Can you spoil your employees with too much praise? This question is sometimes a concern for HR staff and company leaders who may fear that heaping praise on workers will prompt requests for a raise or lead top talent to develop big egos and no longer acting as team players.

While you don’t want to go overboard with glowing accolades for every accomplishment, the fact is that workers do need to know they are appreciated. HR staff and supervisors can dole out praise when it is deserved, and boost employee morale without undermining operational effectiveness. Here are three great ways to praise employees to encourage more productivity and reward hard work:

• Be genuine when you offer praise. Vague platitudes can be condescending, and can also undermine an employee’s efforts to stand out. If you offer praise, do so because you legitimately want to recognize the work that an employee has done. When staff sees that going the extra distance gets them noticed, they are more likely to be motivated to perform above par.
• Create a culture of recognition. Every supervisor should be encouraged to recognize the hard work that staff members do, and to provide positive feedback when the people working under them excel.  Competitiveness and peer pressure will prompt staff to want to earn praise if they know their efforts will be noticed and acknowledged.
• Praise specific accomplishments. While it can be easy to just tell an employee that he or she is doing great, praise is more meaningful when it applies to a specific project or task. Not only does specific praise show employees you are actually paying attention to the work they do, but it also helps workers to know what specific types of skills or services are most valued. This can lead to your company getting more of the work that it wants the most, since employees will naturally learn what earns the praise.

Human resource professionals need to be able to keep office morale up. Praise is a big part of that job, so be sure to use it wisely.

HR Alliance knows the ins and outs of effectively managing human resources, and can provide tips and assistance to help your business keep employees motivated. Contact HR Alliance today to find out more about how HR staff can most effectively manage employees.