Acknowledgement is one of those things you may not notice until it’s gone. In the workplace this can be such a powerful tool, studies show that employees that were being acknowledged on a regular basis excelled more in the workplace than those that hadn’t received acknowledgement of any kind. Regardless of what’s expected from your employees, or superiors, acknowledgement is always something we should try and incorporate into our work habits. Acknowledgement is not random; it is used strategically with the positive intention of growing and developing others, to do so you must first find out what is important to your employees and then find ways to help them succeed and acknowledge their success.

Potential questions to ask your employees may include:

·      What skills are you working on?

·      Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

·      What would you like to be acknowledged for?

·      What are you working towards?

·      What is important to you?

Why acknowledgment is important:

People like to feel as though they are an important part of a team or company, they need to be validated in order to feel productive and like they are moving in the right direction.  Acknowledging good intentions or actions lets your employees or co-workers know that they are being heard, respected and that their ideas and actions are valued. Appreciation is undervalued by many organizations while being a key ingredient for a thriving workplace. It is important to know the difference between acknowledgment and praise, people who have mastered the art of acknowledgment listen carefully to what is important to their employees and gives them positive, specific feedback on the task or project completed whereas praise is non-specific, vague approval such as “good Job”. Try and be present and mindful when giving your employees acknowledgment so you can be sure you are providing meaningful feedback.

Here are some tips to follow when acknowledging your employees from selfgrowth.com

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Ten Tips for Acknowledging

1. Minimize negative words and phrases such as can’t, but, no, never, always, should and impossible.

2. Avoid saying You are followed by wrong, incompetent, at fault or any blame-throwing words.

3. Remind yourself that most of us are doing the best we can.

4. Listen first to discern what is going on for the other person.

5. Acknowledge feelings. Feelings are never right or wrong.

6. Acknowledge people’s best intentions. If you don’t know what they intended, assume that their intentions were to do no harm.

7. Note and comment on people’s accomplishments and strengths.

8. Act as if you are a cheerleader or a supportive coach.

9. Learn to watch and listen with a sense of gratitude. 

10. Express appreciation.