Thank You: The Phrase That Too Many Managers Forget

By Arron Grow

If you search the phrase, "The Power of Thank You" on the Internet, you will find a number of articles on the topic of using Thank You. Aside from the interesting note that so many choose the same title to write about this topic, what's amazing to me is how often this common sense strategy (and I really hate to call it that) is not so commonly practiced. How do I know this? Aside from the number of articles on the topic, I have some personal experience in the area as well.

I regularly teach on the topic of influence through effective communication. I ask participants how many recall the last time they received a thank you for a specific something they had done on the job. Sadly, it's not uncommon that only 10 to 20 percent of those in the audience can recall this ever happening. That's just not right.

There are some managers, bad managers, who will openly say that employees don't need thanks - that their pay is their thanks. While its true that people work for wages, this doesn't mean that pay alone is the only thing managers should think to give. It is faulty thinking to believe that pay alone is sufficient. People take a job for the pay, they stay with the job for other reasons. Do you know the most common reason people leave a job? It's not the money. Not the job itself. Can you guess? Do the research. You will fine the most common reason cited for people quitting their job is because of a bad boss or immediate supervisor. Not paying heed to the personal-level matters, in all its many forms is the number 1 reason people leave their work. Can use of a simple thank you every now and then make the difference? Common sense says yes.

Now that we've established that you really SHOULD use thank you more than you probably do now, here are three tips to make your use of thank you more meaningful.

Specific

Just as more specific direction in job training will yield more accurate work, more specific compliments will have more meaning as well. As an example, which is likely to have a greater meaning, 'Nice job on the Robertson project' or 'Your attention to detail and completing the work ahead of schedule was noticed by several individuals in the executive office. Your work on this project reflects the best of the team and the company. Thank you for this exemplary effort.' Being specific in your thanks carries more weight.

Time Sensitive

What happens when you leave baked goods out for several days? Does it stay nice and fresh, or does it start to get a bit stale? We all know the answer to this. Baked goods left out gets stale. Similarly, a show of appreciation left unsaid too long can come across as somewhat stale also. Granted, the thank you will be better said than not regardless of how slow it is in coming. Still, logic alone should make it clear that the closer your thank you is to the event, the more sincerely your thanks will be received.

Hand-Written

In this, our digital age, its relatively easy to write and send a short message to almost anyone, anytime. While the message sent by email is well-intentioned, the very ease and speed with which this can be done via email lessens its impact. To counter this effect, write your thank you note by hand. I know from personal experience that messages written by hand have a greater impact. I know this because in the many office, and factory visits I've experienced, the ONLY thank you notes I have ever seen posted on employee walls are those that were hand written. Whenever possible, I will ask about thank you notes I see displayed. I will never forget the most poignant experience I had with this. The employee was an auto mechanic, probably in his mid 40s. The thank you note i saw was held by a magnet which pinned it to his tall rolling tool cabinet. I couldn't read what was inside. I just noticed that the outside said, "Thank You" in large letters - a pre-printed exterior. I asked about it. The mechanic stopped his work, stepped out from under the hood and said with a combination of pride and melancholy. "I was given that card by the first boss I had over 20 years ago. I had stayed late to finish the car for this one guy. I had no idea who the guy was, just that the guy was really hoping to have the car for the weekend, so I stayed late on a Thursday to make it possible." Turns out the guy was the owner of a local trucking company. My extra work led to my boss's shop getting a maintenance contract for the guy's fleet, and I got this thank you card." I replied how cool that was that his work had led to such a great win for the shop back then. His response to this was most sobering. He said, "I've never stopped going above and beyond for every customer I've ever served. So far, my boss back then seems to be the only one to have ever noticed."

As delighted as I am that my mechanic's first boss recognized the value of my his service, I'm saddened how 20 years can go by and this hard-working employee has yet to receive this simple recognition again. There are reasons why hand-written thank you notes get displayed. First, the fact that they are hand-written tends to suggest they are sincere messages. Second, (and sadly) a note of thanks seems to be so rare, that to receive one does indeed call for a public display. If you think saying thank you doesn't mean much, I strongly suggest you think again. For the good of your team members and for your organization, start saying thank you more often.

Arron Grow is the author of How to Not Suck as a Manager and Dean of Workplace Sanity Education for Workplace Sanity Group. Learn how to be a better team leader or give others this vital information. Get your copy of How to Not Suck as a Manager today.