Is THANK YOU, Hurting You ?
Staff, volunteers, babysitters and anyone else that helps you meet goals and accomplish tasks should be appreciated. Studies have shown that when people feel appreciated, they are much more likely to do more. But, those that feel unappreciated are a lot less motivated to be in your corner. How do you want your friends, mentors, team members or leaders to feel about you? It can get difficult to stay creative in how you recognize their effort in new and motivational ways. Here are a few ways to motivate your tribe, and show that you care:
- Letters to their bosses or family members recognizing their contributions. Here’s help, if you get stuck writing letters. It has templates for all sorts of communications. Just copy/paste/smile!
- Photos of themselves in action
- Training and education sessions to help them develop their skills (ME)
- Books – This gift book makes smiles from the name alone: “You are doing a Freaking Great Job”
- >
Hand-written notes signed by the staff
- Thank you letters from those they served/impacted
- Recognition events – everyone loves a cool party
- Mentions and thanks on social media
- Swag from your org -Keychains, flashlights, pins, pens, and other items that you may already have
- Donations in their name
- Volunteers are your greatest resource, show them that you care. The VOLUNTEER TOOLKIT helps you motivate, communicate and expand your volunteer staff.
- T-shirts – “The folks at (your org) think I am an amazing volunteer… and they gave me this t-shirt”
- Free membership to the organization
- A smile and a “thank you”
- Gift cards and discount coupons
- Nominating them for a Presidential Volunteer Service Award
- Telling their story in your newsletter
- Give them greater responsibility in the organization
The moral to this story? It’s not WHAT you do, but that you do SOMETHING!!!
Do you have a way to recognize your team that we missed? Share in the comments below!