“Encouragement” works as a vitamin for each one of us. Encourage a child to do something and see the amazing results. Give encouragement to an animal to behave and see show s/he responds to it. Likewise encourage an employee for her/his contribution or efforts and see the ripple effect on her/his future performanceas well as on the performance of her/his colleagues.
An Encouragement Letter is the one that is written when an employee or individual does something good or contributory towards the society or organization. It works as a great motivator for improving future work behavior. An Encouragement Letter should always be given as soon as a commendable work is done. Inspiring adjectives should form a part of the letter to convey the actual feeling. Efforts should be made to ensure that only the performance for which the letter is being given should be talked about to keep the focus of the letter. It should be brief and to the point. A copy of the letter should also be put up on the staff notice board so that others can also derive inspiration from it.
DOS AND DON’T’S OF ENCOURAGEMENT LETTER
- An Encouragement Letter should be written as soon as a commendable work has been displayed by an employee
- Careful use of adjectives should be done to ensure the impact of the letter
- Only the effort for which the letter is being given should be talked about
- A short and to the point Encouragement Letter is always an effective way of communication
- A copy of the letter should be put up on the staff notice board for others to derive inspiration from
- If the effort has resulted in some increase in sales etc then that too should be a part of the letter
- Check the letter for any punctuation or grammatical errors before handing it over to the employee
- The period for which the Encouragement Letter is being given should also be included in the letter
- If the initiative taken by the employee needs to be appreciated with some monetary benefit, then that too should be mentioned in the letter
SAMPLE ENCOURAGEMENT LETTER
Name and address of employee who is receiving the letter
Date:
Subject: Commendable performance
Dear Ms/Mr ____________
Our organization is extremely proud to have you as a part of us. Your initiatives and efforts have helped the company share in the market grow from _______% to _______% for the period ______________.
As a token of our appreciation for the commendable performance, your salary has been increased by Rs._________ and this will be with effect from ____________ (month).
You really are an asset to our organization and we hope to see similar performances going forward as well.
Wish you all the best in all your endeavors.
Best regards,
(Name of the signing authority)