Thanks PLUS! Making Thank You More Than Lip Service

We’re seeing a ton of research out there that connects employee recognition to engagement, retention, satisfaction – you name it.  Recognizing the efforts of your employees is a good thing.  We do find it a bit unfortunate that many managers still need to be reminded of it.

Recognition works.  And it’s not just our opinion.  There is science to back it up.

Derek Irvine of the recognition company Globoforce had a good blog post a while back over at Compensation Café (subscribe – its’ a good blog) talking about how to say thanks…

The key thing we took from his post:

“Those who were thanked were more willing to provide further assistance. Indeed the effect of ‘thank you’ was quite substantial: while only 32% of participants receiving the neutral email helped with the second letter, when Eric expressed his gratitude, this went up to 66%.”

People like to help those that recognize them.

There are a lot things employees do every day that can be “thanked” and “recognized.”

It Must Be Sincere

We would caution that too much “thanking” and not enough rewarding may actually create a negative impression on an employee.  We all know someone who “thanks too much” – creating insincere praise.  That is as bad as not thanking at all.

We would suggest that at some point you connect that thank you to an award.  It doesn’t have to be much – but it should be worthy of something beyond a thank you.

By thanking employees for their work you validate and recognize their contribution.  But, by thanking and recognizing all work the same you increase the value of the little things – and more importantly- you decrease the value of the really important things.

Take a look at what you’re recognizing.  Could some of those “thank you’s” be enhanced with an award card in a smaller denomination?

Nothing too big – just enough to communicate it was more than “just” a thank you – more than just lip service.

Related articles

• 17% leave their job due to insufficient recognition (rypple.com)
• How to Get Employees to Generate Great Ideas (thestreet.com)
• How to Get Employees to Generate Great Ideas (entrepreneur.com)