Taking the Extra Step by Sending Thank You Or Appreciation Letters To Employees
A company can only hope to succeed when all its employees work together towards a common goal. But getting your employees together and motivating them to reach your company’s goal is not as easy as you say.
Think back to when you worked on a group project in school. At least one or two kids in your group will feel relatively left out. Even in such a small group, it is hard to make everyone feel involved.
And, if that’s hard, imagine making hundreds of employees feel involved in achieving the company’s goal. The only way to impact your employees so profoundly is to make them feel acknowledged and valued at their workplace.
There are many ways to do this. Most companies prefer to take a monetary approach to reward the top performers. But not everyone can be the employee of the month. It would be best to have individuals work together to accomplish your business goals.
So, what can companies do to let their hard-working employees know their efforts are appreciated? The answer is simple – you say “thank you” to them. But what is the best way to do that?
An appreciation letter to employees is a practice that is often considered office etiquette for conveying a company’s gratitude.
How can you write a thank you letter to employees for their hard work? What are the makings of a reasonable appreciation letter to employees? And why is it important?
You will find the answers to these questions as you read on. We will also provide you with some examples of letters of appreciation. In short, we will provide a complete guide to creating an effective letter of recognition for outstanding performance.
What is an Appreciation Letter?
An appreciation or thank you letter to employees is a formal message from an employer to appreciate the former’s efforts. The letter must contain a simple and personalized message stating the employee’s contribution to the organization.
Your letter thanking staff for their hard work can be in different formats. Usually, they are printed or handwritten, but sometimes they can also be written in an email format. However, try using something other than an email to send staff a thank you letter for their hard work.
Why? Because email feels somewhat cold and lacks the personal touch that a feasible letter can provide. In other words, a handwritten or printed appreciation letter to an employee has a better chance of boosting their morale.
Handwritten thank you letters are often the most appreciated form due to their personalized nature. However, handwritten letters are impractical if your company has hundreds of employees. On the other hand, printed letters are easy to make and can even be automated if needed.
8 Sample Employee Recognition Letters for Hard Work
Several instances or situations warrant an appreciation letter to employees. You must be aware of these situations. The reason?
You don’t want to miss out on an opportunity to send a letter and motivate your employees.
So, here are eight situations where you can send your employees a thank you letter and show how much you appreciate their efforts.
Sample 1: Showing Appreciation for Employees’ Hard Work and Dedication
Most employers use the appreciation letter to recognize employees’ hard work and dedication.
Although typical, this thank you letter is vital for your business.
Finding hard-working individuals dedicated to your company is hard, and you must try to keep them.
A thank you letter for hard work to staff should look something like this:
Dear Bruce,
On behalf of the entire < company name > team, we appreciate and admire your phenomenal efforts in the workplace. We are impressed at how well you have managed your work and grown in your years working with us. All the extra hours you put into your job and your professionalism have motivated the entire team.
As a company, we have always made it a point to make every project we undertake a great success. You have helped us achieve our vision, and we hope you will keep going the extra mile for us.
Thank you again for all that you do.
Warm Regards,
Alfred T
Sample 2: Applauding Your Employees for a Job Well Done
Sometimes hearing the words “You did a good job” straight from the senior’s mouth is all the encouragement an employee needs. However, more detailed praise almost always does more to boost employee morale.
Here is how you can congratulate an employee for a job well done:
Dear Clark,
We are thoroughly impressed with your recent performance and your fantastic job on the < name > project. Thanks to your efforts, we could achieve our goals without any delays.
Your ability to train your team members and help them familiarize themselves with the new tools has significantly helped the project. I am sure your team feels the same way about your leadership.
It is a pleasure for us to reward you with a week’s holiday you can take at your convenience. I would also like to say that this is in addition to the salary increase due to your subsequent evaluation. You are an essential part of our company, and we hope you continue to inspire others with your work.
Keep up the excellent work, and thanks once again!
Best Regards,
Alfred T
Cc: HR department
Sample 3: Commending an Employee’s Leadership Qualities
Leadership is challenging, and a good leader can deliver even the most demanding projects on time. Therefore, if you find good leadership qualities in one of your employees, you should make it a point to appreciate them.
Team leaders and others who hold similar positions requiring leadership should feel valued for the effort they pour into their jobs. However, it can sometimes be rough to articulate and show your appreciation for leadership roles.
Use the example below to understand how you can write a thank you letter for hard work to staff holding leadership positions.
Dear Diana,
We are proud of your ability to lead your < project name > team. Several of your team members have personally commented on how you guided and supported them throughout the project.
We have also noticed that you have always met every deadline, regardless of the complications of the project. Your team holds you in high regard and is confident in your ability to lead them. I assure you that the company will reward your efforts.
Once again, thank you for all your hard work for the company and dedication to delivering quality results.
Warm Regards,
Alfred T
Sample 4: Showing Appreciation for the Help from Employees
When running a business, even the most minor help can go a long way; every effort matters. Even a simple email you send to show appreciation for employee help can have surprising effects.
Consider the following sample thank you letter for employees’ hard work.
Dear Arthur,
Thank you for proactively organizing the meeting with our clients last week. You were quick to think on your feet and calm down the client to avoid an escalation. It was awe-inspiring how you relaxed everyone, and I am glad to say that even the client felt the same way.
You make a positive impression on the client and take ownership of the issue. We are delighted you are working hard for our company’s success.
You have always made it a priority to help your colleagues in need. We have noticed your efforts. Your passion for your work and those around you positively impact the whole team.
Thank you for everything you do, and keep up the excellent work.
Yours sincerely,
Alfred T
Sample 5: Showing Appreciation to Your Proactive Salespersons
For most organizations, the star department is the sales department, as they are the ones who bring in all the money. Hence, it is only natural for businesses to want their sales team to keep up good morale, and thank you letters can help you do that.
It would be best if you took a small portion of your time to ensure that the labour of your sales team was well-appreciated.
Take the following example to see how you can write an appreciation letter for your sales department.
Dear Victor,
I am writing to inform you that we’ve received the sales progress report you submitted and are pleased with the results.
We are pleased with your outstanding sales performance this quarter. The professionalism and commitment you show are an inspiration to everyone around you. Your unconventional approach has also helped our brand name stand out from the rest.
You have exceeded the call of duty and delivered admirable results. Thank you again for being a part of our company’s success story.
Best Regards,
Alfred T
Sample 6: Thanking Your Employees for Covering the Absence of a Colleague
At some point, you will have to delegate an employee’s responsibilities in their absence. They may be on a week-long holiday, maternity leave, or something else altogether.
Regardless of their absence, you would still need to find someone to fill their role.
It is only sensible to thank whoever takes on the additional workload and responsibility. Expressing gratitude in such situations can help you build a more robust relationship with your employees.
Take the following example to understand how to write such thank you letters.
Dear Barry,
Thank you for all the extra effort you have put into your day-to-day tasks since Victor went on vacation. You deserve a token of appreciation for all the hard work and extra hours you put in.
We know you already have your plates full, and managing someone else’s work can’t be easy. However, you have still managed to deliver everything asked of you without any delays. Employees like you make our company what it is, and we are proud of you.
Thanks again, and we hope you will keep up the excellent work!
Best Regards,
Alfred T
Sample 7: Recognizing An Employee’s Years-Long Services to Your Company
Veteran employees can contribute a great deal to an organization’s work culture. Such employees are a testimony to how well your company treats its employees. You may even say they are integral to your brand’s positioning.
Hence, it is clear why you must send thank you letters to your long-term employees for their continued trust in your company. Acknowledging and rewarding longer tenures will help motivate other skilled employees to stay with your company.
An appreciation letter you send to your veteran employees should look something like this:
Dear Billy,
I congratulate you for completing your tenth year with < company name >. It is a pleasure working with you. I can not express how grateful we are to have such dedicated personnel and the faith you put in our company.
All your hard work never went unnoticed. We are grateful for all you have done for the company. Without your sacrifices for the company, we couldn’t have grown into what we are today.
Thank you again for everything you have done and everything you do daily to help us grow.
Sincerely,
Alfred T
Sample 8: Giving a Mental Booster to Your Employees at the End of the Year
The end of the year is a big deal for everyone, and the same goes for your employees. Thank them for their efforts throughout the year. Your employees work hard throughout the year, and their hard work is not always noticed and appreciated.
Therefore, the year-end period offers a perfect chance for you to assess their performance and reward them accordingly. Ensure you write a heartfelt thank you at the end of the year. It can help your employees reflect on how far they have come and realize all they have achieved in the past year.
The year-end appreciation letter should look like the following.
Dear Oliver,
Another year has ended, and it is finally that time of the year when we fondly look back on the past 12 months. I convey my gratitude on behalf of < company name > for your hard work and invaluable contributions to the company.
I am excited to inform you that this year has benefited our company. Despite the heavy competition, we have achieved impressive business goals and made our mark across our industry. Furthermore, we were able to face all the challenges and come out more vital than ever.
Your contributions have played an essential role in achieving all our goals, and I’m sure we will keep doing it in the future.
Thank you again for your dedication and hard work in helping us grow as a company.
I wish you all the best and a happy new year with even more success and happiness.
Regards,
Alfred T
What Are the Makings of a Thank You Letter to Staff for Hard Work?
Receiving an appreciation letter can significantly motivate your employees to work harder. But how do you make sure that the thank you letter you send will have the desired effect on your employees?
Three things make up an excellent appreciation letter to employees, and they are:
- Personalization
- Recognition
- Encouragement
Always remember these three things when writing a thank you letter to your employees.
When writing a thank you letter, you must ensure your message sounds genuine to the employee.
Sounding like a bot is the last thing you want for your thank-you notes.
Personalization
How would you feel if a friend wrote you a beautifully-worded letter and addressed you as “my friend” or “Dear Candidate”? Then you start to notice the letter sounds too generic, even though it’s written well.
You will naturally conclude the letter is a generic one. More importantly, you will realize you are among many who got the same letter. In this case, you will not feel special or even appreciated. Such letters will remain letters and nothing more. Hence, it is best to send personalized mail to your employees. Here’s what you can do to enhance the outcome of your thank you letters:
Include Specifics of the Employee’s Role
Personalization is the key to making an impactful appreciation letter to employees. Although you may use a template for writing the appreciation letter, it’s not enough that you switch the names for everyone. An efficient practice you can follow is to include specifics about their organizational role.
Mention Individual Contributions
Another effective practice you can follow when writing the thank you letter is to mention the employee’s contributions. Remember that your employees went above and beyond their call of duty for the company. Hence, it is only fair to reciprocate their effort by personalizing your appreciation letter.
Recognition
An appreciation letter’s most critical part is recognizing an employee’s efforts. Recognizing their efforts shows that you have noticed their work and will not ignore their actions.
Thanking Someone for a Contribution is Different From Recognizing an Effort
Many people confuse thanking someone for their contributions with recognizing their effort. However, they are not the same. Expressing gratitude for an outcome is a big plus. But identifying how and why the employee reached that outcome is even more critical.
For example, let’s say that an employee was proactive enough to get the help of a team that works parallel to their own. Recognize how that particular employee proactively worked with the other team to deliver a better result. Such recognition will validate their actions and motivate them.
Encouragement
Your appreciation letter may not have the desired effect if you forget to encourage the employee’s efforts. You may often omit the encouragement part by choice instead of by accident. You might wonder, “Why would an employer hesitate to promote good behaviour from their employees?”
Many seem to think thank you letters distract the employee from recognizing other areas of their work that need improvement. However, a well-crafted thank-you note can convey all you need to say, including the scope for improvement.
Communicating the Room for Improvements
Communicating that there is still room for improvement in the appreciation letter to employees is easy. You don’t have to determine how or where improvements are needed. Use a simple statement like “We expect greater things in the future” at the end.
A statement like this implies that there is scope for improvement and that the employee can accomplish it. Using such statements shows that you believe in your employee’s abilities, which can motivate them to perform better.
Why is an Employee Appreciation Letter Crucial?
Employee appreciation, in general, is one of the essential steps you must take for the long-term growth of your business. Appreciating your employees is a way to encourage them to achieve better outcomes. Still, they are not the only ones to gain from it.
Businesses or employers are also able to reap the rewards of employee appreciation. How? The answer to that question is more complex than you might think, and you can best understand it through examples.
However, the basics of employee appreciation are relatively easy to understand. You know your employees want to be appreciated for their work. (Who wouldn’t?) Now, the question is, “What is the best way to show employee appreciation?”
For that, the answer is easy – an employee appreciation letter. There are several reasons why letters, especially tangible ones, are ideal for employee appreciation. Some of these reasons are listed below.
They are Tangible And More Personal
Speaking to your employees and telling them how much you appreciate their efforts is good, but it could be more memorable. Additionally, whether the employee feels appreciated when spoken to in person depends entirely on the speaker’s articulation.
A plain old thank you letter to employees for their hard work is the best way to convey gratitude. Although you could use email to accomplish the same thing, it is not tangible. The personal touch and concrete nature of thank you letters generate the desired effect on the recipient.
They Can Be Sent In Bulk to All Employees
The thing about employee appreciation is that the more people you thank, the greater your chances are of boosting workplace morale. Recognizing every employee’s effort can be tricky. You may have missed sending the message to some employees.
For example, consider the year-end thank-you letters that business organizations send their employees. More often than not, this type of mailer goes to every employee in the company. You can use a modern and automated direct mail tool like PostGrid to print and deliver an appreciation letter to every employee.
They are Ideal for Promoting Organizational Culture and Employee Morale
When you reward an employee for their excellent work behaviour, the employee will likely repeat such behaviour. You can promote a good work culture by simply showing appreciation for your employees and their work.
An appreciation letter is also ideal for boosting employee morale. The fundamental nature of thank you letters and a hint of personal touch connect with the employees emotionally. All you need to do is develop a personalized message showing how much you care about them.
They Help You Achieve a Significantly Lower Voluntary Turnover Rate
For the consistent growth of a company, you need a pool of talent that stays relatively consistent. You can’t hope to grow your business with talented employees constantly leaving the company for better opportunities.
The voluntary turnover rate indicates how many employees willingly leave a company within a specified period.
Monetary or Other Benefits Alone are Not Enough to Feel Valued
A common misconception among employers is that monetary or other benefits are enough to make an employee feel valued. Financial benefits, paid holidays, and so on help boost employee morale.
However, benefits alone are not enough. Your employees need to know that you notice the hard work and dedication they put into their work. With a thank you letter to staff for their hard work, you can convey how much you appreciate their work. You can also include specifics that prove to your employees that you notice their invaluable efforts.
Also Read: Personalized Direct Mail Marketing
How Can You Effectively Communicate Your Appreciation?
Communicating your appreciation for your employees and their hard work is more challenging than it sounds. As mentioned above, be genuine when trying to express gratitude for a job well done by an employee.
To accomplish this, you can personalize each appreciation letter and state specifics of the employee’s achievements. However, that’s not all you can do. Listed below are some ways you can ensure effective communication through thank-you letters.
Be Mindful of The Medium You Use
The medium you use to convey your appreciation can significantly affect your employee appreciation program. It would help if you verbally communicated how well an employee is doing. But that alone is not enough.
However, more than verbal communication is required regarding employee appreciation. Use a written medium like personalized direct mail to convey your gratitude. Although you may also use emails, your best option is physical mail. They are often considered thoughtful and more personal by the recipient.
Focus on the Employee and Not the Employer-Employee Relationship
A common mistake an employer makes when writing an appreciation letter is to emphasize the employer-employee relationship. Instead, they should focus all their attention on the employee and their achievements.
The key to an effective employee appreciation letter is to make them feel unique as members of your company. So, instead of going on and on about how their work can mutually benefit you and them. Use a more focused approach to make the employee feel valued.
Always Keep the Three Major Aspects In Mind – Personalization, Recognition, And Encouragement
As we have discussed above, three aspects make up an effective appreciation letter, and they are:
- Personalization
- Recognition
- Encouragement
You must consider these three factors before drafting an appreciation letter. As long as you stick to these three aspects, it is easy for your thank you message to go right.
Be Aware of the Tone of Your Letter
The tone of your letter is another aspect that can decide how the recipient perceives your appreciation letter. Ensure your letter’s style can awaken a feeling of worthiness in the recipient. A simple “thank you” note can not possibly do that. So take your time to develop an original message that can connect with the user.
Also Read: Welcome Letter To New Client: Why Is It Important, And How To Use It Effectively?
Use PostGrid’s Automated Direct Mail System to Send Appreciation Letters
Printed mail is the best medium for sending thank-you messages to employees. However, printing and delivering mail to your employees can be problematic as many processes are involved.
You must personalize the appreciation letter, print it, and then deliver it to the employees. It gets significantly more complex if your large company deals with bulk mail. The same goes for sending thank you letters for the New Year, as appreciation letters go out in bulk during this time.
An automated system like PostGrid can help automate every aspect of the process involved in sending appreciation letters. It includes personalization, printing, and delivery of the mail. You can also use the address verification API to ensure the deliverability of addresses in bulk.
Conclusion
Sending a thank you letter to employees for their hard work can significantly impact employee morale. It lets your employees feel valued and appreciated. Happy employees will likely produce better quality work, and your business can benefit from it.
However, creating and sending thank you letters to employees regularly can be quite a hassle. Manually sending year-end thank-you notes or sending them to many employees takes work. The best approach is to employ an automated direct mail solution like PostGrid.
Using PostGrid’s system, you can easily send the appreciation letter in bulk. You can personalize, print, and deliver thank-you notes to your employees. The examples of letters of appreciation we discussed above can help you develop unique appreciation letter templates.
With PostGrid, you can build from scratch or use their pre-designed templates and personalize them to connect better with the recipients. You can even schedule to ship the thank you letters to the employees.
For example, you can set the PostGrid system to send a thank you letter whenever an employee completes a year at your company.
In short, PostGrid can save you valuable time, money, and resources! Click here to learn how to send thank-you letters to employees using our services.
