Show some appreciation

I was coming back from holidays in late January, sitting on an aircraft from Hong Kong to Sydney and the flight attendant handed me an A4 envelope. As I opened the package my son asked me ‘Do you know everyone on the planet?’, ‘Not quite’ I said. I had been asked to be a panelist for the eXcel ‘Peoples Choice’ awards at Qantas. The package delivered was a dossier of the final citations, ie. the letters from customers excluding any details that might identify the person.

As I opened the envelope I thought ‘oh well, I guess I’m back at work already’. I began to read the 25-page document. My frame of mind altered quickly – this was in no way work – I had been given the privilege of looking inside another world. A world of ‘heroes to humanity’. As I read, I laughed out loud at some letters, held my husband’s hand for others, shed more than one tear. But I was truly touched by the actions and love that individuals and teams show to support other human beings. These employees do represent Qantas – but it also demonstrated to me that there are hero’s everywhere that are supporting others as they go about business.

The review process was thorough; each of the panelists was given the dossier and asked to assess each citation based on four criteria – energy, responsibility, intuitiveness and caring. As panelists we came together in a formal process to anonymously have the scores tabulated and discuss each citations. The panelists were all frequent travelers from different walks of life.

I stood before the eXcel winners last Monday night to speak to them and their partners.

I simply said:

“On behalf of the 75,000 customers that you carried today, on behalf of the 4,500 customers who put pen to paper in the last year to thank you for how you assisted them, on behalf of all frequent travellers who you help every day do business effectively and reconnect with family and friend, on behalf of my fellow panelists. We thank you.

We thank you for getting us where we need to go ‘safely and on time’. We thank you for noticing us and making our day, we know that it is not always easy, that every day you show up to help Australia be a better place. We thank you for all that you do in supporting us.

You are our Heroes to Humanity.”

I have such a great personal belief in the power of noticing others. An authentic thank you from a customer can truly make someone’s day. Who could you thank right now for supporting you… perhaps it is the barista who makes your day every day – by delivering you a coffee just right. When was the last time you put pen to paper to write a note of appreciation?

Naomi Simson is the 2008 National Telstra Women’s Business Award winner for Innovation. Naomi was also a finalist for the Australian HR Awards and a finalist for the BRW Most Admired Business Owner Award in 2008. Also in 2008 RedBalloon achieved a 97% Hewitt employee engagement score. One of Australia’s outstanding female entrepreneurs, Naomi regularly entertains as a professional speaker inspiring middle to high-level leaders on employer branding, engagement and reward and recognition. Naomi writes a blog and has written a book sharing the lessons from her first five years.