October 1996 € Volume 6 € Number 10

A Simple Thank You Can Go A Long Way Towards Employee Productivity

By Jan Young, CFPIM

"Jerry, I noticed that you picked more orders than usual yesterday. Thanks a lot."

How often do our employees hear words like this? How often do we recognize superior performance and reward it with even a simple thank you?

Opportunity to motivate
For many supervisors and many managers in many businesses, the answer is easy: almost never. Yet when we fail to recognize superior performance, we are missing an important opportunity to motivate our people and achieve better overall performance for our department and division. People really like to be thanked, and they really warm up to the fact that the boss noticed.

The need to recognize superior performance isn't anything new, nor is it a new management discovery&emdash;no new buzzwords here. Psychologists, educators and church people have preached its virtues since time began. But all too often, in the rush to get things done, we forget.

Corporate programs have been developed to publicly recognize superior performance. Cash bonuses, preferred parking spaces and an announcement on the bulletin board are all yours if you are chosen as the employee of the month. These programs have their place, but can't really compare to the simple and private thank you when received from a respected superior, even in passing.

Gushing costs nothing
Some people are hesitant to thank others, for fear of sounding gushy or weak. Isn't a paycheck adequate thanks? The answer is a resounding NO. Paychecks, corporate recognition programs and computerized thank yous are mechanical and impersonal. Nothing beats the face-to-face personal touch. In fact, the supervisor who goes overboard achieves far more than a supervisor who understates by an equal amount. Go ahead and gush. Make the employee blush with pleasure. What does it cost and what harm can it do?

"Jerry, I noticed that you picked more orders than usual yesterday. Thanks a lot. I hope you understand how important is to me that our official measurements come out right and the work you did yesterday was on target. I really appreciate it when you have a good day."

Private praise is best
Other people think that thanks and praise has to be done publicly to be effective. It's true that public praise is a powerful motivator, but it requires singling out one person or a small group of people for praise and the effect on the people who aren't chosen is questionable. Publicly praising or thanking everyone in a large group is about as effective as mailing them a letter because the personal, face-to-face element is missing.

So, as your mother probably taught you, it's good manners and also very effective management to make a habit of thanking people frequently and informally. If you get into the habit, it is very easy to do and can significantly improve everyone's performance on the job.

Oh, by the way ... thanks for reading this.