How To Praise Someone Professionally

Everyone loves to be appreciated. Whether in the office, at home, or even on the streets, people love to know that their work is being seen and valued, especially when they’re putting in their best effort. If you want to get the best out of people and create a warm environment that fosters productivity, you need to learn how to praise someone professionally.
In this article, Blinkist explores the importance of praising someone in an official setting and shares some insight on how to praise someone professionally.
Professional Praise is Important
Studies have shown that 80% of employees feel like their employers, superiors, and coworkers don’t appreciate them. You can change this by focusing on praising people professionally. Giving compliments at the workplace (e.g., to coworkers) encourages people to keep doing a good job, and also builds their self-esteem. Below are some other benefits of praising someone professionally.
- Praising people professionally reinforces positive behavior, which, in turn, results in improved performance.
- It boosts workers’ motivation and work satisfaction, and could also make them feel more committed to the growth of the company.
- Praise boosts team morale and creates a sense of camaraderie between them, knowing that their joint effort yields praiseworthy results.
- Appreciating your staff improves retention. This is because employees are most likely to stay long in a job if they feel appreciated. This ultimately saves you the cost of recruitment.
- It improves customer satisfaction because when you praise your employees for providing excellent service, they, in turn, give the customers a more impressive service.
Who and When To Praise
When working with people in a professional setting, it’s important to know who and when to praise. Here are some guidelines:
1. Whom to Praise: Everyone in your organization deserves to be praised when they do something commendable. Whether it’s your boss, your colleague, or even a subordinate, as long as they exceed your expectation, or do a splendid job, it’s appropriate to praise them. This could brighten their day, boost their morale, and give them reasons to keep up a good job.
It’s especially important to praise a new employee because starting a new job can be quite overwhelming, and getting those compliments could make them feel more comfortable.
2. When to Praise: It is best to appreciate people as soon as they do something commendable. You don’t have to wait until the end of the month or any fixed period.
You should also praise people when they go beyond and above to get the job done, and when they bring creative ideas that help the team achieve their goal.
How To Praise Someone Professionally – Tips and Tricks
If you’re looking to learn how to praise someone professionally, here are some useful tips:
1. Consider the Recipient’s Role
The approach with which you praise your subordinate is not the same as the way you praise your boss. Whether you’re saying it to them in person, in writing, or in a public speech, acknowledging their role and position will help you know how to craft your compliment professionally.
2. State the Reason for the Praise
Compliments yield the best result when they’re specific. Hence, instead of saying “Thank you for being hardworking and diligent,” say something like “Thank you for how you convinced those clients to increase their investment portfolio with us. We couldn’t have achieved that if not for your persuasion skills.”
3. Keep it Professional
It’s quite easy to get personal when you’re happy, but be careful to not do this when complimenting coworkers. It is best to keep your tone as professional as it could be, even if the coworker is your friend or acquaintance.
4. Be Sincere
It has been proven that complimenting coworkers increases their productivity and commitment, but that doesn’t mean you should praise someone who doesn’t deserve it, just because you want to encourage them.
Doing this could encourage mediocrity and become counter-productive. Instead, a compliment for co-workers should be sincere, deserved, and well-timed.
5. Use Words that Inspire
Instead of just saying “Thank you for a job well done,” use words that inspire the employee to do more. Tell them that by consistently achieving what they just achieved, they would get closer to their goal or earn a promotion or pay rise.
And if you are searching for the ideal way to express your heartfelt congratulations to someone for their achievements? Our collection of 50 heartfelt congratulatory messages is here to help you celebrate any occasion, whether it’s a graduation, promotion, new job, or any other significant milestone.
How To Praise Someone Professionally in Writing
Knowing how to praise someone professionally in writing is just as important as knowing how to do it verbally. Here are some tips:
1. Use a Proper Letterhead
Don’t write a professional appreciation letter like it’s a Post-it note. Use a proper official letterhead and correct addresses. This ensures that the letter looks professional, and the recipient could even use it as a testimonial in the future.
2. Let the Subject Line Describe the Content
Whether you’re writing it through a paper or email, let the subject describe the content of the letter. For instance, you can title it “Thank you for Exceeding your Target in October.”
3. Start with Proper Salutation
Just like every other letter or email, your compliment to coworkers must start with appropriate greetings like “Dear Sir,” “Dear Mr.” etc.
4. Mention the Purpose of your Letter
Tell them why you’ve decided to write them this letter of appreciation instead of just sending one without reason.
5. Elaborate and Inspire
Now go to the point. Acknowledge what they did right, tell them how it positively impacts you or the company, and inspire them to do more. As earlier stated, point out the potential result they stand to gain if they keep up with this kind of performance.
This is an example of how to praise someone professionally in writing.
Dear Mr. X,
An Appreciation for Convincing [company name] to Increase their Investment in our company
I am writing to appreciate you for your exceptional effort in convincing [company name] to increase their investment portfolio in our company.
As a marketer, it is your job to onboard new clients by introducing our services to them. However, you have not only done this successfully so far, but you have also persuaded this company to increase their investment portfolio from $20,000 to $180,000, making them our second-biggest investor in the past five years.
As a manager, I appreciate your effort, and I must admit that it would have been challenging for us to achieve this feat if not for your amazing persuasion and negotiation skills.
I encourage you to continue the good work, as you have proven yourself to be an indispensable member of this team and one who the company can always rely on when there’s a need to achieve any groundbreaking result.
Once again, thank you for being exceptional.
Yours truly,
Ms. Z
Marketing Manager
Conclusion
It is necessary for everyone who works in a corporate setting to know how to praise someone professionally. Showing gratitude to your boss, coworker, or employee helps build a good relationship with them, encourages their hard work, and builds an overall positive work environment. Try paying more attention to the people you work with, and you may see reasons to praise someone today.
Additionally, if you’re looking to improve teamwork and achieve great results in 2023, be sure to check out another insightful article at Blinkist, titled “How to Improve Teamwork, and Do Great Work, in 2023.” Good teamwork is linked to success in nearly every aspect of business, and this article provides 8 valuable ways to build and maintain a great team.
If you would like to learn more about motivation, check out this collection. We have curated a list of books about this important topic.