With the ongoing challenges of COVID-19, you need to think about thanking your employees. This important gesture won’t cost you much and can focus your team during challenging days.
There’s more than one way to say, “Thank you.” The right gesture can improve retention, generate goodwill, and unite people around your mission.
Here are some actionable ways for thanking your employees:
Recognize Adjustments
I’m sure you’re having to make many tough decisions as you try to keep your business going in a COVID-19 world. Remember that your employees are also having to make adjustments, whether they are related to family, changing professional responsibilities, and of course, health.
Everyone is working in a world of elevated stress, as recent studies have found. Recognizing people for doing their best during a challenging time is important.
Saying thank you doesn’t have to be fancy gesture but simply saying those words can make a big difference to your team. When you’re really busy, it’s a step that can be easy to forget.
Thank People for Effort
When I was in elementary school, a teacher once put a sticker on my test. The sticker featured a picture of a lion and the phrase, “No lying, I’ve been trying.”
On the test, I had done well but not great. But the teacher recognized that I had been trying to improve in a weaker subject and wanted to recognize the effort.
Sometimes we focus too much on perfection and not enough on improvement.
During a time when businesses are having to adapt or change rapidly, perfection will be hard to achieve. Think instead of recognizing the sometimes slow, sloppy road to improvement.
Thank with Transparency
As your business evolves, can you share information about the journey? During times of transition, doubts undermine progress. It makes sense to reveal a little more than under normal circumstances.
This may be a matter of finding the right balance. A wise person once told me, “Share information but don’t scare people to death.”
You may want to reveal things like a big picture status, action plans, and how people can help. Your goals is to inform and empower.
It’s also okay to say, “I don’t know.” It’s honest, understandable, and more comforting than silence.
Non-Monetary Gestures
It would be great if everyone could receive a bonus for hard work or something like a free lunch. But when times are tough that may not be possible.
Do think if there are non-monetary ways to thank your employees. Maybe down the road, people could earn a day off or the chance to come in or go home from work at a different time. Perhaps it’s something like a relaxed dress code.
You can create a committee to brainstorm options. This is another case where thanking your employees is more about the gesture, rather than some sort of expensive prize.
Even if you’re not able to act on all of the suggestions, you’ve learned some important information about your team that you may be able to support in the future.
Ken Okel Performs Virtual Keynotes
