Gratitude Goes A Long Way

Practicing Gratitude: This CEO wrote 30,000 Thank You Notes to His Employees

Doug Conant, CEO of Campbell Soup (2001-2011) took the then lowest performing food company in the world, into a highly successful turnaround. One of the secrets to his success? 30,000 handwritten thank you notes to his employees during his tenure.

You may be thinking, who has the time for that? The truth is if showing gratitude helps to keep our employees, then who doesn’t have the time for that?

Glassdoor’s Employee Appreciation Survey found that 80% of employees would be willing to work harder for an appreciative boss, and 70% said they’d feel better about themselves and their efforts if their boss thanked them more regularly.

Here are some modern ways to thank your employees:

Be generous with your time but thank them for theirs. Consider taking a top performer out for lunch, focusing the conversation on what they see for their future. At the end of lunch, thank them for choosing to spend their time with you.  

Have discussions of encouragement between performance reviews. Employees are usually nervous before performance reviews, even when they know they have done an excellent job. Try holding meetings between your performance reviews, where the conversation is solely about what they are doing best, and how much you appreciate their efforts.

Write handwritten notes. Pen and paper may not be modern, but in a world of text messages and emails, a personalized and handwritten note will be a sure-fire way to be a stand out leader. Read more on: How to Use Handwritten Notes for Employee Engagement.

Surprise your team. It’s easy to say “thank you” and move on with your day. Why not go the extra mile by bringing in breakfast for your team, offering an early exit on a Friday, or celebrating a recent win with a catered lunch. Here are 8 Affordable Ways to Make your Team Happier and more Productive.

As a leader, it is easy to get caught up in our day and forget to thank those that are making company successes happen. Remember to speak up at every opportunity. Your employees will thank you, in return, by offering their loyalty.

Happy Thanksgiving season to you, my valued client. You have made 2018 a year to be grateful for!

Amy

Photo by Giulia Bertelli on Unsplash