Giving praise and recognition is one of the most effective ways to improve employee motivation and performance. But it needs to be done properly to be effective as a motivator and performance booster.
Benefits
There are great benefits that come from giving effective praise and recognition.
- Employees feel appreciated
- Reinforces behaviors that drive high performance
- Builds trust
- Builds self-esteem
- Increases self-confidence
- Increases retention
The Steps
There is a process to giving highly effective praise and recognition.
- Identify what performance you want to praise and recognize the employee for
- Think of the strengths, qualities, and attributes that drive that performance
- Point out those attributes when giving the praise and recognition
Example
Suppose Fred is in the IT department and his job is to fix problems on the network and for employees at their workstations. He is knowledgeable and skilled at what he does.
But it is the way he executes his tasks that makes him perform his job so well and deserve praise and recognition. He is personable, friendly, responds to requests quickly and stays focused so his work is productive.
When giving praise and recognition to Fred a good approach would be to say, Fred I am really pleased with how you perform the job. You respond to requests quickly, people find you personable and friendly and you stay focused on the work, which makes you very productive. Thank you for your contribution and keep up the good work.
This is much better than the typical kind of feedback that simply thanks the person and says keep up the good work. By indicating what Fred does well, you are pointing out his strengths and personal qualities. This makes him aware of his strengths and touches him emotionally.
Now that Fred knows what he did to deserve the praise, he will continue to use those qualities, feel good about himself, and feel appreciated. It will also improve the relationship with the employee and the person giving the praise. This will build trust, teamwork and a bond that can drive retention as well.