“Employees don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.” You have probably heard this phrase before. Conversely, this means that good bosses are rarely abandoned by their employees.
Having clarified this, we ask ourselves, what makes a good boss? Good bosses know how to motivate their employees, delegate the right tasks to the right department and give adequate feedback. But first and foremost, we perceive someone as a good supervisor who sees and acknowledges our performance.
From childhood on being seen is one of our basic psychological needs. When this need is rarely or little fulfilled, we feel bad and worthless.
Sheldon Yellen, CEO of BELFOR Holdings, knows how to make his employees feel valued: Yellen handwrites 9,200 birthday cards a year to express gratitude to his employees. By doing so he makes sure his employees work more productively, like their jobs, and feel valued. The man, who is said to carry a suitcase full of stationery wherever he travels, states: “Focusing only on profit and forgetting that a company’s most important asset is its people will ultimately stifle a company’s growth.”
If you follow his example and make it a habit to sincerely thank the people working with you, you will be able to create a gratitude environment in your workspace. Don’t wait for great performances to applaud. You must develop an eye for the small gestures to be grateful for.
Show your appreciation to your employees and colleagues and send a ThankU
Make it your task to find at least five things per day to be thankful for and point them out to the people around you. So don’t just say “thank you” passing by or while you are staring at your monitor. Pause whatever you are doing, look the other person in the eyes and tell them a sincere thank-you. Of course, there is also nothing wrong with carrying your own suitcase of stationery with you and writing a personal thank-you note every once in a while. These messages will be kept and remembered for a long time.
If you make it your goal to cultivate a gratitude mindset and start being thankful, you will become happier, healthier and more appreciative, because you start focusing on positive things. When you see good work, verbalize it, show your gratitude. Your employees will be twice as happy to work for you.
Your growing appreciation of people around you will naturally result in you also being held in higher esteem by others. It is a give-and-take: You will be appreciated for being thankful, attentive and approachable. By becoming a company growing on a gratitude mindset, you will be able to build a strong relationship with your customers just the same way. According to a survey published by “Forbes” customers attach great importance to companies that make it their business to show gratitude: “More than three-quarters of consumers surveyed (77%) said they are more likely to be loyal to a brand that expresses gratitude”.
Just like you and everyone else, customers like to be acknowledged and valued, they do not want to feel random or replaceable. The more thankful they perceive you, the less they are likely to leave.
Creating this magnetic gratitude environment around you will let all parties involved benefit from it: Your clients will know their business really matters to your company as they see you are making an effort to create a good customer-company relationship. Your employees and co-workers will know their work is valued and will therefore find joy and motivation in their job. Last but not least, you will be happy with yourself because you will have learned to focus on positive things, which will benefit your health and general well-being.
Show your appreciation to your customers and send a ThankU
