left with an unhappy, perhaps privately disgruntled and embarrassed employee.
Of course the opposite is true for the extroverts in your team. They will most likely relish any public appreciation and gratitude that you show them. Chances are too that they enjoy having their photo taken and shared on social media. So, if you thank them on a public forum like this, it can also be beneficial in helping to promote your cultural brand to the outside world too.
Gift Giving
We all like getting a little pressie as a sign of someone’s appreciation and your employees are no different. However, if a present is going to hit the mark and be gratefully received, you’ll need to know what the recipient actually likes! So, you’ll need to take a little time to find out what your employees like to do when they’re not at work - what are their hobbies and interests? This can then help you find a gift that they’ll actually use and would want!
A little extra thought being put into this will mean that your thank you will come across as genuine and not simply a tick-box exercise!
When and where
Of course, when and where you choose to say thank you matters too. We’re all very different and therefore tend to appreciate very different channels. For some of your employees, a text or WhatsApp message will be more than suffice, whilst others may much prefer to receive an email - whether that’s in a formal tone or not.
If you are emailing to thank an employee for a job well done or praising them or their work in some capacity, it might also be worthwhile to copy someone more senior into the email. This will in turn highlight the employee’s work, attitude or the contribution they have made to someone who may not otherwise be aware. This can be particularly important if the employee in question is ambitious and keen to move on within the company. You’re effectively shining a light and putting them on the radar!
It will also give your employee a little boost - particularly if the person that’s been copied in response too. A simple well done or an email reiterating your thanks can go a long way to making an employee feel appreciated. Many employees may also want to rely on messages and emails of thanks and recognition like this when they are preparing for a performance or annual reviews, so their value can’t be underestimated. And they can be a good memory trigger for managers when they’re doing their prep too!
Words of affirmation
Saying thank you to your employees is not always about buying gifts though. For many employees, hearing a few words on how much you appreciate them or value what they do, can go a long way! That could be related specifically to their work - a task they’ve been doing or a project they’ve completed. It could be about how they work - their commitment, dedication and resilience or, it could be about their character - how they’re generous with their time, helping new starts or how they really contribute to the overall culture in the team.
It might even be a simple matter of saying well done on a great blog post or admiring how they handled a difficult client or even praising them for a brilliant suggestion or idea.
It’s up to you how you choose to express your words of gratitude - whether that’s in an email, on a phone call, via a card or publicly in a team meeting - depending of course if they’re an introvert or extrovert!
Whichever applies though, make sure you do it - you’ll be letting them know how grateful you are that they’re in your team.
Quality Time
For some employees, the best way that you can convey your thanks and appreciation to them is by actually spending some time with them. Yes. Quality time matters. Taking time out of your own busy schedule to have some one-on-one time with an employee can really show you appreciate and value them.
Whilst that could take the form of a coaching session, it could just as easily be setting aside a little time to talk with the boss, chat through ideas, brainstorm and see how things are going...
Privacy Matters
Another way to show your appreciation towards an employee is to remember to keep any direct feedback or criticism to a private setting - even for the extroverts in your team. By not publicly drawing attention to any issues with their work or areas they need to develop, you'll be actually conveying respect, trust and showing them that you do value what they do. It's more a case of thanking them in public and criticizing in private!
Put some of these tips into practice and you’ll have a much happier team - and remember, they apply the whole year through - not just the month of love...
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