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Thank You
Even though the art of mailing a handwritten note is becoming a lost practice, that is the sincerest (and by far the most memorable) way of thanking someone. A sincere “thank you” is not issued in the form of a text or email, though such means are not without appreciation from the recipient. A few of the ways that hand-written notes also go so much further than any other form of expressing appreciation include that the recipient can pass the actual note along to other team members (that are likely more responsible than you for the note being sent in the first place), and the note can be scanned, emailed out, and then celebrated by the larger team as a “win.” Also, many recipients just cannot throw away a sincere, hand-written thank you note; most file them away and keep them for years, and in some cases, potentially don't part with them for decades until their final desk/file “purge” at retirement. Now that is staying power! Click here for several tips and pointers related to effectively sending hand-written notes (of all kinds).
The second-best option, albeit a bit less formal than handwritten notes, is the phone call by the appreciative party. Many times, I have received a gracious “thank you” — by phone call. These occasions were much appreciated, but they are also essentially impossible to share or retain for posterity.
One rule of thumb for all the ways of saying “thank you,” the thanks should be offered within days, if not hours, of the event for which thanks is being issued. Every day that goes by, the impact of a “thank you” diminishes.