How can you show gratitude to your colleagues?

One of the biggest things we all overlook is the power of verbal affirmation and recognition. A quick phone call or email to a colleague affirming and thanking them for their support or insight goes a long way. Many of us who have worked at large corporations and firms can attest to how scarce positive feedback and affirmation can be. Even a little positive communication can be extremely impactful. The bar is basically on the ground with the standard being “thanks.”. Let’s do better!

For all leaders and people managers: Dare to go beyond the simple 'Thanks alot Buddy' to express gratitude. Instead, do this… Talk about that teammate’s greatness in rooms filled with opportunity! In your next All-hands or Leaders meeting, talk about how impressed you are by that teammate and tell all the leaders why! Your advocacy is one of the most powerful gifts you can give to a teammate. One that will not only raise their spirits but their entire life-long career!

From my experience as an HR consultant, what works best when it comes to showing gratitude to colleagues is authenticity. People can easily recognize when gratitude is genuine, and it has a more significant impact when it comes from the heart. Sincere thank-you notes, honest appreciation in team meetings, and spontaneous acts of kindness tend to resonate the most. Remember, it's not just about the actions themselves but the sentiment behind them. Colleagues appreciate gestures that show you truly value their contributions and care about their well-being. So, while there are many ways to express gratitude, authenticity should be at the core of each one.

Using the employee thank-you notes that are written by hand. The secret is to write them by hand. Any thank-you note would be appreciated, of course, but a handwritten note will stick out in their memory the most. It demonstrates your genuine concern for the receiver by going above and above to make them feel valued.

Nobody likes to feel used or overworked without any real incentive, but it’s very important to not only acknowledge your colleagues great work but to think thank them for their efforts and achievements so far. When you thank your colleagues, they will feel loved, valued and appreciated which will likely lead to your colleague staying in the organisation for the foreseeable future. The best way to retain your talent in an organisation is to nurture them, and this all starts from gratification.

President Reagan had a plaque on his desk in the oval office that stated, “There's no limit to what one can do or where one can go if they don’t mind who gets the credit.”

Offer Assistance and Support: Be willing to lend a helping hand to your colleagues when they need it. Offering assistance can alleviate their workload, demonstrate your support, and strengthen your bond. Show Empathy and Understanding: Acknowledge and empathize with your colleagues' challenges and struggles. Offer support, encouragement, and a listening ear to demonstrate your care and concern. Share Positive Feedback: Provide constructive feedback to your colleagues, but also make sure to share positive feedback regularly. Let them know when you appreciate their work, their ideas, or their contributions to the team. Celebrate Holidays and Milestones: Recognize personal milestones, such as birthdays, work anniversaries.

Share the recognition with the colleague’s supervisor. Put it in writing so it can be referred to at performance review time!

It is really important to take time to celebrate individual and team sucess. From experience, it helps ensure that everyone feels seen, they know that their contribution is valued and that they have their place in the organisation. This is especially Important in organisations with diverse and varied skills and deliverables. Taking time to say thank you and recognise the contributions of colleagues is important.

This is very important advice. There may not be an 'I' in the word 'Team', but there is a 'me'! Everyone appreciates a bit of recognition for their individual efforts. And a little recognition goes a long, loonnngg way!!!

To show and prove they have your back, ask how you can help them. It could be through coaching, an introduction, help them work out a solution to a challenge. Embody the ethic you seek in them.

One thing I've find helpful is that employees find helpful if their reporting manager pays attention to their subordinate's career path. While we are supposed to own our career as a working professional, reporting managers who play their part and involvement to help their subordinate in their career progression sees longer engagement and retention rate of the employee in the organisation. While we may not have the best visibilities to the next role / rank ahead, managers who proactively discuss with their employees on their career plan helps to keep employees motivated and focus on the mission ahead. This type of "help" is much appreciated by employees who wants support from their manager to succeed in the organisation!

Just ask, "How can I help?" when someone is sharing a challenge! If you offer assistance vs. providing unsolicited advice, you're letting them tell you what will make the most difference to them, whether it's clearing an organizational roadblock, providing direction, or just being a sounding board.

Offering help can be a powerful way to build bridges and create foundational bonds with your colleagues. But words matter. Asking "can I help?" can imply that they're lacking in something (knowledge, time management, effort, etc.). Asking, "can I be helpful" or "how can I be helpful" more accurately frames positive intention and provides them with the agency to decide for themselves just how you can help.

It’s not a matter of whether your colleague accepts your help. It’s just that you offered it to them. They will remember the gesture and may ask for your help in the future. Don’t be a nag and keep asking. Some people are very independent and they like to do things on their own. Or they could see getting help as a sign of weakness. Or they might feel like doing work themselves gives them job security. Remember don’t be a nag! 😂

In my experience at work as a HRBP, one of the quick wins is to celebrate work anniversary of the employees. It creates a simple gesture that we value the employee for their hardwork and contribution towards the company and help to to have a sense of belonging and achievement in the organisation! Not only that, I used the work anniversary dates to remind their line manager to appreciate their subordinate on their work anniversary day! It is a way for managers/Head of department to give informal recognition to employees and encouragement to them as they give their best to the organisation!

It is more about recognize than celebrating. When you acknowledge a milestone, you are showing to your colleague that they matter for you. Sending a message or giving a call that is personalized is a simple gesture and a great way to demonstrate that you care.

When celebrating milestones, you should identify the small and big milestones, when should it be celebrated in your work plan and celebrate them. An easiest way to identify them is to incorporate it into your project schedule such as a gantt chart, to know when you have achieved the small and big wins in your projects. The small wins or milestones can be celebrated with a simple lunch or early knock off time from work and when each project have been completed, a big celebration can take place such as a quick holiday to a neighbouring country or state or a department outing to a tourist attraction, depending on the contribution of the project to the company.

Breaking down the bigger goals into smaller milestones can be effective in managing performance and help identify the training needs of the organization. Coming back to the point of recognizing and appreciating those little steps can make a difference between the success and failure of the whole team or even the organization.

People deserve larger rewards when they go well above and beyond what is expected of them. In these cases, the way to give them most value is according to their Hierarchy of Individual Life Priorities (HILP). If you don't know them well enough to work out what will mean the most to someone, take the time to chat to the people who do know. We all play in different "currencies" according to what is most important to us at a specific time in our lives.

Who doesn’t enjoy positive feedback? Yes it’s important to give constructive feedback or to correct behaviors, but I believe positive feedback is missing in the workplace these days. I’m not talking about my managers. In HR we know how to give each other positive feedback. I’m talking about the people HR supports. Would it be so hard to say thank you? Or to write a thank you note and copy the person’s boss? Most people in TA feel neglected even though they are one of the most important parts of a company. If we don’t hire amazing people for you, what’s left of your company? I can feel my TA colleagues shaking their heads right about now.

This reminds me of Brene Brown's comment, "Clear is kind." Don't sugarcoat your feedback. Make it clear, direct and timely. Don't wait until year end performance reviews to tell your team or colleague what is going well and what isn't. I've had so many conversations with clients who were shocked by their year-end feedback and had no idea they weren't meeting expectations or the way their peers thought of them. Don't wait! Share feedback quickly, honestly and thoughtfully. Year-end is not just for feedback; feedback is all year-round.

Positive feedback helps people feel confident, which lets them do better jobs. It motivates them and keeps them engaged all the time

The best way of giving feedback is still following the "radical candor" framework. - Care Personally: Radical candor leaders genuinely care about the people they work with. They want to help them succeed and grow. - Speak the Truth Brutally: Radical candor leaders are able to tell the truth, even when it's uncomfortable. They do this because they believe that the truth is important, and that it can help people improve. - Challenge Directly: Radical candor leaders are willing to challenge people directly when they need it. They do this because they care about their people and want them to be the best they can be.

One thing I've learned and found especially useful is giving one very specific piece of feedback to someone. Rather than a summary of points and being too broad on any topic or area. This is in the form one suggestion to help further sharpen, improve or develop on the relevant area. This form of feedback is actually practical and useful for them. It doesn't overwhelm and can show genuine care and respect by being precise and believing that person can be even better.

O respeito é a chave para uma boa relação com as pessoas em geral. Use a regra de ouro: não trate os outros diferente do quanto gostaria ser tratado! En: Respect is the key to a good relationship with people in general. Use the golden rule: Do not treat others differently than you would like to be treated!

Treating everyone with the utmost levels of respect and dignity are basic core values. In order for folx to feel as though they belong, that they matter and that you care about them as human beings you must always treat folx with respect. And when we don't, because we are human and make mistakes, we immediately take responsibility, own it, and make necessary adjustments and changes.

By having a regular catch up with them. Just like what we do with our superordinate or subordinate, usually we have a regular meeting like a weekly 1 on 1, or something like that. We can do so with our peers, colleagues, or anyone in the organization to show our gratitude with them. It can be on weekly basis, monthly basis, or else. By doing so, we can regularly catch up with them to brainstorm, share story, ask for their feedback, etc. Especially if we or they are a leader. Because "being Leader is a lonely place", we both need a safe space to share our thought. And usually this can be done by having regular conversation with our trusted peers/colleagues.

My old dad used to say “catch people doing something right”. I think that this remain a great way of reinforcing the actions/behaviours you (as a leader) want to see. It can be used to reinforce or change the culture around us. To me it’s also a reminder that the better leaders & managers are ‘out there’ with their teams so that they do actually hear & see these things to reinforce. And yes, a thank you works a treat as well.

For me, the 3 simple words are always the key: Always say THANK YOU for any support and help you receive from others Don't forget to say PLEASE if you about to request help and support from others Don't be ashamed to admit your mistakes by saying SORRY, though it might be not fully your mistake but for me when you say sorry it helps to tone down the negative energy that might increase when problems happen. and be honest, don't just say it but make sure you really mean it. People will see it as gratitude and they feel that we respect them.

Comme toujours, la clé est la communication. Savoir dire les bonnes choses, à la bonne personne, au bon moment et de la bonne manière. Ce n'est pas simple même lorsqu'il s'agit de messages positifs. L'idéal est de connaître suffisamment la personne à qui on souhaite donner de la reconnaissance pour utiliser le canal de communication qui lui procurera le plus de satisfaction (nous ne sommes pas tous sensibles aux mêmes marques de reconnaissance et ne nous représentons pas les mêmes "choses" derrière le mot reconnaissance).

Remember that expressing gratitude should be genuine and consistent. Appreciating your team members regularly is essential, not just on special occasions or when you need something from them.