Industries that heavily rely on customer retention should train hires to say “thank you” to visitors. Whether they purchase an item or not, they must be acknowledged for paying a visit. Thank you is a sign of gratitude, one that may not be exercised often enough in the workplace, according to Monster UK. The job board’s survey found that staff members and supervisors alike are failing to utter these words, which makes more than half of them feel unappreciated.
As About.com contributor Susan Heathfield noted, “every day should be Thanksgiving Day. Employee recognition doesn’t have to be expensive and is appreciated by employees in almost any form.”
Managers who recognize workers who put in extra time, produce a large number of sales or complete assignments outside of their job description are feeling the pressure, so saying thank you can make their day. In Monster’s survey, 63 percent of respondents said that a verbal thank you is more valuable than a pay raise. If employers are trying to improve the bottom line, they should say thank you more often.
“Saying thank you is the type of small change that can have a big impact in the workplace,” Andrew Sumner, Managing Director of Monster.co.uk said in the news release. “Managers may be seeing the value in saying thanks, but struggling to communicate it in a clear way to their staff.”
Unsure on how to find opportunities to say thank you to employees? Leverage HR software solutions to see when a work anniversary is coming up, or use them to congratulate an individual’s recent promotion. Managers can also leave positive notes on a person’s file, which can lead to future bonuses or salary increases, Heathfield explained.
There are multiple ways to say thank you, but it is important to be able say it on a consistent basis before considering creative alternatives to say the same thing.
“Make saying thank you a common practice, not a scarce resource, in your organization,” she wrote.
Why should human resources and executives make room to say thank you? This gesture is a simple way to nurture the company’s human capital. Turnover can be extremely costly to an organization, so it is important to keep workers feeling welcome and appreciated. Employees who enjoy where they work will more likely go above and beyond their day-to-day tasks and have plans to grow with the business.