It’s no mystery that this week contains one of the best holidays of the year – Thanksgiving! So in honor of the celebration, we’re thinking of all the different ways we’re grateful for our employees. Whether it’s their hard work, persistent positive attitude, or dedication to our customers, there are so many reasons to be thankful for our CWS team!

Have you shown your employees how thankful you are recently? If not, what better time than the present?

This piece by Entrepreneur provides some great tips for genuinely connecting with your employees and showing them how thankful you are for them. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to show them that you appreciate their work and continue to be your dealership’s greatest asset!

The article’s first recommendation is that you identify the positive attributes an employee brings to the team. Think of the following questions to get your brain going.

• What does he/she do to make you smile?
• What character quality does he/she demonstrate?
• What talents/skills does he/she demonstrate?

Once you’ve identified these attributes, then think of how you’re going to communicate your appreciation. Entrepreneur recommends some key elements to consider when communicating your thanks to your team:

• Ensure that your praise is specific and personal. Make sure it’s not just a generic statement, but rather, is specific to each individual and his/her talents.
• Communicate in a way that’s comfortable for you. Whether it’s in-person, over email, or a card, do it in a way that makes sense coming from you! It doesn’t have to be over the top.
• Be genuine! This is probably the most important tip. If the communication doesn’t feel genuine, then it won’t have the impact on the employee that you want it to.

If you’re looking for some specific ways to act on your thankfulness then we’ve got some ideas for you below!

• Consider buying breakfast or lunch for the entire team. You’ll be surprised how much excitement comes from some free food!
• Let them leave a little early one day. Obviously make sure the work your team needs to get done is complete, but this is another huge morale booster!
• If you prefer written communication, try out a group shout out. This could mean sending an email blast to the entire dealership staff calling out the employees you think have done a great job that week so that all teams see what hard work they’ve been doing.
• Hand out some internal dealership awards. This is a great way to recognize your employees and even insight some healthy competitive edge among the team. Consider an “Employee of the Month”-like award or awards more specific to your line of work.
• Feature team members on social media. Everyone likes a little 15 minutes of fame! Consider sharing an image of an employee that’s done great that week and call out their good work in front of your customers.
• Plan a team activity. Maybe plan something a little different than the usual team lunch and branch out to think of an activity your employees would enjoy. We once took our team bowling to acknowledge their hard work and provide some time for a little fun! This is also a great way to get different groups, that might not normally interact, to socialize in a setting that isn’t so formal.

What are some ways you’ve shown your team you’re grateful for their hard work and contribution to the company? Leave it in the comments below!