A Token of Appreciation

 It is tough to acquire unusual and sincere and special ways of saying thank you to someone you value or endorse. To pay tribute to their abilities and work by commending them for support. You want them to know of your appreciation what they have done for you or for others or for the company. To recognize that is the first step. To let the person realize you sincerely and truly appreciate them and acknowledge them is very important. Giving thanks is not just for Thanksgiving anymore. You must offer and endorse the behaviors you want to see continue. So the first stage is to be aware of showing appreciation and acknowledging it. That does not mean going overboard all the time and having to give lots of gifts or money for every little thing. Studies have found that people respond to acknowledgements of even the tiniest kind such as a nod or look of endorsement or an real pat on the back. Even a smile and a look of facial gratitute can be ways of endorsing self esteem and showing you want and recognize what has been done or said. These words of appreciation and commendation show tribute to the person and show that you value them. Saying thank you works. Now if you overdo it for every little thing it thanks and appreciation lose their value. It has to fit your personal way and must be genuine. Sincere gratitude and the word here is sincere is enormous. For a business praise of any kind is good but eventually and periodically you need to put your money where your mouth is and hand something as appreciation of services and recognition of gratitute. That token of appreciation could be money such as a raise or cash with a thank you note. And you have to mix it up a little bit too. If you know the person shops at a certain store or enjoys a particular coffee house or restaurant you could give gift certificates. They are always appreciated. This works if you also do not want to make a big deal or applaud out loud for everyone to see or hear. Sometimes you do and you want others to step up so they too will get those monetary awards. So the looks, the thank you words, the notes and the infrequent gift cards work. If you feel you want something with more of a wow factor then consider an genuine gift that wows. The problem with money or gift cards is that they are definitely appreciated but have an exact value and the amount given one employee can be perceived by others as a rating scale by what they get. My business has small gift cards that are consistent for certain things then we started going to get plaques engraved and people displayed them for a while but are now gone and seem to be old hat to everyone. The secretaries said it is taking too much effort to go out and shop for these prizes and that employees compare how much we spend on one compared to another. One of our secretaries found an Aurora based gift basket company that she now calls and has a gift basket or pail made up and delivered to us. It is so easy. Sometimes she just orders one of the baskets online from Baskets by Rita and tells them what to put on the card. More often recently she has been writing a note on the order or even calling and asking that the basket be original. She just gives the price we want to pay and they put together a different gift basket crate box or pail every time. That way employees have no idea what amount we spent and theirs is unique. It is awesome way to say, "Thank You!- A Thank You Gift Basket." http://www.basketsbyrita.com