DO you know that e-mails with a thankful closing like “Thank you so much!” saw a response rate of 62 percent much higher than those ending with the standard “Best” and “Cheers”?
This was highlighted in the Inc.com article “Your Emails Are 36 Percent More Likely to Get a Reply If You End Them This Way” by Jessica Stillman. In it, she details how e-mail software company Boomerang “trawled through 350,000 e-mails to see how particular closings impact whether a message gets a response. And thankful ones led the way.
The incredible power of gratitude is echoed by global CEO coach Sabina Nawaz in her Harvard Business Review article, “In Times of Crisis, a Little Thanks Goes a Long Way.”
“During a time of crisis, taking the time to thank others is vital to dampen loneliness, amp up social connections, and generate generosity,” she says. “We’re happier when we’re grateful.”
Sadly, not many of us consider gratitude an important part of our lives. We’d rather tank in everyday anxieties instead of thanking. Or worse, feel so entitled that we fail to appreciate the good things—big or small—that come our way, and the wonderful people that make it possible.
Like everything else, gratitude begins at home, and to us PR Pros, our second home, the workplace, where more often than not, being busy and stressed out, “we feel a lot more thankful at lot more often than we express it.”
At a time where people are battling fears about the pandemic and juggling home and work in close proximity, “almost every employee needs to hear that their dedication is noticed and it matters.”
More than that, “gratitude is proven to show improvements in self-esteem, achieving career goals, decision-making, productivity, and resilience.”
Nawaz shares with us five ways we can express appreciation in the workplace:
1 Bring people together for a gratitude shower. Remember how touching it was for us to see how people in different cities around the world would at a particular time gather on their doorsteps and streets to applaud essential workers for their sacrifices?
We can do an organizational equivalent of this, says Nawaz, like the way a senior academic executive asked everyone to join in a live chat at 4 p.m. daily for exactly two minutes.
During this time, “team members type out compliments for colleagues. Since these notes are written and saved in a chat, people can scroll through past kudos if they miss a session. Use this type of appreciative communications to foster community by coming together for a daily dose of applause.”
2 Tailor your thanks. Take your thanks one step further by understanding how people like to be acknowledged.
For instance, “one of your colleagues might respond to words of affirmation. In that case, send her a carefully crafted e-mail or handwritten note.”
For those whose preference is acts of service, “help them with a research project.” Gratitude is more meaningful when it is personalized.
3 Make them the star attraction. At a time when everyone is going above and beyond during this pandemic, “some days it takes extraordinary effort to perform even the ordinary activity.” This is especially true in the case of invisible work—“tasks we take for granted or underestimate the amount of effort involved.”
Nawaz suggests that we “celebrate unsung heroes and feature them in company-wide communications.” She adds that “shining a spotlight on usually unseen accomplishments boosts productivity and increases empathy and understanding about the workload we might unintentionally unleash on others.”
4 Popularize positivity. An expression of gratitude can create a chain of random acts of kindness. Research shows that a recipient of thankfulness will be more generous and helpful to others.
To spark this, Nawaz suggests, “create a pay-it-forward movement in your organization. Encourage those who have been thanked to craft a gesture of appreciation for someone else.”
This, she says, “spreads the uplift while reducing the pressure on one manager trying to thank multitudes of people. It also expands visibility of individuals and their praiseworthy work.”
5 Give thanks as a team. There is strength in numbers, and Nawaz suggests that we work as a team and coordinate our efforts with others and package our praise for greater impact. “This,” she says, “packs a bigger wallop for your coworker and binds your team together in a shared positive activity.”
All in all, “gratitude is a dish best served to suit the recipient’s tastes, but it comes with benefits for both the chef and consumer. When people around you are seen and acknowledged, they return the favor, invest in their efforts, and form stronger connections—all essential ingredients to offset the stress of a crises.”
More than that, “giving thanks can be infectious,” says Nawaz. “Even when we’re uncertain about the present and future, one thing we can control are our actions. We can choose to help sincere expressions of appreciation catch on.”
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world. Millie Dizon, the senior vice president for Marketing and Communications of SM, is the former local chairman.
We are devoting a special column each month to answer the reader’s questions about public relations. Please send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.
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