I read a quote recently that said something like, "If you really want to deliver a message to someone, send them a letter in the mail." I can't remember who the quote was attributed to but I believe it is a great piece of advice in this modern age. That letter may be the only personal mail they get all week and the message contained within will have a deep impact on the reader.
If you apply this concept to the work environment, it works equally well. I remember my first post-university job at Royal Roads University. I worked in the Learning Resource Centre for three years and stayed employed there as long as I did because I felt truly appreciated by my co-workers. One librarian could connect with her staff particularly well and she often left little cards on your desk when you least expected it. The message was not long, nor was it eloquent, but simply contained a thank-you. She always made time to note the extra efforts that staff made that were outside their job descriptions. Wow, someone actually notices me? This encouragement always made me want to give even more to my team.
When was the last time you thanked your staff or co-workers? Not for just transferring a call, holding the door open for you, or other common courtesies, but a real thank-you. A thank-you for staying late or remembering to order supplies for the office. Thanks to the co-worker who always arranges office birthday celebrations or waters the plants each week. It may not seem worthy of a handwritten thank you card but to the person who always remembers to take care of such things, your acknowledgement will touch them deeply.
The more specific you can be in your words, the better. Moreover, try to deliver your words of thanks as promptly as possible to let the staff member know that they aren't just an afterthought.
When I used to manage a small staff team, we still remunerated staff with the good old hand signed paper cheques. Every twoweeks on pay day, rather than leave the sealed cheques in the staff mailboxes, I would consider any special efforts that were made recently and write a short note of thanks on the cheque stubs to the employees. Even when I didn't have anything specific to thank them for I would let them know I appreciated them being part of my team. I still believe that if you want your employees to think about their work with your organization as more than just a pay-cheque, you need to thank them for doing more than just showing up.
It's the simple things in life that matter most, so look for ways to simply say 'Thanks for doing what you do at work every day."
Until next week, stay in the black and keep coming back.
