One of the biggest stresses we hear from business owners we work with is “I want to appreciate and reward my employees, but looking at my overhead, I am not sure I can afford to reward them”. They further explain that they sometimes lack motivation to reward staff in part due to the lack of appreciation felt in return. As an example, in talking with a client at the end of the year he explained, in relation to the end of the year bonus, or a Christmas present, “ sure I can give them some money, or a present, but I never hear a word of thanks. It’s like it’s expected!”

One of the biggest issues businesses, and organizations of any type, have to deal with today is the lack of financial resources. We are in a new “world” where profits are slim. This is creating a tremendous amount of stress within organizations . Resources are tight all over. At the same time, their workload and responsibilities have increased. More demands + fewer resources become a perfect recipe for stress. And stress over the long haul leads to burn out and discouragement.

Communicating Meaningful & Impactful Appreciation

Here is what research shows are effective ways to communicate appreciation and encouragement to your team members, without having to spend a lot of money:

1. Make sure your communication is personal and fitted to the individual rather than utilizing general communication across the organization. The key component to effective appreciation and encouragement is the sense by the recipient that you mean what you say and that you took time to think about them personally. Conversely, we have found that a global “Thanks for a good job done” email to a wide range of people across the organization actually generates a negative response from most team members, given its impersonal nature and perceived minimal effort to complete. What about considering a personal acknowledgement to each team member once a week. Catch them doing something right and thank them.
   
   
2. “Speak the language” of the person whom you are trying to encourage. If the action we take to communicate appreciation to our colleagues isn’t what is important to them, we have wasted our time and effort. Communicating encouragement and appreciation which is impactful must “hit the target” for the recipient. We offer or clients the MBA Inventory – to identify each team member’s preferred languages of appreciation and to specify the actions most valued by them. By learning a person’s language of appreciation you can give and receive feedback and appreciation in a way that can be effective.
   
   
3. The languages of appreciation people value the most don’t have to cost a lot of money. Sure almost everyone would like a bonus or a raise – but for most organizations that is not possible. The ways that people experience appreciation in the workplace fall into five categories:
   • Words of Affirmation
   • Quality Time
   • Acts of Service
   • Tangible Gifts
   • Appropriate Physical Touch

   Most of these don’t cost anything financially (even tangible gifts don’t have to cost much). For example, some of the most cited ways employees report feeling valued include:

   • Receiving a note from your supervisor complimenting you on the good job you are doing.
   • A team member stopping by your office, spending a few minutes with you to see how you are doing.
   • Obtaining some help from a colleague who notices you are “buried”.
   • Getting a gift certificate after you have worked long hours to complete a big project (for example, to go to the movies.)
   • Having your co-workers give you a “high five” after you have successfully completed an important presentation.

Each person has their own preferred “language of appreciation”. And within each language, there are specific actions that are most valued by that individual. None of these actions cost much money. But the key is to be able to use the right action with the right person, at the right time, and with a genuine spirit of appreciation. Then your actions will “hit the target” and be effective in encouraging those with whom you work.

Call us today and we can share with you the benefits of learning more about languages of appreciation.

Great webinar you guys!  One of the best I've attended!

Very well done

Thank you for a great webinar. Loved learning about "soft skills" in relation to conflict.

Unmet expectations?  What a great observation for improving my communication!

Best of all we delighted in sharing our information with the Sesame clients!  You rock!

Source: Learning from Zappos: Creating World-Class Customer Service (http://www.dentistryiq.com/index/display/article-display/7273434693/articles/dentisryiq/practice-management/practice-metrics/2011/01/leaning-from_zappos.html) by Shari Tastad and Fran Pangakis

- Celia Luce

For me 2010 has been a year full of bumps. Some of them major, some of them minor. When life puts bumps in your life's pathway what do you do to ride over them? What are your life's shock absorbers? 

Interested in learning more about E-Gaps, creating trust in the workplace? Contact us today. 

Yes and no. By itself, knowledge is not power. Power comes from how and when knowledge is applied, and who applies it. And the true power is with the ‘who’ – the right person with the right perspective and right attitude.

 Let’s consider how this applies to a typical dental practice. How often does a dentist make changes to the ‘systems’ in their office, believing this is the way to solve problems. “If our systems are more efficient, our problems will be solved.”  

As a result of this thinking, doctors spend a lot of time and money updating and implementing their office systems, them sitting back and waiting for ‘things’ to change.

Do they?

You walk into the office thinking “business as usual” and you enter your AM huddle. Silence abounds, eye contact is lacking and verbal spurring begins with little quips here and there.  You think, “here we go again, I hope this issue resolves it’s self quickly so everyone can settle down”.  Amazingly, by noon people seem to be over it.   Unbeknownst to you the issue has been stuffed in closet for an appearance at a later, even less convenient date. 

Resolving conflict to gain clarity and team effectiveness

In most offices, conflict just seems to be a fact of life. We've all seen situations where different people with different goals and needs come into conflict. And we've all seen the often intense personal animosity that can result if the issue that is creating the conflict is not addressed.