If you think a simple thank you has a place in your Total Rewards strategy its time to get real. Let’s get one thing straight, we don’t disagree with the thought. We applaud the concept and think people should say ‘thank you’ more often (the same by the way can be said of ‘please’ and ‘excuse me’). We just think that ‘thank you(s)’ like any other corporate asset can be better managed.
Your best managers are by no means bad people. In fact good managers usually have high emotional IQs. They are sensitive, empathetic and don’t intentionally forget their manners. But like any other over-worked, hyper-active, multi-tasking executive they can often forget to show their appreciation in meaningful ways. The simple ‘thank you’ has a lousy track record for on-time delivery.
Platforms that help managers publicly acknowledge desired behavior and promote “best practices” while also creating role models improve on the simple ‘thank you’ don’t you think? Automation will never replace the human touch. It can however make a simple ‘thank you’ more meaningful and as a result more valuable to everyone involved.
Relying on a simple ‘thank you’ is not naive. Expecting ‘thank you(s)’ to be doled out in a timely and consistent manner may be however. There are effective ways to supplement the verbal ‘thank you’. We see more and more companies giving managers small discretionary budgets that are passed on to employees in the form of animated e-thank you messages with links to point totals. Colleagues are usually copied in. Not only does the tool make the ‘thank you’ process more effective and efficient it also gives management a mechanism to track and diagnosis ‘thank you’ activity.
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