When I was a child, my mom always made sure that my siblings and I wrote thank you notes if we received a gift. I continued that tradition with my kids.

And I write thank you notes now whenever someone does something nice. And I receive them from people who were taught this simple tradition.

Imagine the joy when you go to the mailbox and open it to find a hand addressed letter. As you open it, you read a few sentences that express gratitude. And you smile as you read the name of the person who sent it.

Now imagine how your employees would feel if you did something similar for them. It may not be a handwritten thank you note. It could be saying something like, “Bob, Thanks for staying late the other night to help close the store. I appreciated your willingness to do that without much notice.”

Or it could be an email that says, “Marci, Thanks for helping to get the project plan updated and sent out to the team before the end of the day today. I know that wasn’t what you had planned to spend time on. And I am grateful for your willingness to refocus on it.”

And you could say to your teenager, “Sam, Thanks for taking your little sister to her swimming lessons. I know you had planned to play games online with your friends. But your willingness to help me so I could continue working was so helpful.”

What if you said “thank you” to three people a day? You would be training yourself to find and recognize the good things your team or family members are doing. And you would be encouraging the behaviors that you want repeated.

It also makes you unique. Very few people say thank you consistently.

#thankyou #gratitude #recognition #rewards #humanresources