148: 9 Ways to Thank Your Employees

“Employees who report receiving recognition and praise within the last seven days show increased productivity, get higher scores from customers, and have better safety records. They’re just more engaged at work.”

– Tom Rath

Recently, one of my team members communicated heartfelt gratitude to another team member named Jenny for her consistently outstanding performance. And then she took a big step further and privately told Jenny’s leader (me) how grateful she was for her excellent work and service … which triggered me to reflect on how much I appreciated Jenny too and follow up with my own thank you to her.

Back in episode 124, we talked about how practicing gratitude makes you a more effective leader. For example, thankfulness increases your personal stress resistance, as well as the engagement of your employees. In this episode, Jesse provides practical suggestions for how to thank your employees.

Three principles to apply regardless of how you express gratitude:

Be sincere

Be specific (extra credit if you thank them for an accomplishment they’re particularly proud of)

Be purposeful

Practical ways to thank employees, in order from least effort to most effort:

Just say it

TBWA

Handwritten note (extra credit if you mail it to their home)

Token gift like movie tickets, Starbucks gift card, or restaurant gift card

Amazon gift card

Email or verbal praise to supervisor

Public recognition

Thank-you video

Fun event together

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Podcast episode 124: THX! How Practicing Gratitude Makes You a More Effective Leader

Blog post: Going Through the Motions, or Truly Thankful? 6 Ways to Cultivate Your Gratitude as a Leader

Blog post: 7 Ways Thankfulness Makes You a Stronger Leader

HR Magazine article: How Do You Say ‘Thank You’ to Employees?

Entrepreneur article: How to Thank Your Employees Like You Mean It in 3 Simple Steps

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