7 ways to increase the impact of your messages of appreciation

Consider this scenario: A member of your staff has done her job well, and you feel she should be thanked. You want to express your appreciation in a way that will have the greatest impact. This article describes seven ways to deliver the same message of appreciation, each of which will have progressively more impact than the previous technique.

While it’s admirable to tell her, in public or private, how much you appreciate what she did, you could increase the impact of your message by:

1. Putting it in writing. Spoken words of appreciation are frequently appropriate, but they don’t have the permanency of words on paper. Staff often file and reread written expressions of gratitude. These words may help her get through a day that isn’t going so well. While a letter composed on a computer, then printed and signed looks good, you can increase the impact of your messages by:

2. Handwriting a thank-you note. Your message will seem more personal. A handwritten note cannot be delegated. It demonstrates that you cared enough to find time to express your gratitude. While delivering your thank-you card to the staff member via inter-office mail is not too shabby, you could increase the impact of your message by:

3. Delivering it to her personally. Co-workers may witness your gesture of appreciation. They may ask her what she did. This provides her with the opportunity to make her recognition as public or private as she wishes. She may describe what she did in detail, or simply respond that the boss was pleased with something she did. While keeping the recognition in the workplace is dandy, you could increase the impact of your message by:

4. Mailing your thank-you note to the recipient’s home. In addition to her receiving your words of appreciation, her family will notice your envelope among all the bills and flyers, and will be curious. There will be questions when she gets home. Why did she get a note from the boss? What did she do to warrant such a gesture? She will have an opportunity to share her story of on-the-job success with her family. While you could run the envelope through the postage meter at the office, you could increase the impact of your message by:

5. Using real stamps. This makes your message stand out from other envelopes with their machine-generated postage. It seems less “corporate” and more personal. While you could use regular-issue stamps that people buy in roles of 100 at the post office or discounted at Costco, you could increase the impact of your message by:

6. Using commemorative stamps that the post office issues to celebrate special occasions, events or achievements. These stamps are likely to catch the attention of the recipient. They are usually larger, more colourful and have unique designs. While a commemorative stamp will catch the eye of the recipient and others, you could increase the impact of your message by:

7. Selecting commemorative stamps that reflect the uniqueness of the recipient. This shows you know something about the recipient as an individual. Recent issues have been illustrated with Franklin the Turtle (ideal for an employee with young children), NHL and CFL teams (for sports fans), John A. Macdonald and Nelson Mandela (for history buffs), and Chinese New Year (for staff with a Chinese heritage—or those who just love dim sum).

The best way to maintain the impact of recognition is by varying how you recognize staff. Use each of these techniques at different times. Sometimes, just speak with the staff member. Others times, send a computer-generated letter via inter-office mail. Occasionally, handwrite a note, affix a special postage stamp, and mail it to the deserving employee’s home. Using different techniques creates more impact than employing the same approach time after time.