What two words combined offer your business the most powerful positive change? It isn’t “you’re fired” or “shape up” or even “more money.” The words that offer the most powerful transformative change, increase employee engagement, enhance communication and even drive profits are “thank you.” Maybe we forget the power of a thank you because it’s free and often delivered with little or no thought. You’ve probably been on the receiving end and the giving end of the pat, reflexive or even insincere thank you. It can be polite and the social norm to deliver a quick thanks but this has in part diminished the value of the thank you.
So how do you add weight to a thank you? How do you make your thank yous more meaningful and more powerful whether they are delivered to your top sales person, your front line employee or your customer?
Don’t Say It If You Don’t Mean It
Yes, it is good to thank someone but if it isn’t sincere, it won’t be believed. Unless you are Meryl Streep, save the acting for someone else. Even if you are consciously trying to express more gratitude, you can still make it authentic and earnest. Find the thing you truly appreciate about the person or something they did, even if you have to dig deep.
Be Specific
In addition to being sincere, a real thank you should be specific. It sounds easy but it really requires some thought. A quickly delivered, “hey thanks, good job” can sound pretty bland and empty. A sincere thank you calls for you to stop and focus on an individual. What exactly did they do right? What personality trait or behavior do they have that positively impacts the workplace or the work? What does an earnest, individual thank you look like? First lets look at what it doesn’t look like:
Hey James, thanks!
This is much better:
James, thank you. Mary is a challenging customer and difficult to please but her business is important to us. The way you handled her was terrific, you were calm, you listened and you seemed to know exactly how to move things in the right direction. I have to say, seeing you handle this so well takes a load off of my shoulders because I know I can count on you. Thank you.
Maybe you are thinking can’t I just give a good employee the day off or get them a giftcard? You can, and employees appreciate these things too, but there just is no substitute for a well-delivered thank you.
Gratitude & Ubuntu
Gratitude is a big part of our Ubuntu company theme here at Stathakis. For us it stems from the idea of sawa bona, which literally means “I see you.” Thanking our people in a variety of ways is our way of saying “I see you. I see the good work you do. I see the way your enthusiasm helps build up your team. I see how hard you try.” Creating a great company culture is in part driven by how people feel about their work, their company, their supervisors and their peers. When people feel like they are seen and appreciated, they work harder for you and they are happier about the work they do.
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