Putting ‘Thanks’ to Work for Your Team

I have an awesome team. We work hard and spend a lot of time together, and it always feels good when I can give them a “shout-out” for their achievements. I’m especially reminded of this as Thanksgiving rolls around. We will all gather around the table next week to give thanks for family, friends and health, but I think we should also remember to express our gratitude to the colleagues who make work life a little easier.

As managers, we might not always be able to reward our teams and colleagues with raises, bonuses or glamorous two-week cruises to tropical paradises. Luckily, there are some things we can do to show them our appreciation.

• 
  
• Establish a new award specifically for your team. Announce the winner at a monthly meeting and create some excitement by attaching an incentive if you can, such as a gift card for coffee or lunch. Another fun option is to create a “tardy pass” that the winner can use to sleep in on a Monday or sneak out early on a Friday. Use cardstock or specialty paper to make it look “official” and worthy of displaying in their workspace, like the above sample that I created with Design & Print Center.
• 
  
• Send a letter or e-mail to your boss detailing your co-worker’s achievements. Whether you highlight the work of a peer or a direct report, telling the “big boss” instills a special sense of pride and gives an added boost of confidence. Your note will also be valuable for everyone to have on hand during performance evaluation time.
• 
  
• If you have the opportunity to celebrate an accomplishment over lunch or after hours, make sure to capture a picture of your team out of the work environment. Use the image as a focal point for a mug or mouse pad. It’s a small – and useful – way to make the recognition more permanent, and it serves as a nice reminder of what the end result of those long hours looks like.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•