Have You Said 'Thank You' Today?

So you've hired the very best people you can find? Good start! Here's a few ways to make sure you keep them.

Because you've made the effort to hire very smart, capable people, you can let them just get on with it. Is it more important that people are at their desks from 9 to 5, or that they’re meeting their targets and producing quality work? Trust that you made good hiring decisions and don’t feel you have to micromanage everything that goes on in the office.

While trusting your people is important, if things go wrong don’t let the situation drag on or escalate out of control. Negativity, disruptive or downright destructive or illegal behavior can undermine your culture, spread to other employees, and seriously derail your company’s progress. Deal with the cause of the problem first, and know when to cut your losses – seriously disengaged employees might not ever re-engage, no matter what you try...

And say thanks. It’s easy to thank someone for a job particularly well done, for going above and beyond, or for shouldering additional responsibility. Recognizing and rewarding successes makes people happy, helps with team bonding, increases motivation, has positive effects on engagement and productivity, impacts on business results... Big achievements may deserve big celebrations, but don’t forget the small stuff – every success matters to someone.