101 Tips for Telecommuters—Successfully Manage Your Work, Team, Technology and Family

78. Reward Good Work

The number of creative and meaningful ways to reward the efforts and results of your service providers is endless, limited only by your imagination (or your budget). Often a simple and sincere “Thank you” is far more than service providers expect or typically receive, so praise (which is essentially free to you) can be more appreciated than gifts or other tangible rewards. Assuming you're a telecommuter with a network of critical service providers, minimal time to take from your work, and a limited budget for things such as supplier rewards, consider these alternatives for letting your suppliers know how much you value their contributions to your success:

• Just say, “Thanks!”

• Take your supplier to lunch.

• Create your own “You ...