How to Praise Someone Professionally: Praising Colleagues

Praise is a positive action you can use to express gratitude, usually to others, through words of appreciation. You can give praise to professional team members at work or your friends and loved ones in your personal life. These genuine compliments communicate to others that you recognize and appreciate their support, unique perspective, or performance. Praise can also highlight accomplishments and convey hope for continued success.

In a work environment, authentic praise can be one of the most valuable communication skills you can use to build trusted work relationships and increase talent retention. You can praise a colleague or employee for their creative problem-solving skills, steadfast reliability, or positive attitude. Learn what drives your coworkers to perform and provide them with a personalized form of praise to acknowledge their efforts to go the extra mile. This can facilitate developing a work environment built on mutual respect, in which team members encourage one another to produce their best work and achieve individual and team successes.

Consider using one or more of these four common professional praise templates to develop a great work environment or enhance your company culture:

• Celebrate when your company reaches milestones. You can increase employee engagement by recognizing members of your team or company when they meet or exceed their goals. If people feel like they make a positive difference with their hard work, they will more likely find purpose in their contributions toward a common goal.
• Provide positive feedback after an employee performance review. A performance review can often feel like a new job interview in which the subordinate must provide validation for their employment. If you are a team leader conducting the review, follow any constructive feedback with a professional compliment. These should be specific compliments that show appreciation for the extra time or extra effort the employee has spent to improve their productivity and contribute to the company’s success.
• Reward a good work ethic. Studies have shown that people respond well to positive feedback and will work hard if they feel their work matters. One way to show this is by honoring the employee with a reward in addition to comments of praise or adoration. These rewards can be as small as a gift card or a free lunch, or as extravagant as a substantial monetary bonus or an all-expenses-paid vacation. These reward systems are a great opportunity to promote competitive teamwork and boost team morale.
  
• Send an email of gratitude directly to a teammate. If standing up at a public speaking event and giving someone verbal praise or applause is outside of your comfort zone, you can express this same sentiment in an email. Telling someone they have done a nice job in the moment can provide a person with good feedback. If you are more comfortable sharing in front of others, you could also acknowledge your coworker’s achievements in front of the rest of your team for an increased level of recognition.

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