What are employee appreciation emails?
As an employer, you understand the importance of work ethic. You provide your employees with opportunities to advance, you strive to create a comfortable and enjoyable environment, and you offer incentives for them to stay at their posts. But what else can you do to keep your workforce feeling fulfilled and inspired?
Employee appreciation emails are one of the most effective ways to boost morale and thank your employees for a job well done.
Employee appreciation emails boost morale by recognizing individual achievements, celebrating milestones, and reinforcing the importance of their roles within your company. It's probably one of the cheapest employee appreciation ideas out there, but it can be extremely instrumental in boosting employee engagement and recognizing employees who go the extra mile.
In this article, we'll discuss the benefits of employee appreciation emails, how to write them effectively, plus some helpful metrics you can use with your own emails.
Let's get started!
Benefits of employee appreciation emails
Thanking your employees for exceptional work boosts their morale and encourages them to continue doing great things. Employee appreciation email templates can provide a platform for you to communicate your gratitude and share the impact they've made on their team, customers, clients, etc.
This is especially effective if your company's culture promotes collaboration, as it lets employees know their teammates are also appreciated for their efforts. Writing appreciation emails is absolutely necessary when you have a virtual team working remotely.
An appreciation letter should be sent out regularly (think weekly or monthly), but you can also use them for special occasions like birthdays, Halloween, Mother's Day, etc., to highlight more specific achievements.
When you thank your employees regularly for their hard work, not only are they more likely to stay at their posts, but customer service performance rates can increase as well. Consider sending out an employee appreciation email after a big project is successfully finished. Doing so can help boost the morale of your team and strengthen your relationships with collaborators.
Employee appreciation emails also provide a platform for your management team to demonstrate their gratitude toward employees who go above and beyond. If you've never run an employee appreciation campaign before, this is a good day to start! National Employee Appreciation day is another option.
Tips for writing employee appreciation emails
The following are tips that have worked effectively for other companies but feel free to tinker around with them to find the best ways for you to say "thank you" in your own emails.
Keep it brief
Employee appreciation emails are meant to be quick, concise notes that let employees know their efforts and good work are not going unnoticed. There's no need to write out a formal letter including three pages detailing your employee's accomplishments; their work speaks for itself.
If you must include a story, keep it short and relevant to the achievement you're recognizing so your employees know exactly why they deserve recognition. Where appropriate, you can use an employee appreciation quote or two. Employee appreciation quotes should be always checked for typos. There's nothing less professional than spelling mistakes in a company email!
Make them personal
Remember: not every employee appreciation letter should be sent out en masse. If there's one particular worker who has put in an extra effort that deserves a personal touch, consider sending a freeform email that explains what they did and why you're thanking them.
Let your employees know the kind of effort that deserves recognition. For instance, you could praise an employee for demonstrating leadership skills in the office. This way, they'll have an idea of how to act in the future if more praise is warranted.
Show enthusiasm
Employee appreciation emails are not just about saying thank you and expressing employee recognition, they're also about showing that you care.
Use actionable language to demonstrate your excitement over your employees' good work accomplishments, and commit to meeting their goals.
Include keywords like "accomplishments" and "strives for excellence" in your email template so your employees know you mean business when it comes to honoring them.
Be upbeat
Consider adding a "light" section to your email template that offers employees suggestions on how they can celebrate their work-related successes in their own lives.
This could be anything from suggesting an activity they might enjoy, to offering advice on how they can relax after a long day of work. Kind words can be extremely effective in boosting employee morale and increasing employee engagement.
Your company culture should dictate what content to include in your email. Just keep any employee recognition program professional and focused on their dedication and efforts rather than anything else at the office.
Employee appreciation email examples
Here are some examples of appreciation emails you could write to celebrate your employees and recognize their good work and contributions to your company’s success. Don't be afraid to customize these to reflect your team and company culture as well as the level of formality your team expects.
Subject: Thank You!
Hi everyone,
I hope your week is off to a great start. I wanted to thank each one of you for all the hard work you put in over the last few months. We've accomplished some amazing things together, and I'm excited to see what we can accomplish next year! Our clients' loyalty to us is a direct reflection of the hard work you put in, so please keep it up.
Thank you all again for all your efforts - I know the future only holds continued success!
Sincerely,
Lilly G. Boss | CEO, Acme Co.
This email would be suitable to write to your entire team after you've finished a major client project or met another milestone for which congratulations is appropriate.
--
Below is another email you could use if you want to say thanks to one specific person for their efforts:
Subject: Thank You!
Hello David,
I wanted to thank you again for your role in getting the new client on board. We couldn't have done it without the passion and dedication of people like you, and I'm glad we're all working together to help this company succeed.
Thank you again, and I hope you have a great weekend!
Lilly G. Boss | CEO, Acme Co.
--
At the end of the year, you could write an email like the below:
Subject: Thank You!
Hello team,
The company had another record year, and I know it's because of everyone's dedication to the team. We've made incredible progress this year, and without everyone pulling together as a cohesive unit, we never would have been able to do that! Thanks again for all your hard work, and I hope you enjoy your week!
Sincerely,
Lilly G. Boss | CEO, Acme Co.
--
To celebrate an employee's work anniversary, you could write:
Subject: Thank You!
Hi John,
It's been a year since you've joined our company, and we wanted to say thank you for all of your hard work. We appreciate the effort you put in every day and how dedicated you are to serving our customers. If there's anything we can do to help, don't hesitate to ask.
We look forward to working with you in the coming year!
P.S. You're doing an amazing job! Keep it up!
Employee appreciation email metrics
There are a few appreciation email metrics you might want to consider, to determine whether or not your emails are effective.
Subject line opens - Keep track of the number of times the subject line is open in addition to the number of times the entire email is opened.
Subject line clicks - Keep track of the number of times your email subject line is clicked on in addition to the total number of times it's opened.
Time spent reading - Track how much time staff members spend reading your emails, which will give you a sense of what they're interested in.
Software for employee appreciation emails
There are several software options that automate the process of sending employee appreciation emails and provide you with helpful metrics. Three favorite software options are MailChimp, AWeber, and ActiveCampaign.
- MailChimp - An email marketing platform that allows you to send emails to a list, track statistics on your emails, see who's opening them, and more.
- AWeber - Another email marketing platform that lets you send bulk emails to subscribers, manage contacts in one place, deliver targeted messages based on subscriber preferences, and more.
- ActiveCampaign - ActiveCampaign gives you the email marketing, marketing automation, and CRM tools you need to create incredible customer experiences.
You can use either of these software options to send a single recognition letter or run an entire staff appreciation campaign. While we're at it, don't forget social media, an easy and free way to get your employee appreciation message out there. You can also use an employee recognition platform like Matter to send kudos to your employees and team members through Slack.
Final ideas on employee appreciation emails
When writing your employee appreciation emails, be careful to keep them meaningful with personal touches. Make sure they are timely. If you're celebrating an employee milestone, make sure to send the email on that date if at all possible. If appropriate, you can even include a reward celebrating their great work, for instance, a digital gift card to a local coffee place.
Calls to action can help encourage engagement. Make your emails more engaging by asking employees what they think of something, encouraging them to voice their opinions about a current event in the company, or any other way you can get employees involved in taking part in the discussion.
In general, you’ll want to keep it short and sweet. The goal of an appreciation email is to let employees know that they're valued for their contributions, not to give a long-winded story about how great they are and why you appreciate everything they do. Keep it short and send them on their way.
Employee appreciation via email should be a regular occurrence to thank employees for the hard work they do every day. While it may not seem like much, gratitude can improve morale and make your employees feel a valued and essential part of the team.
