As the owners of the business, my husband Bob and I wanted to take this opportunity to give Recognition and show Appreciation to our wonderful team without whom we would be … well … very small and ineffective.
So we went online looking for ways that we could celebrate the heart of our company … our staff. Wow, our eyes were opened by the sheer quantity of ways to say “thank you to them.” Here are a sampling of ones we felt could and should be on the agenda of any practice owner on a routine basis:
20 Ways to Recognize or Award Your Staff:
1. A sincere word of thanks costs nothing and is very effective.
2. Post a thank you note on their door in their honour.
3. Invite them to a one-on-one lunch.
4. Give them a Thank You card with a Starbucks or Tim card inside.
5. Arrange to have their car washed.
6. Feature them in the monthly email newsletter sent to all patients.
7. Feature them on the practice’s Facebook page.
8. Have the entire team honour them with a standing ovation at the start of the next staff meeting.
9. At the monthly staff meeting, award an Employee of the Month.
10. Bring in a box of donuts and make it known this is in celebration of a specific staff member who went above and beyond the call of duty, or maybe it was the whole team that did accomplish something special.
11. A letter of thanks that is posted on the staff bulletin board.
12. Celebrate birthdays with a cake and a card.
13. Find out the person’s hobby and buy an appropriate gift.
14. Once a year, have a “staff Appreciation Day” where you supply, cook and serve food.
15. Send flowers to an employee at their home as a thank you.
16. Give a personalized coffee cup.
17. Give a deserving employee a mug filled with treats.
18. Make and deliver a fruit basket.
19. Inscribe a favourite book as a gift.
20. Call an employee to your office to thank them (don’t discuss any other issue).
For a million more ideas, go to the internet and shop – there is no shortage of ways to say thank you!
Have fun with this!
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