Don't Leave Your Manners At The Door

Think about how long and hard most parents work on teaching their children manners.
 
In fact, some children as young as 18 months can already say a form “please” and “thank you”.
 
Because good manners are considered an important life skill, integral to being a functioning member of society.
 
Yet sometimes the manners that parents worked so hard to instill, get left at the door when it comes to work.
 
For example, have you ever given a project at work your all, yet not received any recognition at all, not even a quick thank you?
 
𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠, 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙤𝙣-𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣?
 
It doesn’t feel nice, and it won’t engage or motivate employees to go above and beyond again, and certainly if it happens more than once.
 

• Because recognition is a critical components to employee engagement.

 
So, if there’s one thing you can do today to engage your employees, it’s to thank them for something recently well done.
 
Do it either by email or by calling.
 
𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡, 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮’𝙨 𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙣𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙, 𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙖 𝙗𝙤𝙭 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚 “𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙔𝙤𝙪” 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙-𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙩.
 
So, for today, send an email, or call them.
 
But once you have those Thank You cards to hand, use them often, and make it a habit going forward (just ensure you don’t over-do it to the point of meaninglessness).
 
Remember that no matter what form it takes, your “Thank You” needs to:
 
✅ Be specific
✅ Talk about the difference they made
✅ Tell them as close to the event as possible
 
Coming from a manager, and especially the CEO, engagement levels will soar.
 
And engaged employees stay longer, are absent less, are more productive, and provide better customer service.
 
In addition, they become your brand ambassadors, making you an employer of choice, where great candidates want to come and work.
 
So, let’s stop leaving them at the door, and putting those long-ago-learned manners to work in the workplace.