Using Positive Feedback to Boost Morale at Work

Providing positive feedback to your team can be one of the best ways to boost morale and productivity at work. A Gallup survey found that 67% of employees whose managers gave them positive feedback on their work performance were engaged at work. When employees are actively engaged on the job, they tend to be more focused and productive, and far less likely to quit.

Best Practices for Giving Positive Feedback 

Here are some tips on how to give positive feedback to staff in an effective and sincere way.

Be authentic

Positive feedback motivates people. But giving positive feedback when it isn’t warranted can have the opposite effect; if an employee feels praise is fake or forced, it can lead to resentment or loss of trust. That’s why it’s important to notice each team member’s contribution to projects and understand their strengths so that you are able to give earnest, honest, positive feedback.

Be Timely and Specific with Praise 

Feedback that is vague or complimenting something that happened a while ago isn’t helpful either. Giving specific, timely praise is the best way to ensure that someone understands exactly what they did well, and makes it more likely the employee will produce that desired behavior again in the future. Instead of saying, “Great job on the presentation,” say instead, “I thought it was great how you structured the information. The presentation was very clear and the audience could easily follow along, which will help us close the deal.”

Focus on a behavior rather than a trait

When giving feedback, it’s helpful to focus on a specific behavior rather than praising a certain trait or part of a person’s personality. Praising a part of a person’s personality is less helpful than praising a specific action or behavior. Rather than complimenting someone as being hard working, you could say, “I really appreciate how much research you put into your report.”