There's a lot to be said for leaders who love their people. When employees and customers feel the love, they rarely peek over the fence to see what other companies are offering. Why would they?
When people feel secure, appreciated and cherished, they have little reason to shop around for something better.
Are you spreading the love to members of your team and your customers? Here are seven simple ways to say, "I love you."
Related: Drive a Feedback Loop: Employees Will Benefit, So Will Your Company
1. Awards.
Employee of the Month, Customer of the Month, Best Dressed, Funniest, Craziest, Best Giver -- you name it and then make an award for it. Find a reason to reward your staff and customers regularly. Who doesn't love a simple dose of recognition? It's as simple as creating a certificate or purchasing a plaque and then recognizing that special person for their awesomeness.
2. Notes.
It takes less than a minute to write a note of recognition to someone you appreciate. A note to a customer can have a message as simple as this: "I appreciate you. Thank you for your business."
A note to your employee might include a thank-you for a specific task well done. Take a moment to make the effort to send a handwritten token of your appreciation. It's likely to go a long way.
3. Gifts.
You don't have to spend a lot of money to give a special gift to show someone you care. I have a co-worker who visits Starbucks daily, and he always picks up these little cards with free iPhone apps compliments of Starbucks. He hands me an envelope full of these whenever I see him.
This co-worker knows that my daughter loves playing games on my iPad so he picks up these free apps. It means the world to me that he's thinking about my family when he's getting his morning java.
4. Time.
One great way to say, "I love you" is to take an employee or a customer to lunch. I own a large real estate firm with more than 300 employees and sales team members. Each week I block off time for two lunch dates with my own people. That way I can spend 60 to 90 minutes really getting to know what makes them special. You quickly learn how amazing your people are when you take some time to listen to them.
Related: Break Out the Office Cake. It Could Change Your Company.
5. Birthdays.
What better way to show someone you love them than by recognizing his or her birthday? I'm not talking about wishing someone "Happy birthday" on Facebook where the message is lost in a stream of hundreds from other well-wishers. I'm talking about sending a card or a gift.
A program that I have been using for the past five years is Send Out Cards. It's an automated system that keeps track of birthdays. Each month I log into the system to create a custom card for all my people with birthdays. I send them out along with a gift, like a package of delicious brownies or another type of sweet. One feature that I love is that if I forget to send out a card, I receive an email reminder.
6. Families.
One of the best ways to show someone you love them is to appreciate their families. Aside from sending birthday brownies to staffers, I give them to the spouses, significant others, kids and grandchildren of my team members on their birthdays, too.
When you hire an employee, you adopt their entire family. Or at least that's how I see it. Therefore, showing love means extending it to the family of everyone who makes your company great.
7. Pats on the Back.
Last, but certainly not least, there's the good old pat on the back. When you catch a team member or a customer doing something great, reach out by phone or visit in person to simply say, "You are amazing. Thank you for being you."
These simple steps can make a profound difference in your business. Of course, the greatest paradox in building any business is that the things that are easy to do are also easy not to do. These are simple ideas, yes, but that doesn't make any less powerful when executed.
Related: 3 Savvy Tips to Help You Better Connect With (and Oversee) Your Staff