No thanks from British bosses

More than half of bosses are failing to recognise the impact a simple thanks can have on staff retention figures, according to new research.

A survey of 1002 workers by One4all Rewards as part of the Rewards Review revealed that 83% of the UK workforce admitted that being regularly thanked by an employer increases the sense of loyalty they feel to their company. But despite this, the majority of British businesses are failing to implement this very simple staff retention measure, with 77% of workers reporting they do not even receive a regular thank you from their boss.

In many cases, this doesn’t even have to be a costly expression of gratitude, as almost one in three (31%) said they would be ‘very unlikely’ to leave a company that regularly shows appreciation for their work. Gratitude can even help businesses to defend against staff being poached by competitors, with one in four (24%) workers saying a regular show of thanks from their employer would make it harder for alternative job offers to tempt them away.

Declan Byrne, UK Managing Director at One4all Rewards said: “It’s amazing to see how many companies are overlooking the very basics of maintaining positive employee morale – clearly in UK business the power of a simple thank you, or even a more tangible expression of gratitude such as a small reward or benefit, is being regularly overlooked, despite the huge impact it can have on staff retention.

“This is particularly valuable for employers to bear in mind at a time of year when traditionally many workers assess new opportunities and look at what’s out there in the jobs market – January is an excellent time for employers to turn over a new leaf in this respect and make expressing gratitude a regular habit in their company.”