How to Write an Appreciation Letter to Your Employees

The simple act of showing appreciation for your employees is a powerful way to boost employee engagement and increase motivation and retention. In fact, our research shows that 53% of employees said they would stay at their jobs longer if their employers showed them more appreciation.

Even if you don’t have a formal employee recognition program or a budget to give employee appreciation gifts, you can still show your gratitude for them with an employee appreciation letter or note.

Whether it’s an email, handwritten letter, or even a voicemail or text, follow these simple steps to create a meaningful, memorable moment of appreciation for your people.

O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud recognition platform integrates with the tools you use every day so it’s easy to send recognition in an email, chat messenger, or web browser.

5 employee appreciation letter best practices

1. Be timely

Appreciation is more impactful when it’s immediate and in the moment. Writing a note or letter three months after the fact will make the recognition feel like an afterthought—and worse, it will make your employee feel like an afterthought.

So be sure to send your recognition right after the accomplishment or contribution. It will make your employee feel good in that moment and for days and weeks to come.

2. Be specific

A generic “great job” might be easy to write, but it’s just as easy to forget. Reference sample letters for inspiration but make your letter personal with details.

• Call out the recipient’s unique talents, skills, insights, and contribution.  
• Connect their accomplishment to company values and be specific in how they made a difference.  

Whether they went the extra mile, displayed strong leadership skills, saw a great opportunity to wow a client, hit a new sales target, or put in extra time and effort to make a project successful, let them know exactly what it was that you saw worthy of recognition.

If you need more inspiration for your letter of appreciation, check out these 60 different ways to say “thank you” to your employees and teammates.

3. Make it genuine

Remember, appreciation should match the effort. If a simple “thanks for finishing that project on such a short deadline” is appropriate, then that’s all you need to say.  

If your gratitude is deeper and more personal, express it. Combining details of what the employee did and what impact their work had on your team or customers communicates that you noticed them.  

Don’t heap on excessive praise, but don’t be stingy with it either. Sincerity is the key.

4. Give appreciation often

Appreciation and employee recognition are not just jobs for Human Resources, nor should recognition only be reserved for a major event like Employee Appreciation Day.

Employees work on important projects every week—are they being recognised for it every week? Or is it only once a quarter, or a couple of times a year? Recognition needs to be frequent and timely, but also not a task to check off a list or an automated transaction.

When recognition happens often and is given in a personal way, it can transform the entire employee experience.

Research from the O.C. Tanner Institute finds recognition must be given weekly or every other week to be effective and truly integrated into your company culture.

5. Cultivate company culture

When you create a workplace that centers around regular employee recognition, your employees will be more motivated to also boost their team members. This is how you cultivate a culture of appreciation—one where hard work is rewarded beyond a paycheck with a sincere celebration of individual strengths and group unity.

Recognising employees the right way not only impacts their relationship with the giver but changes how they feel about the organisation and its company culture.

What NOT to say in an employee appreciation letter (and what to say instead)

Make these easy swaps in your note of appreciation to make it more meaningful:

• Don’t use a generic intro like: Dear employee. Instead, personalise the letter and use their name.
• Don’t use generic messages like: Thank you for all that you do. Be specific about what you are recognising and appreciating. ‍
• From all of us at the company. Unless this is a mass email or letter, or the recipient is winning a company-wide award, it should always come from you personally. “I want to thank you” is better. ‍
• A belated thank you. Barring extenuating circumstances, recognition should always be timely. Even if it’s late, you can say “I want to thank you for the work you did last month….” ‍
• Good job! We appreciate you. This is a nice sentiment, but if this is the only thing you write in your letter, it will fall flat. Be sure to detail what the individual did specifically and why it matters.

Ways to make your employee appreciation letter extra special

1. Write it by hand

An email or text is great and works in a pinch. But for something truly special (and something that may even be kept), mail or give someone a handwritten letter.

2. Share the greatness publicly

Even if you write a letter, you can still recognise the individual publicly. We all like to be appreciated, and we all like others to see the great work we’ve done. It doesn’t have to be a major event or complicated process. Even if you give the letter privately, or the recipient is more reserved, let others know about the great work they have done in an email, meeting, or internal newsletter.

3. Include their leader

If you are giving praise to someone on another team, be sure to copy or notify their leader. In many cases managers aren’t aware of all the great work their people are doing every day. Be sure to let their leader know, so they can offer their own appreciation to the employee.

4. Invite teammates and customers to comment

Recognition’s effect is amplified when the recognition is shared. So, invite team members, colleagues, and customers (if possible) to add their own words of appreciation. Leverage your recognition program’s social wall, if it has one.  

O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud recognition platform makes it easy to give and receive personalised appreciation where peers can see, like, comment, and join in on the gratitude.

Employee appreciation letter template

You can use this template as a guide to write an appreciation letter, but the most meaningful letters come from the heart. If you are using email, pay attention to details like the subject line and signature so it’s clear your email is personalised.

If you need an idea for how to structure your note of appreciation, follow these recommendations:

Section 1: Introduction

Give a brief overview, maybe in a sentence, of what you are recognising. Make sure you mention the employee or the team members by name.  

Section 2: Spotlight specific achievements

This is the most important part of the note. Get into the specifics of the project, task, or accomplishment that you are spotlighting.

Section 3: Impact on the team and/or company

Sometimes, employees may not see, understand, or hear positive feedback about the impact their work has had in a broader context. Share remarks from other departments, teammates, customers or clients, and executives if applicable. Provide numbers that showcase the true impact of the accomplishment, like money or time saved, return on investment, etc.  

Section 4: Closing remarks

These don’t need to be long, but this would be a great place to include your personal thanks. Notes of appreciation are extra meaningful from the people closest to you, so bring in your personal experiences with the individual(s) you are recognising.  

Gallup workplace survey data revealed the most memorable recognition comes most often from an employee's manager (28%), followed by a high-level leader or CEO (24%), the manager's manager (12%), a customer (10%) and peers (9%).

Appreciation letter samples

For an even clearer example of an appreciation letter, here’s a few samples you can reference:  

Dear [Employee],

Thank you for all of the extra effort you put into closing our accounting books on time this year. During such an unusual year, we had numerous disruptions, uncertainty, and financial complexities.

I’ve seen how much attention to detail and learning you put into your job to understand all the new rules and regulations that came out this last month, and I know it’s extended well past your normal working hours.

I want to tell you how much we appreciate your diligence and self-motivation to make sure our records are perfect. Your hard work and effort have not gone unnoticed. We are grateful for you.

Do you know what you want to say but you’re not quite sure how to say it? O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud Recognition Coach, powered by AI, helps you draft and improve your appreciation message for ultimate personalisation and impact.

Congratulations on 5 years with ABC Company, [Employee]!

I remember your first day of work, and how excited we were to have you on the team because of your design skills. Now 5 years later, you’ve developed an entire new catalogue for us, created 3 new products to sell to our new markets, and helped increase efficiency in our production line.

You’ve made such an impact on our company in just a few short years. You don’t just do good work; you do great work. You play such an important role in our company’s innovation and success. We are so thrilled you chose to join us 5 years ago. Happy 5-year anniversary.

Celebrate career milestones with Culture Cloud Anniversaries by O.C. Tanner—including everything from personalised keepsakes, awards, and gifts to tech-enabled reminders and experiences.

[Employee],

I love your idea for offline workers that you brought up in our team meeting yesterday. It is so important to remember our deskless employees and help them feel engaged and connected in the same way as our office staff, and it’s been difficult to find a good solution. Thank you for speaking up yesterday, but also for working tirelessly this past year with the other teams to ensure our offline workers are not forgotten in company decisions, events, and changes.

You are a great collaborator and that’s why so many people enjoy working with you. Thank you for helping us break silos and bridge teams. Our company is better because of you.

12 reasons to write a letter of appreciation  

Not sure when the right time is to write a note of appreciation to a teammate? Here are a few reasons and occasions to share one.  

1. Reaching a goal, completing a project, or in the process of completing a long project ‍
2. Onboarding or welcoming a new teammate ‍
3. Years of service or a work anniversary
4. During a promotion or major career transition ‍
5. Reaching retirement
6. Strong collaboration across teams or departments
7. Delivering great customer service
8. Demonstrating consistent work excellence
9. Sticking through a challenging project or challenging times
10. Innovating or improving a process or product
11. Showcasing leadership, even if they aren’t a leader
12. Living company values

Here’s our guide for when and how to give employee appreciation for the most impact.

Creating a culture of appreciation at your organisation

The most important elements of creating a recognition culture are:

1. Recognition is given for both large and small efforts
2. Recognition is consistently seen throughout the organisation
3. Peer to peer recognition is common and frequent
4. Recognition experiences are crafted around the individual
5. Leaders know the recognition preferences of individuals
6. Leaders frequently recognise employees

Employee appreciation letters can help build a culture of appreciation. Even if not every note is handwritten, simple emails, texts, messages, and verbal thank-you's can contribute to a culture where people feel seen and valued.

Should your note be a handwritten letter, an email, or a text? In the end, it doesn’t really matter, as long as you are recognising great work. It doesn’t have to be complicated. If you are genuine, personal, specific, and timely, the recipient will be touched. Gift or no gift, eloquent words or simple, it just needs to be heartfelt.

Finally, remember that recognition is easy to do, but has a lasting effect. When recognition is an integrated part of company culture, organisations are:

• 4X more likely to have highly engaged employees
• 2X more likely to have increased in revenue over the past year
• 73% less likely to have had layoffs over the past year
• 44% less likely to have employees suffering from burnout

If you need more recognition guidance, check out our tips for giving meaningful employee appreciation.  

O.C. Tanner is the global leader in software and services that improve workplace culture through meaningful employee recognition experiences. Learn more at octanner.com.