Should your company send Thanksgiving cards this year?

The experts agree - sending business holiday cards improves customer perception of a company, increases the likelihood that a given customer will select your company over a non card-sending competitor and reduces the likelihood that your company will be seen as financially unstable, even in troubled economic times.

Okay, so we know that sending a business holiday card is good. Now the question is, what kind? A traditional company Christmas card with a wintery view? A modern Season's Greetings or Happy Holidays? Maybe a New Year's card with a calendar?

What about a Thanksgiving card?

A Thanksgiving card offers several advantages:

1) It gives your company a head start on competitors who send out their cards only in December

2) It allows you to sidestep the "which holiday" issue associated with the winter celebrations

3) The holiday naturally lends itself to expressing gratitude, which is a perfect message for customers and employees alike

4) You can still send company Christmas cards or other holiday cards in mid December, for a double-dose of contact and name recognition.

It's not too late to add a Thanksgiving card to your company's holiday marketing plan. And the results may leave you expressing thanks of your own.

You can't fake employee praise

You've read all about the latest cheap employee motivational techniques. You memorized the exact phrases that will spur your staff onto new and higher levels of productivity, reduce accidents and virtually eliminate absenteeism and turnover. You have the proper token in hand...a thank you pin, a gift card or whatever little doo-dad is supposed to convey your "gratitude for all their hard work."

There's only one problem...you don't mean a word of it! You are using a technique to try and manipulate your employees into working harder, complaining less or staying in jobs they may have outgrown. You know it's true. And you know what? Your employees know it, too.

Let's start over. If you really want to motivate your employees, there are a few things you need to do.

1) Really mean it.

Are you really grateful to your team members for the work they do? Or do you believe that they should be grateful to have jobs? Any jobs. If you're operating from the latter view, nothing you do will really inspire them. The change has to come from you. Start looking for the extra effort, the new ideas, the commitment to doing a job well, and make that your focus. Start with sincere thanks for those and you'll find your attitude....and your employees' performance changing together.

2) Find rewards that matter to employees.

Rewards don't have to be expensive to make a difference, but they do have to matter to your employees. Budget tight? Reward employees with some light-hearted fun, a cake for the team to share or an unexpected afternoon off (paid, of course!)

There are books filled with simple, inexpensive ideas for getting employees excited about work. Look through them, and find a few ideas that match your employees' interests and personalities. Those same little gifts or thank you cards that failed when they were being "used" may work wonders when they are given with sincerity!

3) Make recognition a team value.

Encourage your staff to pay attention to the good things each of them does, and to offer their own thanks. Use team building exercises to overcome competitiveness and build a solid, collaborative team.

4)Maintain open communication.

Keep the lines of communication open. A manager who swoops in once in awhile to hand out an award certificate will not have the impact of one who is present and accessible on a daily basis. Your presence allows you to see and act on the good things your employees are doing. And good communication is a motivator, too. Employees who feel heard perform better.

Motivating with humor...why a giggle may work better than a pat on the back

When you're trying to keep your employees motivated and engaged at work, but budgets are tight, consider the immortal words of Samuel J. Snodgrass, as he was about to be led to the guillotine, Make 'em laugh!

(Okay, so it was actually the late great Donald O'Connor in Singing in the Rain, but you get the message...)

The same message Snodgrass, via O'Connor directed towards actors and movie-makers applies to managers and supervisors. When times are tough and stress is high, when it comes to employee motivation, "Make 'em laugh!"

Example:

Someone has done a great job and you want to give them an award certificate. You could choose a standard "wow, you did an outstanding job certificate" Yawn. One more paper to file (or deep six.)

Or you could choose a ready-to-print certificate and have someone creative compose a funny award name and maybe a verse or limerick to convey your gratitude or admiration for what they've accomplished. THAT will make 'em laugh, AND get hung on the wall. Simple twist, big difference in the impact!

Another example

It's an employee anniversary or some other milestone, and you want to give them a small gift to let them know you appreciate their contribution. You could give them a pin or other token that proudly proclaims the number of years worked (does ANYONE actually wear those???)

Or, you could give them a pen that talks back to them, a silly desk toy or a Magic Eight Ball Desktop Advisor that will help with all those "tough decisions."

Which one will be used and looked at...the pin or the toy? Which one will actually motivate? It's simple...which one will Make 'em laugh??

It doesn't cost a lot to keep your employees happy. Just a giggle and a chuckle, a funny card, a silly toy -- and the sincere thank you behind it.

Motivating when the money isn't there

You'd love to giver your best employees a raise. They are pouring their hearts and souls into the company, working extra hours, skipping lunches. And you know they need the money, but for now, it's just not there to offer.

So how do you keep these employees motivated until the purse strings loosen up a bit? Study after study shows that being acknowledged and appreciated is one of the most powerful motivators an employee can offer. Knowing that the extra hours and extra effort are noticed and appreciated goes a long way towards keeping employees happy.

Here are a few ideas for letting employees know you see exactly what they do for your company. Some are cheap, some are inexpensive, and some are actually free!

1) Say thank you. A sincere, on-the-spot thank you in the midst of battling the stresses of the day can go a long way towards motivating an employee to work a little harder, try a little harder.

2) Put it in writing. Take that thank you, and write it in a thank you card and you will double the impact of your message. If the thank you is sincere, that card will go up on their wall, or travel home to be shared with family. Either way, your gratitude will make a big difference.

3) Make it personal. Today at work, I ws asked to create a personal message to go on an award certificate for someone who has been doing everything and more for her department. It came down to three, somewhat lighthearted lines that describe what she does. But when she gets that certificate in front of her teammates, she will feel the appreciation because the certificate's wording is personal. Not just good work -- the specifics make an ordinary award certificate truly meaningful.

4) Feed them. Whether it's lunch, a cappuccino at the corner coffee shop or a jar of candy for their desk, food is a great low-cost motivator. Give them a gift card in the thank you note, leave the candy jar on their desk with a note of thanks or give them an extra hour off one afternoon and prepay for a coffee or other treat. Little cost. Big results!

Keeping the good ones - employees, I mean

Even when the budget is at a bare minimum, there are just some employees you will do anything to keep. They are your stars, your core, your always-there-in-a-pinch.

And they'll understand why you can't give them a raise right now, right. Maybe.

And they'll understand why you've stopped giving out gift certificates and gift cards and awards and toys, right? They'll stay through thick and thin...

Ummm... Excuse me. Is that your star employee heading out the door, résumé in hand? Yup. Guess they didn't understand after all...

A lot of employers are making the mistake of assuming two things:

1)Their star employees are 100% loyal and will understand all the cut backs

2)No one leaves a steady job in a bad economy

Both assumptions could not be further from the truth. The best will leave if they are not properly acknowledged and rewarded, and they will do it either as soon as the economy improves, or right now if a better offer comes in.

So what is an employer to do? Here's the quick and dirty answer: reward them!

What???? Spend money? Yes.

Odds are. you've reduced your workforce and your stars are carrying a heavier load. Why not give them a small percentage of the previous employees' salaries? Give them 10% and you're still saving 90% of what it used to cost!

If the money just isn't there, consider other options to let them know how much you value their expertise and hard work. For instance:

Recognition -- A thank you card, an award plaque with a small gift, a personal note from you expressing your appreciation, an announcement about a their accomplishments in the company newsletter... Let your employees know you notice what they do and that you appreciate what they do.

Fun -- Who says work has to be dull and boring? Make it fun. Start an impromptu game of catch with a squishy ball at your next team meeting. Treat everyone to a Starbucks drink, complete with whipped cream. Start a "Cartoon of the Day" e-mail. Fun creates a feeling of belonging, and that can go a long way towards improving employee morale and commitment.

Learning and growth -- Let your employees try new things, enroll them in classes that interest them, encourage new ideas and new ways of doing things. Instead of closing down and keeping to the tried-and-true, use this economic slump to start some new projects, try some innovative ways of reaching customers or experiment with new work processes and schedules. Odds are, you'll find a few things that will serve you well when the economy picks up, and you'll also be improving employee engagement.

More work SHOULD mean more rewards!

Everything has been crazy at our company, just like it probably is at yours. In the face of the recession, everyone is working harder than ever. It seems like no one has just one area of responsibility any more...all of us are wearing so many different hats.

Now for the big question...are you rewarding your employees for all they're doing? Are you even saying thank you, or is it more of a "Consider yourself lucky you have a job" find of thing? Be honest. Because you're not fooling anyone, least of all your employees. And the wrong choice will come back to bite you, sooner than you might think!

Here's the bottom line, 'cause I know you're busy.

1) People (read: employees, but it's nice to be reminded once in awhile that they ARE people!) work better and harder and more effectively when they feel

• Appreciated
  
• Needed
  
• Noticed

It's that simple. So what about your employees? Are they being told how essential they are to your company's success -- even its survival? Are they being told how much their hard work is appreciated? Or even more to the point,

ARE THEY APPRECIATED???????

Here are a few more simple facts:

• Unappreciated employees have more accidents, take more sick days, work less effectively and are less creative. These are the people who are most likely have a resume at the ready at all times. In other words, given a half decent opportunity, they, and their expertise and contacts and information will be out the door. Woosh! Gone!
  
  
• Employees who feel unneeded, especially in this economy, are spending far more hours worrying about that pink slip than they are worrying about your bottom line.
  
  
• Employees who come to the conclusion, correctly or incorrectly, that they are not noticed...that their work is not noticed...stop trying and start coasting. And if the differential rewards are nil, who can blame them?

So what do you have to do?

Thank you for asking, because the answers are just as simple as the facts!

• Know where real productivity lies. Realize, deep down in your managerial heart that as much as you would like to believe that it all depends on you, that it REALLY all depends on those sales associates and telephone help desk people and order processors and everyone else who handles the day to day making, selling, services and explaining your product or service. THEY ARE YOUR COMPANY'S LIFEBLOOD!
  
  
• Pay attention to what they do every day. Instead of focusing on yet another tool to catch and bash people for being 10 minutes late, start looking at what good stuff they are doing every single day. Helping that annoying customer calmly. Getting that order out the door against all odds. Getting another 100 people to look at your website today. It all counts, so start acknowledging it.
  
  
• Figure out ways to say thank you. And don't tell me you can't afford to say thank you. A simple "Hey, great job!" card or jar of candy for their desk or SOMETHING will be a HUGE leap from nothing! And it's cheap! REALLY, REALLY cheap, especially when you consider that your company depends on every employee doing their stuff in harmony and well and consistently.