The "Thank You" War for Talent

Here are some thought-provoking statistics from an article in the UK's Management Issues.

"Research by UK performance improvement consultants Maritz has found that almost one in five of us (19 per cent) have never been thanked for our efforts at work while more than a third only hear those two little words once or twice a year.

Perhaps not-entirely coincidentally, that's about the same proportion as another recent survey found have no loyalty towards the organisation they work for and couldn't care less about their job.

Yet at the other end of the spectrum, around a third of us do receive regular recognition and are thanked several times a week, something that (as more than eight out of 10 of those surveyed acknowledged) has a positive impact on their desire to remain with their employer."

"Thank You" & the "War for Talent"

Check out the screen shot of "the war for talent"  Google search. 164,000 results. Books, articles,  training programs, software systems, and academic research. Conferences are being held to ponder the meaning of talent acquisition and retention.

 

Let's assume for a minute that the statistics noted in the article are true. The third who receive thanks regularly feel positive about their employer and are inclined to remain at the firm.
My suggestion: Executives need to start thanking their managers regularly. Then they need to tell them to start thanking their people. Maybe we could get uppity and call it "Building a Culture of Thanks." Clearly, it would be more effective and less costly than conferences and software.

And it would make our mothers proud.

Comments

[William Murphy]

Couldn't agree more with the 'Thank you' mentality.

There are though additional reasons why this small gesture can produce significant benefits.

By thanking someone as a result of their efforts, naturally fosters a feel good factor and strengthens or initiates a bond. When a situation later occurs, where the same person's efforts warrant a response that is not complimentary, that person is much more likely to listen and want to correct their actions/behaviour/workrate. Why? They will want to do it for you because you've already demonstrated your fairness and give credit where it is due. That makes the task of correcting wrongs much easier to do and much easier to receive because of the bond that has already been created previously.

Lead By Example.