17 Nov Seven Thoughtful Ways to Express Gratitude for Your Home Care Team
Delivering consistent, high quality, professional home care sometimes proves challenging even under ideal circumstances. However, given the current shortage of home care employees, it has now become a yeoman’s work for many providers who are still showing up every day. Therefore, it’s no secret that successful employee relationships are now even more crucial for any serious agency to attract and retain quality employees. Expressing real gratitude for your employees is one fundamental way to demonstrate your appreciation for their efforts.
Here are seven quick ideas to genuinely express gratitude for your loyal employees.
- Gift cards
Gift cards are still a popular way to say thank you. Gift cards from spas, restaurants, coffee spots or doughnut shops will never go out of style – or you can keep your gift card super practical with gas station or drug store cards, depending on what your employee values. It’s also becoming increasingly popular to give the gift of an experience instead, such as a gift card for a professional photo shoot, a horseback riding, go karts, or indoor skydiving. Putting some thought behind the type of gift card you choose for your employee is sure to make this classic thank-you method pop.
2. Old fashioned hand-written thank you notes
Taking time to write sincere, handwritten thank you cards can express appreciation in a way that strikes a chord like no other modern method. By carefully selecting your words and handwriting those sentiments, you can express deeper meaning in a method that easily appears more genuine to the recipient than just a casual email of thanks. This gesture may seem simple, but it goes a long way – as many will simply refuse to take the time to do so. To make this gesture even more thoughtful, try pairing your handwritten thank you note with a nice bottle of something yummy, and you will create an unforgettable memory of gratitude.
3. Something from the heart
Do you enjoy knitting, sewing, baking, creating, or building anything? Why not create something, especially for your employee in a medium you enjoy? Whether it’s a pie, a sweater, a piece or art or a tiny handmade wool animal, a handmade gift from your creative wheelhouse is the perfect way to show appreciation and connect with employees on a new level. Let them see your vulnerability by creating them something from scratch and give them what you might only once have considered giving to your family. The time and effort you put in is sure to express your sincere gratitude.
4. Self-Care Package
Self-care for home care employees is virtually a no-brainer as a solid way to express your gratitude for their hard work. Self-care packages can be fun to create and can include everything from bubble bath, home spa treatments, snacks, journals, pens, high-quality lotions, lip balms, pajamas, slippers, robes, facemasks, or high-quality scented candles. These are just a few ideas for a self-care package that will make your employees feel appreciated and pampered.
5. Custom Swag
It’s a tale as old as time: people love swag. Custom swag can include company-branded mugs, water bottles, blankets, shirts, jackets, bicycles – everything! If you have designs locked and loaded with your company name and logo, you can have them added to virtually anything. Giving employees company swag can really unify your team and create pride throughout the team. If your agency is not at this stage of the game in its brand evolution, you can always put your employee’s name on any of these items for a very personalized way to say thank you. Be sure to double check the spelling of their name on customized gifts to make sure they feel truly special and avoid your gift having the opposite effect.
6. Floral shop delivery
Receiving flowers can be exciting and heartwarming and even bring cheer to anyone within the vicinity of such a delivery! Ever notice an entire group of people excitedly discussing a flower delivery? Flowers can create a ripple effect of joy and leave their recipient beaming. Before choosing flowers as a way to say thank you, be sure to check for allergies or sensitivities to scent. If they do, you can always choose a gorgeous plant or even a teddy bear and balloons instead. There are an endless variety of floral-type deliveries to be made and almost all of them are sure to get to the heart of your gratitude.
7. Food delivery
Sending anything culinary can be a sweet surprise for saying thank you. Depending on where you are, you can have virtually anything delivered at any time. So, decide if you want to feed their family with some groceries, buy them a meal subscription for a week, send them a cake, or simply deliver them a pizza, your ‘thank you delivery’ is sure to be a hit. If you know where they will be and when, you can plan your delicious thank you, tailored for virtually any budget. Even doughnuts, beverages, or candy delivered at the right time, can be an inexpensive showstopper to spread joy and express your gratitude.
We hope you enjoy uplifting your employees using some of the ideas above. Gratitude is often contagious and can do wonders toward building the culture you desire within your agency.