Blogue > Employee experience > Employee Thank You Messages: Good Practices + 7 Examples!

Employee Thank You Messages: Good Practices + 7 Examples!

14 minutes

Coordonatrice marketing chez InputKit | Les communications, ça me parle! ✨

Article link copy to clipboard

Many managers tend to take for granted that workers are only motivated by their pay and that thanking employees with an employee thank you message is futile. Of course, every employee works for a salary. However, the motivations that drive an employee to excel daily go far beyond the compensation they receive! In fact, according to Zippia, 80% of workers say they would work harder if they felt more appreciated and recognized at work. Recognition at work motivates employees to go the extra mile every day! 

Download now: -> FREE CHECKLIST 10 Good Practices to Integrate New Employees into your Company

After all, not all employers take the time to send employee thank you messages to their employees to show their appreciation for their good work! Without further ado, stand out with our best practices and be inspired by our 7 examples to show your appreciation to your employees!

The importance of thanking your employees

It is important to take the time to thank your employees for various reasons. Indeed, employee thank you messages have a positive impact on their productivity level as well as on the general working atmosphere of your company.

An employee who feels that their work is appreciated and that they are recognized for their true worth will tend to be much more productive, motivated and committed to the company they work for. They will feel that their efforts contribute to the company’s success and this recognition will contribute to their well-being and job satisfaction!

On a larger scale, thanking employees for a job well done contributes to a positive and harmonious work culture and creates meaningful connections between employees.  This increases morale and encourages peers to recognize each other. Peer recognition helps motivate your employees, as it allows for positive self-improvement and celebrates good works together. It’s an everyday team-building tactic, without having to spend money or leave the office! 

Free Checklist 10 Good Practices to Integrate New Employees into your Company

Best practices for thanking employees

Now that you understand the importance of employee thank you messages, it’s time to discover the best practices to thank your staff! 

1. Add personal attention to your thank you message

Your employees keep your business going, so a simple “Thank you for everything” is not enough to show your gratitude to them. This type of thank you message is impersonal and may seem insincere to the person receiving it. When it’s time to write an employee thank you message, be sure to add a little personal attention to your note!

If you want to thank an employee for their outstanding performance, why not take the opportunity to also highlight an aspect of their personality that is appreciated on a daily basis? For example:

“[employee’s first name], thanks to your dedication, we surpassed our goals for the month! Your contagious good mood kept us going in what was a rather challenging month. Thank you for being the genuine person you are and contributing daily to the success of the company!” 

This way, your employee thank you messages are warm, sincere and personalized. This person will feel recognized for their professional contribution and will feel that their personality is appreciated. This will motivate them to continue to give their best at work

2. Tell your employees why you are grateful 

When it’s time to thank a member of your team, take the opportunity to highlight why you are grateful to have them as an employee and explain why you are thanking them on this occasion. 

Pointing out concrete facts when you write an employee thank you message demonstrates your gratitude. This way, your thank-you note doesn’t seem like a prepared statement. In addition, it strengthens the esteem of your employees, because they feel that their good work is recognized! In fact, according to Baudville, 78% of employees say that being recognized motivates them in their work. In summary, make sure you bring specific examples related to the recognition offered. This will make it easier for your employees to perceive your feedback as sincere and not forced!  

3. Demonstrate the impact your employees have on your company in your thank-you note

When it’s time to produce employee thank you messages, be sure to mention the impact your employees have on your business. For example, if one of your employees has taken the initiative to improve internal processes to simplify certain tasks, this will have a positive impact on the company’s productivity!

If your employees propose to use a work tool that is cheaper and just as good as the one you were using before their proposal, it will have financial impacts that will save you money. When your employees have good ideas that influence your business, whether it’s time-saving, money-saving or even team-building ideas, these impacts should not be overlooked when writing employee thank you messages.

It stands to reason that your employees are proud to contribute to your company’s success! In this sense, highlighting the impact their contribution makes daily is a great way to recognize your employees for their hard work when you thank them. 

Showing employees the positive impact they have on your company’s performance is an excellent source of motivation for them! It allows them to see their good deeds and solidifies the engagement they have at work.  

4. Keep it professional

While thank-you notes are a way to express your gratitude and appreciation to your employees, it is important to remain professional in your employee thank you messages.

The tone should be formal, but still warm! This way, you build trust with your employees and your thanks help solidify and maintain that bond

For example, if an employee stays later than scheduled to help you finalize a project, it’s important to show your appreciation! However, sending an SMS in the evening to thank them or offering them a drink after a big day may seem too personal, even though the intention is to thank them. 

Instead, offer them their favorite beverage the next morning or write them a short thank-you note. This way, your thanks are conveyed in a warm and professional manner and there is no ambiguity as to the intent behind your thanks. 

5. Thank each employee fairly

Do you always thank the same people? Do you always focus on the same department when recognizing your employees? If you answered yes to any of these questions, it’s time to vary your employee thank you messages to thank each employee fairly. 

Success is teamwork! Everyone contributes to your company’s success in their own way, which is why each employee must feel recognized for their contribution. Make sure you recognize the good work of each employees. If you always thank the same people, they may become indifferent. 

In addition, it can discourage other employees who work hard but never feel appreciated due to a lack of recognition. Overall, make sure that there is no imbalance between the feedback offered to your different teams. This will ensure that you don’t create an irritant that could cause some neglected employees to leave your business. In fact, according to Zippia, lack of recognition would be one of the top reasons employees consider leaving their jobs. According to this research, 44% of employees who were considering changing jobs indicated that it was because of a lack of recognition at work. 

Free Checklist 10 Good Practices to Integrate New Employees Into Your Company

7 examples of messages to send to your employees in different contexts  

Now that the best practices to thank your employees are no longer a secret for you, it’s time to start writing! 

How to say thank you to an employee? There are many ways to thank an employee, depending on the context. Take a look at these 7 sample messages to help write your employees thank you messages

When an employee has demonstrated significant improvement

When you coach your employees, you probably point out their opportunities for improvement. Why not take the opportunity to highlight their progress when they improved in an area you’ve talked to them about?  This is a good point to raise in your employee thank you messages! 

Example of an employee thank you message to acknowledge an improvement following a coaching session:

“ I would like to congratulate you on your efforts regarding [improved aspect]. I mentioned this to you at our last meeting and it was promptly taken care of! I am very impressed with your responsiveness and want to thank you for your input and good work! ”

An improvement can also be highlighted in front of their peers. If you hold monthly meetings to discuss about your company’s performance, this can be a good time to highlight the improvements you’ve seen and to motivate your troops!

Example of employees thank you message to acknowledge an improvement at a team meeting:

“ I would like to recognize each and every one of you for your hard work! Thanks to you, we have [noted improvement] and have achieved the goals we set for ourselves. Thank you for your contribution: it is essential to the success of the company! ”

Team meetings are a good opportunity to thank your employees. Take advantage of this opportunity to show them that the efforts they make every day are appreciated and recognized! 

To highlight good performances

Although performance at work is expected on a daily basis, it is very important to recognize good work by sending employees thank you messages for their good performance. This recognition will motivate them to surpass themselves. Moreover, it will certainly make them want to do more good deeds!

Example of an employee thank you message for a good performance:

“ Well done! I can’t help but comment on the quality of your work! You have excelled in [observed performance]. I sincerely thank you for your dedication and for your contribution which is essential to the success of the company. ”

Recognizing a great performance and taking the time to thank an employee for it helps build their self-esteem at work. This will allow them to see that they are having a positive impact within your company and that they are doing their job well

Example of an employee thank you message for a good performance raised by a customer:

“ I received a testimonial today from [name of client] and I couldn’t keep it to myself! Your outstanding attitude is a perfect reflection of our company’s values. I want to thank you sincerely for representing us so well!  ”

When you recognize good performance with customer feedback, it is very important to show that feedback to the employee in question. Your employee will take pride in the fact that they made a difference in that customer’s day and that the customer was so pleased that they took the time to write that nice comment. 

To recognize an employee’s involvement

We all know a colleague who doesn’t hesitate to deviate from their job description to lend a hand. We’ve all been around that person who is 100% committed to the company culture and is always willing to compromise to help! 

Do you take the time to thank this person? Do you recognize their involvement? Whether it’s to help prepare an event or to help solve a problem that doesn’t concern their department, this type of involvement should not go unnoticed and deserves to be recognized. Acknowledging this type of person through an employee thank you message should be a natural reflex!

Example of an employee thank you message to recognize their involvement:

“ Thank you for always offering to help and for being so dedicated on a daily basis. You always volunteer to help out your colleagues without expecting anything in return. Our team is blessed to have someone who is as committed to what they do as you are! ”

To mark an anniversary

Events such as a service anniversary or even a team member’s birthday are great opportunities to write employees thank you messages! It shows your appreciation and an employee will be happy to be recognized for their first year of service, for example.

Example of an employee thank you message to mark a service anniversary:

“ I can’t believe it’s already been [number of years in service] that we’ve been lucky enough to have you as a part of our talent! Time flies with you. I want to thank you for all you do to contribute to the success of the company, your dedication and thoroughness allow us to accomplish great things together! ”

If you use a communication channel like Slack or Microsoft Teams to chat internally, take the opportunity to mark this service anniversary in a group conversation! This way, peers will join you in thanking and congratulating their colleague on this occasion of recognition.

Example of an employee thank you message to send them on their birthday: 

“ Happy birthday! I am blessed to have the opportunity to be around an exceptional person like you. Thank you for being the great person that you are. I wish you all the best on this special day of yours. ”

For a message of thanks at a birthday, it’s best to focus on the person’s personality. They will feel appreciated and will have a great day, even if the birthday is spent at the office! 

How can InputKit help you build employee loyalty in your company?

Via InputKit, thanks to the automatically shared positive feedback function, good customer feedback is sent directly to the affected employee! This innovative feature will save you a lot of time and keep your employees loyal by showing them that they are doing a great job. Use these comments to motivate your employees with actionable feedback from your customers! 

Increase employee retention with InputKit’s employee experience optimization software.  Gather relevant feedback from your staff with frequent pulse surveys and timely surveys at specific events. Track trends with relevant metrics that cover  essential aspects of your employee experience.

This essential feedback will allow you to see what issues are affecting your employees’ motivation and will allow you to improve their work experience

All in all, by combining the customer experience solution with InputKit’s employee experience optimization software, you will have everything you need to build loyalty and motivate your employees with concrete feedback, as well as promote their well-being by frequently asking them about their daily work life.

Finally, taking the time to thank your employees is an important form of recognition that contributes to their professional well-being. This recognition is an undeniable factor in their motivation and job satisfaction! You pay them a salary every two weeks, but do you thank them frequently? If the answer is no, it’s time to increase how often you thank your employees for their good work!

Follow our best advices to ensure you have a thorough thank you process. First, add a personalized touch when sending your employees thank you messages. Be specific and focus on why you are recognizing them. This will show your employees that they are doing a good job and it will boost their professional esteem. Show them the positive impact their involvement has on your company and be professional in the way you thank them. 

Need a little help to inspire you in your employees thank you messages? With a tool like InputKit, evaluate your employees and motivate them with concrete feedback from your customers! Save as much time as possible with the automatic positive feedback feature that sends your employees positive feedback from your customers. Schedule your free demo with no commitment to learn more about it! 

To conclude, below is a short video from TED that demonstrates that what employees need to be happy at work is to be treated with respect and fairly. Create a healthy work culture by showing gratitude to your employees. Don’t forget to thank them for everything they do to make sure that they feel recognized for their good work! 

 

FREE FRENCH CHECKLIST
Welcoming and onboarding new employees

InputKit InputKit

Receive our best articles and tips by email

Be the first to know about our new articles.