An incident over a Thanksgiving holiday reminded me that a Human Resources policy or practice does not need to be complicated or expensive to be effective.  A very good friend of mine is a Real Estate agent.  She recently began working for a new Real Estate company.  Over the first few weeks her experiences have been very positive.  Yesterday, she told me something that gave me more than a hint of why she is happy there.

The office manager of the new Real Estate firm left the a message on everyones' voicemail on Thanksgiving morning.  It went something like this:

"On this Thanksgiving, I wanted you all to know how much I appreciate the hard work you do for me.  I am truly blessed to be part of an organization with such fine, professional people as yourselves."

There was another line or two, but you get the idea.  This was a fine example of recognition.

Many of us spend more time with the people we work with than with anyone else, including family.  How many of us take the time to express thanks to employees and colleagues for a job well done?  The day-to-day routine often gets the better of us, and we take others for granted.

That Thanksgiving now is past, but let it be a reminder to each of us to express thanks to those in our lives who are so deserving of it, whether they be at work, at home, or anywhere else.

If you know of an employee relations policy that works, please e-mail us at info@employeesurveys.com for publication on this site. Let us know whether to include your name or company, or a link to your company's site. We'll assume you want to remain anonymous unless you tell us otherwise. Please include the words "good policy" on the subject line.