How to Give Worthwhile and Effective Praise

For Supervisors/Managers:


I.) Praise with purpose: The purpose of praise, at work, is to increase employee morale and employee productivity. The purpose is not to get employees to like you, or to make the employee with a bad haircut feel better. Praise is not the same as a compliment. Telling an employee that you like their Denver Bronco’s jacket is a compliment. Telling an employee that their skills at resolving customer complaints is a valuable asset to the company is praising effectively.

II.) Target your praise: Target your praise to specific accomplishments, and not to general work. It is better to say, “Mary, that presentation you made this morning was very helpful and informative.” vs. “Mary, you are a great employee to have around.” Praise helps reward the employee for hard work, and increases the chance that they will continue to make great presentations. Asking an employee for their input or feedback is another way to target your praise. When you ask an employee for their advice, you are praising their intelligence.

III.) Believe your praise: In order for praise to work you need to be sincere and honest about it. An employee can easily pick up phony praise, thus causing you to lose your credibility and the ability to motivate them in the future with praise.

IV.) Praise in proportion: Praising an employee too frequently waters down the effectiveness of your praise; on the other hand, praising too little is also ineffective. At a minimum praise each employee once a month. Certain employees may require more praise than other employees. Adolescents generally need more praise than adults, new employees need more praise than experienced employees, and employees lacking confidence require more praise.

V.) Praise in public and reprimand in private: If it does not embarrass the employee, a public method of praise is helpful to improve the morale of all the employees. A brief mention at a meeting, a note in a company newsletter, or a note to their supervisor are all methods of simple public praise.


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For Employees:


I.) Praise with purpose: The purpose of praising a manager is not to be a “brown-nose,” but to receive an honest and positive work performance review each year. Okay, a bonus would also be nice! A manager who feels good about you, is more likely to give you a good work performance review, more money, and may even overlook a minor screw-up.

II.) Target your praise: Be specific as possible with your praise, otherwise it will feel awkward to both you and your manager. It is better to say, “Thank you, for your helpful advice.” vs. “Gosh, you’re the best manager an employee could ever have.”

III.) Believe your praise: If the advice, feedback, or input from your manager has been helpful, that is the time to provide the praise. If you wait for these opportunities to provide your praise, it will come across as sincere and therefore believable.

IV.) Praise in proportion: Too much praise may come across as insincere or phony. Try to distribute your praise-giving throughout the whole year, and not just the week before your annual performance review.

V.) Praise in private: Public praise may make your manager or supervisor feel uncomfortable.

Happy Working,

Gary Vikesland, MA LP CEAP