Do you remember the last time you sent out letters of appreciation to employees especially for completing a successful task?
It’s time to start appreciating your employees for the hard work and effort they invest in achieving their daily tasks or target.
Optimizing your employee’s experience should be the ultimate goal of every company. This can be actualized if you follow the steps, guide, and format of writing letters of appreciation to employees.
Table of Contents
Brief Understanding of Letter Of Appreciation
Letters of appreciation to employees are measures taken by an organization to express their gratitude for contributions made to their business by human labor.
They are used for expressing special praise for a project executed well, or a general appreciation for every employee’s overall efforts.
Showing appreciation through writing a letter is a pleasing way to recognize the extra time and effort employees put in while at work.
Taking a bold step in actualizing this measure will make you realize how much such an act of service can boat the morale and confidence of your workforce.
How to write an appreciation letter
- Receivers/company address: Just like writing a formal letter there are two addresses, the writer’s and the receiver’s address. In this case, where it is within the company or organization, a letterhead can suffice
- The date: this is a very essential in every letter, both formal and informal.
- Subject: State clearly the purpose of the letter.
- Salutation: if addressed to an individual, it is important to indicate the employee’s name clearly. E.g. Dear J. E. Jason
- The body: This is where the main content of appreciation is made, which involves the reason for the recognition
- Signature: signatures are important attributes of a formal letter.
Tips
- Be prompt
Letters of appreciation to employees must be done immediately and promptly. Prompt in the sense that it must not take time between the reason for being recognized.
If so much time is taken, the letter may not have great significance as it should. For instance, if a big project is completed and successful in the month of March, recognition must be done within that month and not 3 months later
- Be specific
Focusing on the key purpose of the letter is a great tip for writing a good letter of appreciation to employees.
Identify exactly why you are sending a thank-you mail or letter, and indicate clearly what such an employee has done to deserve such acknowledgement.
This may not apply if it is a general appreciation to all employees.
Include examples of how their professionalism or work ethic has been demonstrated.
- Choose the appropriate format
A letter of appreciation can be either formal (professional) or informal (personal).
As a manager, you can choose to acknowledge your employee in a more friendly way out of the company’s professional way.
A professional letter addressed to an employee should be through a mail attachment or physically. They must be presented with standards.
A more casual format can be used if it is a personal appreciation. It can be in form of a card or stationery with an appreciation written in clear and legible handwriting. This usually occurs when you have someone as your personal assistant.
- Keep it brief
Always keep your letter brief and relevant. Going straight to the point is advisable to avoid a cumbersome letter.
This will get the message across faster and easier.
- Address the employee by name.
In order to express a more sincere appreciation, addressing your employee by name will go a long way.
With this, there is a direct connection and personal touch. Addressing your employee by name throughout the letter adds a personal touch.
- Look to the future.
Emphasizing an employee’s present achievement is not just enough.
Giving them an impression that more of such services will be appreciated by the company.
Samples
We will be explaining both formal and informal samples of writing letters of appreciation to employees. With a sample given, you will understand better how simple unique, and straightforward a letter of appreciation to employees is;
Formal letters of appreciation
Company’s Name
Address
Day, Month, Year _________________________ Date
The chairman of, Editing Department __________ position of recipient
Graves Emily Company_____________________ name of company
Washington DC, United State ________________ State
Dear Melvin Cater, _______________________ Salutation
Letter Of Appreciation For Project JEF
As a valued member of the team, I want to use this opportunity to thank you for your hard work and dedication.
Having worked with many people throughout my years, your talent and brain make you stand out through intelligent contributions made. You have never hesitated in your commitment to excellence and success. Your ethics and personal integrity is highly admired.
I particularly appreciate your work and sacrifices on the just concluded “JEF” project, having an employee like you makes work easier, more efficient, and fun.
Thank you once again we know you have more in stock for Grave Emily’s company.
Sincerely
Mr. Bake jean
Manager
*Signature*
Sample 1.1
Company’s Name
Address
Day, Month, Year _________________________ Date
The chairman of, Editing Department __________ position of recipient
Graves Emily Company_____________________ name of company
Washington DC, United State ________________ State
Letter of Acknowledgment
Dear [employee name],
With sincerity, we are saying thank you very much for your efforts in closing the [client name] account. We are aware of how much effort it took to coordinate with [department name] department and finalize the documentation necessary
You’ve done so well to show your coworkers the importance of teamwork and persistence. We are very proud of your achievement, and we look forward to more success stories in the future.
Congratulations!! and thank you once again.
[your name]
Informal Letters of Appreciation to Employees
Having seen the formal sample of an appreciation letter, let us see what an informal letter looks like. In situations where you collaborated with a colleague or fellow staff, you will want to appreciate such colleague for his assistance and contribution to the task or project.
This does not necessarily need to go the formal way even if the project was a big one.
Example:
Dear [Jayden],
This is me thanking you for choosing to collaborate with me. I appreciate your contributions, you are indeed a genius.
Spending such quality time with you was fun and educational at the same time. You showed me the importance of effective communication and how to manage a team. With your contribution, we were able to finish our project before the due date.
It was indeed a pleasure working with you! I’m looking forward to another experience like this in the future.
Sincerely,
[your name]
Differences between formal and Informal Letter Of Appreciation
- Letterhead not necessary
- A signature is not mandatory
- An address is important but brief
- Simple and friendly words are used
- Can be sent with cards
- Emails are not mandatory
- Pet names are allowed (depending on the relationship)
Looking closely at the above sample, you will notice how simple letters of appreciation to employees can be following the format already given in the last section.
You can feel free to pour out your heart about your employee, you don’t need to copy exactly what you have on the sample.
However, be careful not to fill the letter up with too much content, so one won’t get bored reading them.
It is just amazing how simple and sincere words of appreciation can soften an individual’s heart and can brighten up their mood instantly.
That is why most companies have chosen the path to communicate their happiness and appreciation to individuals who deserve them.
If sentiments are kept aside, you will get to understand that even an appreciation of a sentence or two is an effective method for strengthening and sustaining bonds within an organization.
FAQ
How often should a manager send an appreciation mail?
It is always recommended to send an appreciation email whenever an employee achieves something beyond their expectation. Instead of sending multiple appreciation emails, one can also comprehend all the recent achievements of the employee and send a mail all at once.
What are the common subject lines used in appreciation letters?
The subject line of any email should emphasize the focus of the email content. Some commonly used subject lines for appreciation emails are:
“Well done ‘Name”
“Thank you ‘Name’ for your incredible work”
“Good work ‘Name’, Well done!”
How do you write an appreciation letter for a well done?
- Decide if you want to send the letter through email or physically
- Open with a professional greeting and proper format. …
- Be straightforward and specific
Conclusion
Sometimes it is quite easy to underrate the basic significance of letters of appreciation to employees.
The general assertion is always that employees do not have time to read through it or probably do not care about it at all.
It is human for individuals to be motivated by the gratitude expressed by another person to them and also expressing how they feel about the work you’ve done. And one of those ways which is not a secret anymore is to write a letter in the most thoughtful, sincere, and impactful way.
