When you decide to thank somebody for cooperation, it doesn't necessarily mean you are leaving your job. However, expressing gratitude is often associated with ending a certain phase. Kind “thank you” words can be directed at your contractors or the team of your coworkers after successful completion of another crucial project. This is perceived as a nice gesture and a token of appreciation for a fruitful cooperation or customer loyalty. So, when is it advisable to show people you are grateful for their contribution? How to do it and what words to use? Why is it something to which you should give some serious thought? Read the article and find out!
There are multiple situations in which you can give people your thank-yous — for instance when you want to acknowledge your workers' contribution, summarize your collective effort or appreciate those who have worked many years in the company. Official thanks are also usually said at the time of a job change, either by the employee or by the supervisor. When is it especially appropriate to show your gratitude to others?
One of the moments when supervisors want to thank their employees is the success of a team or an individual employee that has positively influenced the functioning of the company. A properly performed task not only ensures impressive results, but also affects the well-being and work motivation of employees. Especially when the employer or business owner recognizes the efforts of his team and rewards them by expressing gratitude — this makes employees feel they are indispensable members of the team, which may significantly boost their everyday performance and lead to an increase in the effectiveness of their work.
It often happens that companies work for many months on a large project. When this happens, employees and their supervisors have to fully commit to such a formidable task and work for a long time “at full speed.” However, in many cases, after the project has been completed, employees are given another assignment without receiving feedback from their supervisor. Lack of information concerning the results of their cooperative efforts may negatively influence the workers' attitude towards their duties and left them disappointed. Many studies have shown that appreciating the team for how much they have done in order to pursue the task and for what they finally accomplished can result in much greater dedication and increased motivation to grow. The completion of a collaborative, long-term project is therefore an excellent opportunity to thank the team for their contribution to the company's success.
When embarking on cooperation with the company's partners or customers, each party hopes that the interaction will bring about fruitful results. After achieving a joint success, it is then worth recognizing the contribution of the counterparties and issuing official thank-you messages. As a consequence of such actions, not only do customers feel appreciated and more inclined to undertake further cooperation with the company, but the positive image of the company is reinforced as well. In the world of today's business, characterized by competitiveness and frequently changing market preferences, every loyal customer can help a company — be it a small business or a large-scale enterprise — get an advantage and, simply, make greater profits. Well-expressed gratitude, for example in the form of a handwritten note, can help build customer loyalty and by this support customer retention.
As it is widely known, organizing an event requires a tremendous amount of work and attention to every detail. It can be a team-building event, as well as a training session for employees or partners of the company. Regardless of the actual circumstances, it is worth thanking the co-organizers for their commitment and work put into arranging the event. Thank-you notes with a much valued personal touch may encourage the company's partners to eagerly engage in future cooperation and triggers positive associations with the company name.
When a dedicated employee retires, it is a good idea to thank them for their long-standing cooperation and contribution to the company. The employee will feel both appreciated and professionally fulfilled, which will definitely affect their self-esteem. The person is also likely to perceive the time spent in the company as a positive experience. The same relates to an employee who has decided to move on professionally and leave the company with the aim of looking for new challenges. If the farewell to the employer goes on in a friendly manner, the person will certainly have fond memories of the place of his previous work. Being properly acknowledged can also raise the level of the person's self-confidence and improve their performance at another job interview.
A thank-you note is also worth issuing in case it is the employee's supervisor that leaves the company. Expressing thankfulness for all the time spent together and thorough mentoring is a nice way of saying goodbye to your superior and emphasizing how much you value the person and the experience they have shared with the crew.
While the sole act of thanking for somebody's cooperation carries a lot of positive emotions, it is vital you do it in the right way so that no faux-pas is committed. In light of the above, how to express your gratitude depending on the circumstances?
There are numerous ways to appreciate employees. This can range from a formal thank-you letter to organizing an event where an impassioned speech will be given. Alternatively, you can choose to hold a casual meeting in a relaxed atmosphere, during which details of a given project will be discussed and the employees who took part in launching it will be thanked.
Bonuses or benefits in the form of tickets to cultural events or shopping vouchers are also a great idea to acknowledge your employees' dedication to work or extra effort put in accomplishing a particularly demanding task.
As in the case of employees, gratitude towards partners can also be expressed either in an official way or during a rather informal meeting. In addition to giving thank-you notes (e.g. in the form of a handwritten letter), you can also verbally announce your support for future projects. Taking it yet another step further, you can also offer your regular contractors a discount or prepare special personalized offers for them. Thanking customers should also be a reasonable component of your business strategy as it may consequently lead to the visible growth of your company's profits. Saying thank you to your valued customer may prompt them to cooperate with you in the future and contribute to the development of a strong relationship based on mutual respect and trust (if you want to find out how people evaluate the cooperation with your company, you can conduct a short customer satisfaction survey).
Gratitude to event co-organizers usually takes place at the final stage of cooperation. Similarly to the previous examples — you can show your gratitude during an official speech at the end of the event or in person, backstage. A formal letter of thanks from the company or gadgets related to the nature of the event are frequently handed in then.
Acknowledgements for retiring employees depend mainly on the nature of their previous work. In addition to a formal letter of good wishes, it is not uncommon for retirees to receive a high bonus from their boss for the years they have worked, often accompanied by symbolic gifts.
When leaving a company or changing positions, a thank-you note to one's supervisor or boss is conventionally given on the last day of work. The person then receives a letter filled with kind words of recognition and credit for the invaluable contribution made to the development of your career. Very often a small gift is also attached to such written acknowledgement.
When preparing official thank-you notes, the question of what text you should put on a letter or a thank-you card may be a source of some trouble. For the sake of making things easier for you, below we suggest some sample thank-you texts that can be given to employees, contractors, or superiors.
Dear Employees,
The past weeks have been full of challenges and hard work. I would like to thank you sincerely for your commitment and exemplary attitude in the implementation of our last project. Thanks to your work, we were able to meet all the set goals on time.
I keep my fingers crossed for our future successes and look forward to our next projects together.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I would like to thank you sincerely for the extremely fruitful cooperation on the project. Your professionalism, patience, and attention to detail are the major reasons why it was such a pleasure for my entire team to work with you. I hope that we will meet in the future for more interesting and engaging projects and I wish you good luck in the development of your company! Thank you for your business!
Dear Customer,
Thank you for your business! Your continued support expressed by means of your recent purchases has significantly contributed to the huge success of our company. As you are our long-term customer, we offer you a unique coupon code for 20% off of your next order.
Dear Sir/Madam,
On behalf of myself and all the employees, I offer my sincere thanks for all the years of your service. It is your dedication, commitment, and experience that have had a great impact on the development of our company. We are all immensely grateful for your optimism and relentlessness in dealing with all the demanding tasks and projects in which you participated. I enclose my warmest wishes for health, prosperity, and peace in your private life.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I would like to thank you sincerely for posing such a vast multitude of interesting professional challenges and development opportunities. This is an important stage in my career, so I am grateful for the chance to carry out tasks and projects together. I truly hope you will not encounter any obstacles inhibiting the growth and prosperity of the company. I will always remember well the years spent in your team and I believe the experience I gained will contribute to the future success of my own business.
The ability to express gratitude is a very important quality that positively affects not only the recipient, but also the sender of the wishes. When you send thanks, you develop empathy and show that you are able to recognize even the smallest efforts. In turn, the recipients of acknowledgements feel appreciated and respected and know that their contribution was an essential component of the company's development. Such awareness that they are an integral part of the business means that employees are more motivated to work even more diligently and complete a greater number of tasks.
Studies show that people who receive praise after a properly completed task are more willing to face further challenges and actively participate in the company's endeavors. In turn, contractors whose commitment has also been appreciated are eager to start further projects and become loyal to their business partners. Therefore, despite your busy schedule and countless responsibilities it is definitely worthwhile to prepare a proper thank-you note or a more elaborate letter of appreciation after each completed cooperation.
