By Chris Schembra · Adapted from the guide Incorporating Gratitude in Corporate Culture
Culture shapes the character of a company, and character drives fulfillment, mission and results. At 7:47 we help shape culture in legal, medical, financial and tech companies with one key ingredient: gratitude.
Let's get rid of the biggest myth first. Gratitude doesn't make you, your colleagues or your company weak. Research shows it brings real economic benefits: fulfillment, joy and a measurable return.
Gratitude inside your team
When we run a Virtual Gratitude Experience™, it's obvious right away that many teams are lonely, disconnected and stressed. In 2020 alone we served more than 7,000 people. Going in, the top three emotions they reported were tired, anxious and overwhelmed. Coming out, they were grateful, connected and happy. Average emotion scores rose from 2.79 to 4.52 out of 5.
$2.30
productivity return for every $1 spent on emotional well-being
PwC
7×
more likely to fully engage at work when you have a best friend there
Gallup
78%
of employees whose company encourages creativity are committed to their employer
ReportLinker
When gratitude is expressed on purpose, it builds empathy and understanding and helps people work together, and that shows up in results.
Gratitude with your clients
This is the road less traveled. Companies are grateful for their clients, but they rarely say so on purpose. A satisfied client isn't enough anymore. The goal is an engaged one. Gallup found only 22% of B2B customers are engaged, and fully engaged customers bring in more than 20% more revenue on average. Harvard Business Review found fully connected customers are 52% more valuable than customers who are just highly satisfied.
The future of gratitude is gathering
Many companies treat gratitude as something you hand out through a recognition program. That's a start, like a gratitude journal is a start. But it's personal, and it's only the first step. The real power is observational gratitude: being in a room, in person or on screen, where gratitude is being shared. Hearing a colleague thank someone changes the mood, and it can change how people see the team's mission.
So the leader's job changes too. Be the Chief Host Officer: the one who sets the table and brings people together. And be the Chief Question Asker: the one who asks the question that lets everyone be heard. Ours is simple:
"If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life that you don't give enough credit or thanks to, who would that be?"
Hilton, one of the world's most celebrated workplaces, recently published "The Hospitality Mindset: A New Blueprint for Culture and Performance for Any Industry." It found 94% of workers say the office still matters, mostly as a hub for relationships and connection. Hospitality, in other words, isn't just for hotels. It's how leaders make people feel valued.
A quick gratitude audit
Score each question 0 to 10, or answer yes or no, on your own or with your leadership team:
- How curious is your team?
- How often is humility displayed, especially from key leaders?
- How coachable is your team?
- How often do you notice anonymous acts of kindness?
- How well do people listen?
- Is there fear around admitting mistakes?
- Are people thanked who have nothing of substance to offer in return?
- Are cross-functional teams connecting regularly outside of specific tasks?
Ways to start this week
- Recognize someone's accomplishment or good deed in your next meeting.
- Create margin in your day so conversations about tasks can grow into real connection.
- Ask the Gratitude Question whenever the opportunity arises, then go give that person credit.
- Give grace on missed deadlines.
- Offer gratitude to yourself. We're often hardest on ourselves.
- Extend gratitude to clients and customers who cancel.
- Look at the hard times your company walks through as opportunities.
Gratitude should be shared up, down, inside and outside every organization, including yours. Since we started, 7:47 has sparked more than 500,000 relationships at 400+ events for 170+ companies. When you're ready to gather your people, see how the Virtual Gratitude Experience™ works.
"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." — Maya Angelou