You are a topper! Because you are going to give more compliments from now on!

Giving compliments. This is a necessity of a good work environment. According to research, giving compliments regularly has more impact on job happiness than a pay raise. And did you know that lack of compliments can even cause burnout? So we admire you for reading this article to find out how best to compliment others.

Make sure your compliment is sincere

People can often pierce through insincerity. If you regularly give unmerited compliments, their value will quickly diminish. If you give your worst employee lots of compliments in hopes of making him more productive, it will actually demotivate other employees. Giving sincere compliments on good behavior will actually trigger other employees to work harder.

Make the compliment personal

Compliments often arrive better if you make it personal. So try to do this face-to-face as much as possible and not via Teams or phone. Also, give the compliment in the I form: "I think you ...". This makes the compliment even more personal.

TIP: Don't just give compliments to the person, say it to others. When the person hears it from someone else, it often comes across as more credible.

 

From superficial compliment to effective compliment

Superficial compliments do not have much effect on the recipient. Consider compliments such as:

• I see you've been working hard
• I'm glad you took up that task
• How good you look

An effective compliment is one that you can't give to just anyone. They are often a little longer and more specific. You also often say what this behavior has meant to you. For example:

• How good that you see tasks and pick it up independently. That way I can focus on my own work.
• Thank you for giving an honest response. It helps me a lot.
• I see that you are a go-getter. Even though you ran into some problems, you stuck to your goal.

Giving compliments: don't do it too much

It is important to maintain credibility. Giving too many compliments is a major pitfall. Also, make sure the ratio of compliments to constructive feedback is good. The best ratio between these is 4:1. With these (sincere) compliments, employees remain motivated to work on their areas of concern as well.

Further work on your communication skills?

Good communication at work creates a pleasant working atmosphere for yourself and your colleagues. That is why it is important to keep working on your communication skills. On SkillsTown's online learning platform you can do this with different trainings. For example, we have trainings on: giving feedback, effective online meetings, progress meetings and much more. Take a quick look at the possibilities!

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