Writing Thank You Notes, Letters, and Messages

 

It’s that time again to put pen to paper and consider writing appreciation letters from “boss to employee”. Sound old school? It is! At gThankYou, we are believers that some traditions are worth holding onto, and the Thanksgiving letter is well worth the effort.

What’s a Thanksgiving letter to employees?

Thanksgiving letters express true gratitude to the people who make your business work every day. The best letters have a heartfelt tone and offer specific examples of why the organization and leadership are grateful for the individuals who show up, do the work, bring innovation, stretch the boundaries, and keep the lights on. No matter the size of the organization, there should be a leader who can take the time to write a personal “Thank you” to their teams.

(more…)

Thanksgiving is coming quickly, and it is the perfect time to write a thank you letter to employees and share your heartfelt appreciation for all they do for you and your business.

If you are new to writing business thank you notes or need a little inspiration, gThankYou’s eBook “Put the ‘Thanks’ in Thanksgiving: How to Write a Thanksgiving Letter to Employees” is here to guide and inspire you.

Thanking employees any time of the year is one of the best ways to engage employees and motivate them to do excellent work. But at Thanksgiving, your thanks takes on added meaning. Gratitude at Thanksgiving is more personal; it lets your employees know you value them as people. You’re honoring the all-American holiday when we celebrate and share our gratitude with family and friends.
(more…)

Your organization flourishes and grows thanks to the commitment, creativity, and, most of all, hard work of loyal team members – do they know that???

Two BIG words — “thank you” — make a world of difference in the workplace. Study after study shows employees work harder, work smarter, and are retained longer when they feel appreciated.

(more…)

Learning how to write a Thanksgiving letter to employees can be a transformative experience — for you, your staff and your company.
Take it from Brian Buffini, founder and chairman of the real estate training and coaching firm Buffini & Company.
In a recent column for Entrepreneur, Buffini writes about why sharing Thank You notes “should be as automatic as brushing your teeth.”
Buffini got the idea early in his career to write 10 notes a day to people he’d recently met, to business contacts and friends, or simply to those who came to mind. (more…)

Thanksgiving is this week — and you can still “put the Thanks in Thanksgiving” in time to delight your employees and workplace!
For Thanksgiving, and for the rest of the holiday season, gratitude is the best gift company leaders can give employees.
Learn how to express your gratitude to employees with gThankYou’s free eBook, “Put the Thanks in Thanksgiving: How to Write a Thanksgiving Letter to Employees.”
This free how-to guide has step-by-step instructions on writing a memorable, meaningful holiday letter, as well as tips and real-life examples to inspire you.
Whether you’re composing a company-wide email, handwriting Thank You notes, preparing a speech, or just want to say “Thank You” more effectively in person — this is the eBook for you!

What Employees Really Want

Genuine, clearly expressed gratitude from leadership is what really “puts the Thanks in Thanksgiving” — and it’s what employees want.

(more…)

Learn to write a Thanksgiving message to employees without the same old clichés and platitudes — a Thank You letter that truly communicates your appreciation and embodies your unique company spirit!
gThankYou’s FREE eBook “Put the ‘Thanks’ in Thanksgiving” teaches how to do exactly that, with step-by-step instructions to guide you and lots of inspiring real-life examples.
With just a few weeks to go to Thanksgiving, now’s the time to craft a Thanksgiving message to employees to share in holiday cards or on your company intranet or website, or to share in person at the annual holiday party.
However you share it, the message it sends is important.
Showing gratitude to employees is finally getting the recognition it deserves as a tool for motivation and engagement.
Gratitude connects workers to the organization and its purpose. Gratitude lets them know why their hard work matters — and encourages them to keep it up. (more…)

It’s November, and that means the holiday season of gratitude is here! Seize the opportunity to honor and celebrate with your staff — write a Thanksgiving letter to employees this month.
Writing Thank You notes is a practice shared by many of the most successful CEOs in business, like Campbell Soup Company’s Doug Conant and Pepsi’s CEO Indra Nooyi.
But you don’t have to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company to write the kind of Thank You letter that employees tell their families about and remember for years to come.
We are excited to introduce our new eBook,  “Put the ‘Thanks’ in Thanksgiving: How to Write a Thanksgiving Letter to Employees”,  the perfect resource for inspiring your Thanksgiving letter to employees this holiday season. Download this FREE eBook for step-by-step tips and lessons from real-life examples from workplace leaders. (more…)

Our gratitude is what makes Thanksgiving special. Be sure you’re communicating your workplace gratitude clearly and in a memorable way. Every order of gThankYou! Certificates of Gratitude (for a whole turkey, turkey or ham, groceries and more) come with free customizable Enclosure Cards to share your personal message of thanks – holiday time or any time.  We’re excited to announce the addition of new designs to our selection of Autumn and Thanksgiving Thank You Cards for employees, customers and clients.
Catch your employees’ eyes with these beautiful cards. Each includes a thoughtful Thanksgiving greeting, gorgeous art and space for your personal message and even company logo if you wish. Cards are 3-inches high by 4-inches wide (3″ X 4″) and printed on high-quality card stock.
Don’t skip Thank You cards this Thanksgiving! They’re vital to building a strong workplace culture. Gratitude is transformative in the workplace. A thoughtful employee Thank You note actually motivates employees more than the prospect of a cash bonus or promotion. Make your gratitude shine this holiday season with gThankYou’s unique Thanksgiving Thank You cards for employees! (more…)

A thoughtful employee Thank You note motivates employees more than the prospect of a cash bonus or promotion, according to a recent study.
The study, from Appirio, underscores the importance of a boss’ appreciation to employees.
Of those surveyed, 60 percent said that when they’re considering a job offer, the most important factor is knowing whether management appreciates employees. By comparison, only 4 percent said they were most concerned with knowing how often a company evaluates employees for raises.
The majority of workers “value a human expression of appreciation for a job well done,” the study’s authors wrote. (more…)

It’s back to the future for employee Thank You notes! Even in the digital age, handwriting a Thank You note to employees is enjoying a comeback among HR professionals and business leaders.
“I think the art of the handwritten note is still powerful. I try to write at least a few each month to members of my team,” American Cancer Society CIO Jay Ferro writes in his recent Enterprisers Project article, “3 Powerful Ways to Praise Employee Progress.”
Regular, informal and low-cost employee recognition is on the rise, according to a survey at last month’s 2016 SHRM Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.
Employee Thank You notes fill the need for low-cost recognition — and they work. (more…)

A New Years thank you note lets employees, customers, and business partners know how much you value your relationships with them, and that you look forward to continuing to do business together.

It’s sometimes stressful figuring out what to say, but as Durham, N.C. Herald Sun columnist Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan says in “Write Those Thank You Notes,”

“The most important part of the thank you note is just doing it. I think they make thank you notes smaller than regular note cards because the thanker is struggling to fill that blank space. Now I see it pretty simply. Offer seasonal greetings. Say thank you. Finish up with a ‘Happy New Year’ and you’re all set.”

(more…)

Astronaut Neil Armstrong wrote one of the best employee thank-you notes of all time to the crew of engineers that made it possible for him to walk safely on the moon in 1969.
Mental Floss includes Armstrong’s letter in a list of “11 Amazing Thank You Notes From Famous People.”
The letter, addressed to the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) engineers, is an excellent example of how to thank coworkers or employees. Not only is Armstrong’s letter heartfelt and humorous, but he keeps it succinct.
Armstrong packs a lot into 113 words. See how he does it below, then read on for tips on writing your own employee thank you notes.
(more…)

What happens when a company adopts a culture of workplace gratitude? Opportunity for positive transformation starts popping up everywhere — and it only grows.

An uplifting story this week out of Canada highlights how lasting the transformative effects of workplace gratitude can be, even years after an employee leaves.
It also clues us in to the secrets of building lasting workplace gratitude.
(more…)

Workplace gratitude isn’t something you achieve or check off a to-do list. There’s never a moment when you can say, “Aha! We’ve got all the gratitude we need!” Given the right support, a workplace culture of gratitude is ever evolving and always growing stronger.
The question isn’t whether your company has or doesn’t have a culture of shared gratitude and appreciation. The question is: does your company consistently nurture the growth of such a culture?
That’s why it’s important to support employees to share gratitude every day. We’ve covered a lot of the day-to-day, longterm skill-building for workplace gratitude on this blog (see 7 Steps to a Culture of Gratitude, for example).
(more…)

The humble handwritten thank you note can boost your company’s bottom line, believe it or not.

A recent Forbes article by, founder and principal at Bersin by Deloitte, illustrates the point. His article, “New Research Unlocks the Secret of Employee Recognition,” cites his company’s comprehensive research project on employee recognition showing that organizations giving regular thanks to their employees far outperform those that don’t.
Companies scoring in the top 20% for building a “recognition-rich culture” actually had 31% lower voluntary turnover rates.
That makes sense to Geil Browning, founder of Emergenetics International. In an Inc. Magazine article,  “How to Thank Your Employees in Only 8 Words,” she writes: (more…)