Back to Basics: The art of saying Thank You!

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Written by Laurie Griffith   

Thank you isn’t just a salutation , it’s an expression of gratitude that leaves the recipient feeling worthy, appreciated and eager to earn another. Psychologically speaking, thanking your employees does the aforementioned and improves productivity. Read some of the following statistics and see if you can find examples in your business that reaffirm one of them.

Fast Facts From How Full Is Your Bucket?

  • The number-one reason people leave their jobs: They don’t feel appreciated.
  • 65% of Americans received no recognition in the workplace last year.
  • Bad bosses could increase the risk of stroke by 33%.
  • A study found that negative employees can scare off everycustomer they speak with–for good.
  • 9 out of 10 people say they are more productive when they’re around positive people.
  • Relentless negativity resulted in a 38% POW death rate — the highest in U.S. military history.
  • We experience approximately 20,000 individual moments every day.
  • The magic ratio: 5 positive interactions for every 1 negative interaction.
  • Too much positive emotion? More than 13 positive interactions for every 1 negative interaction could decrease productivity.
  • Extending longevity: Increasing positive emotions could lengthen life span by 10 years.

according to Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton, “How Full Is Your Bucket”, Hardcover, 128pp., Gallup Press, August 2004.

It’s the biggest investment in productivity you can make with the greatest return on investment.

This is how it happens: Most new employees are eager to fit in, impress their co-workers and management and find a comfortable pace. They go for days, weeks and some even months giving it 110% all while listening to someone complain about another employee or their home life. Their immediate supervisor is too busy nixing every idea they have to recognize any progress or improvements they made and the buzz in the break room is that it’s all about the bottom line and no one cares about the people that make their money for them.

I’ve heard this scenario in almost every place I’ve worked and I watched 7 of them go out of business. Good management understands where their money comes from, they understand that a happy employee is a productive employee and they make a point to recognize others for their accomplishments.

Now you can’t change someone’s home life, but if the employee wasn’t going home miserable to begin with, do you think their home life would be as bad? Maybe, maybe not. Isn’t it worth finding out?

Take all that negativity; do you want to shop there? Ever walked up to an employee and got the feeling they were stabbing you with invisible daggers and would rather be anywhere in the world than talk to you? I have felt like that employee and it’s not the customers fault, it’s was my bosses. I didn’t want to do anything for someone that didn’t appreciate me.

Think of your favorite store. What are the employees like? Do you know the owner/manager? Do you enjoy going there? Do you tell others about the business? In a good business the answer to these is a resounding “YES”

The amount of time it takes to walk up to or call a client and introduce yourself, check on their experience and thank them for their patronage costs less in time and effort than a latte and can generate as many clients as an advertisement.

Do you have examples? Please feel free to comment or leave questions.
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