You are surrounding yourself with an amazing team that wants to do everything they can to help you achieve your dream of total boss success! They are your guest bloggers, your virtual assistants, vendors, sponsors, mentors, biz besties, and dozens of other people that are supporting you in chasing your dreams. They help you build content, inspire you to deliver great service or a great product, and sometimes even inspire you to be a better version of yourself. You really appreciate them (like so much), but you aren’t sure how to show them.
Sometimes it’s the simple things that can mean so much, and other times you really want to make a grand gesture to show them the love! Recognition should be personal and whenever possible tailored to the individual. However, in my time as an HR Pro I have learned a few recognition activities that are universally appreciated.
- Write a handwritten note and send it in the mail- So old-fashioned, but who doesn’t love getting mail! A personal note with specifics about how they are helping you achieve business goals or grow as a person can mean just as much as any monetized recognition.
- A quick call to say “thank you”- So often, when you are working with an online team you rarely connect with your team in person. The next best thing to seeing someone face-to-face is a phone call. Share your genuine appreciation by phone and let them actually hear how they have impacted you or your business!
- Give them a shout out on social media You might already be doing something like this, but consider personalizing it in a big way with an image made just for the person you want to recognize or even better a live video or instagram story.
- Offer more work/ responsibility- Many people feel appreciated by the opportunity by the opportunity to kick butt at a challenging work assignment. If you have someone who is amazing on your team that has really delivered consider delegating something you might normally handle yourself! Just make sure to thank them for their work!
- Offer to promote their services, products or other work- not in exchange for money or product, but because they are awesome and deserve to be recognized.
- Send a small gift- it doesn’t have to be anything expensive. I worked with a realtor once that sent a small box of chocolate covered strawberries to the person that referred me. A small, but thoughtful gift with a personal note meant a lot to my friend. Other ideas might be to send flowers, a small Starbucks gift card, or some type of personalized gift. If you really want to do something awesome send something from another small business like this amazing tee from my girl Sarah at SWEETEES!
A couple of key things to remember when you are recognizing your team…
- Be personal and sincere
- Tie the recognition back to a business success when possible and be specific
- Share your gratitude quickly after the tasks or event has happened
- Recognize even small successes
- Keep it positive (no but’s)- skip saying “you are awesome, but…”
You might be a small company now, but it’s never too early to start thinking about your employer brand and company culture. What are some creative ways you have recognized your team (online or in real life)? When you have been part of someone’s success how do you like to be recognized?
Note: I received no incentive financial or otherwise for promoting this amazing t-shirt from SWEETEES. Sarah is a personal friend and an amazing mamapreneur that I wanted to give a shout out to! (see what I did there) You can see more of her oh so smart and unique work at www.sweetees,us
Kirstie says
I love the idea of sharing a video with a story about how a team member helped your life – this is such a unique spin on gratitude! It really is the little everyday acknowledgements that give the biggest boost to morale. Great article!
TwoLittleRippers says
Thanks so much! The most important part of recognition is keeping it personal!
Katrina says
This is great! I feel too often we get caught up in trying to make our own blog or personal business a success we forget to value everyone who has helped get us there.
Practicing gratitude is also good for own personal well being.
Great tips!
TwoLittleRippers says
Thanks! It’s easy to get caught up in our own goals, but they are pretty difficult to accomplish without an amazing team around us! And you are so right! It feels good to be good to others!