The Power of Thank You report presents the results of a study into rewards and incentives in the workplace.

2. INTRODUCTION
We all like to feel that our efforts are noticed and appreciated
by those around us. In the workplace this is crucial to our
motivation and performance.
Therefore, understanding how to harness the ppoowweerr ooff ‘‘tthhaannkk
you’ is crucial to good leadership and the efficient operation of
any organisation.
In this report we show you the results of a research study* into
how businesses say ‘thank you’ to their staff and how to do so
in the most effective way possible.
AAtt OOnnee44aallll,, hheellppiinngg oorrggaanniissaattiioonnss ttoo ssaayy tthhaannkk yyoouu eeffffeeccttiivveellyy
is our business. We help structure and fulfill programmes of
rewards and incentives that help stimulate desired behaviours.
We can only do this by understanding the power of saying
‘thank you’ effectively.
SSoo tthhaannkk yyoouu ffoorr ttaakkiinngg ttiimmee oouutt ttoo rreeaadd tthhiiss rreeppoorrtt.. We believe
that it contains some simple lessons that will help your organi-sation
to be a more efficient, motivated and happy place to
work.
Michael Dawson
CEO
One4all Group
*Survey of a representative sample of 1,000 Irish employees, carried out in August 2014

3. DO EMPLOYERS SAY ‘THANK YOU’
ENOUGH?
Over a third of Irish employees say they do not receive any
kind of thanks from their boss, so there is clearly some room
for improvement when it comes to harnessing the power of
thank you.
Of those that are recognised, 31% said that tthheeyy aarree tthhaannkkeedd
on an annual basis, and 14% said they are thanked very rarely.
The majority of respondents (68%) believe that they should be
thanked more often, highlighting the potential for employers to
make a big impact by showing gratitude more often.
*Survey of a representative sample of 1,000 Irish employees, carried out in August 2014

4. HOW DO YOU CURRENTLY RECEIVE A
‘THANK YOU’ FROM YOUR BOSS?

5. HOW TO USE ‘THANK YOU’ AS A
MOTIVATIONAL TOOL
CClleeaarrlly, we want to be rewarded for the work that we do, but
ultimately it's the personal recognition that makes a ‘thank
you’ so powerful. We want to know that we are seen as an
individual, not just one of a number, and that the personal time
and dedication we have committed has been noticed.
TThhee rreesseeaarrcchh sshhoowwss tthhaatt tthhee kkeeyy ttoo uussiinngg ‘‘tthhaannkk yyoouu’ to
increase motivation is for it to be sincere and based on a per-son’s
individual efforts.
For example, when a ‘thank you’ is in the form of cash or gifts,
having a reward linked to individual effort or attainment is
twice as important to employees than the actual size of the
reward.
And yet, only 15% of bonuses or rewards given to people in
our study were linked to individual efforts.
Our findings indicate that such schemes can actually under-mine
motivation, making people think that their individual
contribution does not matter as much and that the ‘thank you’
is not meant sincerely.
*Survey of a representative sample of 1,000 Irish employees, carried out in August 2014

6. WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING ASPECTS OF BEING
THANKED WOULD HAVE MOST IMPACT ON HOW
MOTIVATED YOU WERE TO DO A GOOD JOB OR HIT
AGREED TARGETS?
DO EMPLOYERS SAY ‘THANK YOU’
ENOUGH?
Just one in four employees in the UK feel that they receive
sufficient thanks for the work that they do, so there is clearly
some room for improvement when it comes to harnessing the
power of thank you.
The most common form of recognition experienced bbyy wwoorrkkeerrss
is a simple ‘thank you’ from their boss when work is done well
(32%).
Just under a quarter of employees (24%) receive a tangible
thank you in the form of cash or gifts at least once a year.
IInncceennttiivvee sscchheemmeess,, lliinnkkeedd ttoo hhiittttiinngg sseett ggooaallss oorr mmiilleessttoonneess,,
are the most common form of tangible reward (11% of work-places).
Just 7% of workplaces still abide to the tradition of a Christ-mas
bonus.
20% of employees say that they never receive any form of
thanks from their employer

7. USING ‘THANK YOU’ TO BOOST
RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF
STAFF
When assessing a new job, 61% of people would be more
likely to choose an employer that regularly thanks its staff for
their efforts.
Gratitude has a big impact on staff retention ttoooo,, wwiitthh 5533%% ooff
employees saying they would be very unlikely to leave a job
where they were regularly thanked.
34% said it would make them less likely to look elsewhere if
they were thanked often.

8. WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING ASPECTS OF BEING
THANKED WOULD HAVE MOST IMPACT ON HOW
MOTIVATED YOU WERE TO DO A GOOD JOB OR
HIT AGREED TARGETS?
DO EMPLOYERS SAY ‘THANK YOU’
ENOUGH?
Just one in four employees in the UK feel that they receive
sufficient thanks for the work that they do, so there is clearly
some room for improvement when it comes to harnessing the
power of thank you.
The most common form of recognition experienced bbyy wwoorrkkeerrss
is a simple ‘thank you’ from their boss when work is done well
(32%).
Just under a quarter of employees (24%) receive a tangible
thank you in the form of cash or gifts at least once a year.
IInncceennttiivvee sscchheemmeess,, lliinnkkeedd ttoo hhiittttiinngg sseett ggooaallss oorr mmiilleessttoonneess,,
are the most common form of tangible reward (11% of work-places).
Just 7% of workplaces still abide to the tradition of a Christ-mas
bonus.
20% of employees say that they never receive any form of
thanks from their employer

9. SAYING ‘THANK YOU’ BUILDS
REPUTATION
As well as the immediate benefits of saying ‘thank you’ effec-tively
– higher staff motivation and better retention and recruit-ment
– it is also an excellent way of building an organisation’s
reputation.
Reputation is an intangible asset, but one that can represent
up to 80% of a company’s value. It is based on how an organi-sation
is perceived against a wide set of positive attributes.
Organisations that regularly say ‘thank you’ are believed to
also be better in a number of ways according to our study.
They are perceived to be:
• better at caring for employees.
• better at treating their customers well.
• better at being fair.
• better led and managed than other organisations.
• better able to be trusted.
*Survey of a representative sample of 1,000 Irish employees, carried out in August 2014

10. WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS DO
YOU THINK ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE TRUE OF AN
EMPLOYER WHO REGULARLY AND
EFFECTIVELY THANKS ITS EMPLOYEES?
DO EMPLOYERS SAY ‘THANK YOU’
ENOUGH?
Just one in four employees in the UK feel that they receive
sufficient thanks for the work that they do, so there is clearly
some room for improvement when it comes to harnessing the
power of thank you.
The most common form of recognition experienced bbyy wwoorrkkeerrss
is a simple ‘thank you’ from their boss when work is done well
(32%).
Just under a quarter of employees (24%) receive a tangible
thank you in the form of cash or gifts at least once a year.
IInncceennttiivvee sscchheemmeess,, lliinnkkeedd ttoo hhiittttiinngg sseett ggooaallss oorr mmiilleessttoonneess,,
are the most common form of tangible reward (11% of work-places).
Just 7% of workplaces still abide to the tradition of a Christ-mas
bonus.
20% of employees say that they never receive any form of
thanks from their employer

11. HOW SAYING ‘THANK YOU’ BENEFITS THE
BOTTOM LINE
There are very tangible and measurable financial benefits to
organisations that can learn how to say ‘thank you’ effectively.
Here’s a collection of facts and figures that underline the
business case.
MOTIVATED STAFF
Greater motivation can boost performance bbyy aass mmuucchh aass 4444%%
source: Incentive Research Foundation
RETENTION
Every staff member you retain saves your business 30 to 50%
of that person’s annual salary (more if it's a senior member of
the team)
Source: Society for Human Resource Management
TTRRUUST
People place a large value on working for an organisation
where they trust their bosses. Research shows that a 10%
increase in trust in management is equivalent to a 30%
increase in pay
source: National Bureau of Economic Research
*Survey of a representative sample of 1,000 Irish employees, carried out in August 2014

12. CONCLUSIONS
Learning to say ‘thank you’ effectively is clearly a powerful tool to growing a successful, efficient and
happy business. Harnessing this power will set you apart from other organisations, making sure yours is
one of the few companies that gets it right.
Showing gratitude is so important that it can’t be relied upon just to happen out of politeness aanndd ggoooodd
relationships. To be effective, each ‘thank you’ should be part of a clear and consistent internal procedure,
given in consideration of an individual doing a great job.
Size is not the crucial factor – sincerity is. Saying ‘thank you’ in this way let’s people know that they are
playing an important role in the overall success of the organisation and would be missed if they weren’t
there. This is a deeply rewarding emotional ‘bonus’ that can’t simply be measured in terms of money.
So how do you know if you're doing it right? Start by asking yourself the following questions:
•• WWhhoo iinn mmyy oorrggaanniissaattiioonn wwoouulldd II mmiissss mmoosstt iiff tthheeyy wweerreenn’’tt tthheerree??
• When was that person last made aware of how grateful I am for the work that they do? (If it’s less than
once a week, that’s below the national average).
• Are this person’s efforts regularly acknowledged and rewarded over and above the level that they would
be for someone who did that job less well?
• If not, how could they be?
• How could I extend that same approach to everyone in the businesses, whether I have sight of their daily
ccoonnttrriibbuuttiioonn ttoo tthhee oorrggaanniissaattiioonn oorr nnoott??