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Praise and celebrations

Praise message examples

Four examples of praise that names what someone did and what it changed, for people who aren’t sure what to write.

Praise. In Shuffl, choose Give praise. The composer offers these same starters to pick from.

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Specific praise is easier to write than it looks: say what the person did, then what it made possible.

Share these with your team, or pin them in your praise channel for anyone who is stuck.

Shuffl · HR by the numbers

Recognition helps people stay

Recognition helps people stay. 45% less likely to have left after two years if well recognized (Gallup and Workhuman, 2024) (Gallup, September 18, 2024). 22% of employees say they get the right amount of recognition (Gallup and Workhuman, 2024) (Gallup, September 18, 2024). 26% of US employees say their recognition matches peers with similar results (Gallup, 2022) (Gallup, May 18, 2022).

Sources: Gallup, September 18, 20241; Gallup, May 18, 20222Download PNG

Helped me out

Replace each ___ with what they did and what it changed.

Thank you for jumping in to help with ___. It saved me hours and I learned a lot watching how you did it.

Shipped something

Replace each ___ with what they did and what it changed.

Huge shout-out for shipping ___. The care you put into the details made a real difference for ___.

Went above and beyond

Replace each ___ with what they did and what it changed.

Thanks for going above and beyond on ___. You didn’t have to, and it really showed.

Made someone welcome

Replace each ___ with what they did and what it changed.

Thank you for making ___ feel so welcome. Little things like ___ make this a great place to work.

How to adapt it

  • Name the work, not only the person.
  • Say what changed because of it: time saved, a happy customer, a smoother launch.
  • Thank people in public when they are comfortable with it, and in private when they are not.

What the research says

Recognition is linked to retention. Gallup and Workhuman tracked nearly 3,500 employees from 2022 to 2024 and found well-recognized employees were 45% less likely to have left two years later. Only 22% said they get the right amount of recognition, unchanged from 2022.1

Quality matters more than volume. Employees whose recognition met at least four of Gallup’s five quality pillars were nine times as likely to be engaged as those whose recognition met none, and even one pillar made them 2.9 times as likely.1 Fairness is part of it: only 26% strongly agree they get recognition comparable to teammates with similar performance.2

Managers are the most remembered source. Employees named their manager (28%) most often as the source of their most memorable recognition, followed by a senior leader or CEO (24%), their manager’s manager (12%), a customer (10%) and peers (9%).3

Common mistakes

  • Praising the same few people. Check who you haven’t recognized lately, especially quieter or remote colleagues.
  • Waiting for the annual review. Praise means more close to the moment.
  • Only praising outcomes, never the help behind them. Name the person who made the result possible.
  • Comparing people in the message. Praise the work on its own terms.

Common questions

How do you write a good praise message?
Name what the person did, then what it changed: time saved, a customer helped, a launch that went smoothly. Two or three sentences is plenty.
How often should you recognize employees?
Often enough that it feels normal, not saved for big wins. Gallup has found only about one in three US workers strongly agree they received recognition or praise in the past seven days, so most teams have room to do more.
Should praise be public or private?
Ask. Some people value a shout-out in a channel, others would rather get a private note or a word from their manager. Both count.

Sources

Read on . Numbers change as new studies come out, so check the source before you quote it.

  1. Gallup, Employee Retention Depends on Getting Recognition Right, September 18, 2024. By Rachael Yi. Gallup and Workhuman research tracking nearly 3,500 employees from 2022 to 2024.
  2. Gallup, Are You Playing Favorites With Employee Recognition?, May 18, 2022. By Ellyn Maese and Emily Wetherell. Gallup and Workhuman study of more than 7,500 U.S. employees.
  3. Gallup, The Importance of Employee Recognition: Low Cost, High Impact, June 28, 2016 (updated January 12, 2024).

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