The Power of Two Words

With the fast pace and stress of our daily lives, we sometimes forget about the simple things in life and how much they mean to others. Taking time to show appreciation to others is time well spent.

You may have guessed the two powerful words referenced in the title – they are “Thank You.” The interesting thing is that when you get a sincere thank you from your boss, peer, direct report, doesn’t that make you feel good? If that comes along with a handshake even better. Recognition doesn’t need to be difficult or elaborate, sometimes going back to the basics is a good thing. Maybe we have forgotten about that in our complex world.

Sure, a $25 gift card to Starbucks is nice, but a genuine thank you from someone you respect in the workplace can be much more meaningful. Remember, I’m talking about a personal thank you, NOT an email saying thanks for doing that. Of course, if your employee is remote, perhaps an email is more realistic. If the employee did something significant, then a gift or monetary reward might be appropriate, but the thank you along with that is the important part.
Here are a few basics on recognition we should always follow:
1) Make sure it’s immediate or as soon as possible. Don’t tell an employee thank you two months after they did something significant, that could backfire on you as it may not be seen in a positive light.
2) Make it meaningful. If the achievement was significant, thank the employee at a team event. Remember, punish in private, praise in public, unless the employee is extremely shy, then praise in private.
3) Lastly, if you thank the person in public, let everyone know what was achieved, what they did. It’s a good way to try to get others to model behavior. In a world full of technology, going back to the basics is often a recipe for success, both in leadership and life in general.

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Small and medium-sized businesses may not have the time or expertise to implement the necessary people strategies for business success. The ideas above can be easily implemented by you to help improve the performance of your employees which leads to increased employee engagement and increasing the bottom line. We are here to help you with the people side of your business: employee engagement, retention programs, performance management, vision, and strategic plans, leadership development, selection & onboarding, compensations programs, organizational design, employee handbooks, core values, and all things HR-related.