Knowing How to Congratulate Your Colleagues
7 December 2012
Read by 2195 persons
At a time when stress in the workplace is making headlines, and we consultants are often called in as "firefighters" to extinguish the fires of stress, we must seriously consider the work to be done upstream to put an end to these difficult situations. Learning to say "well done", without ulterior motives, seems to be a good start.
Taking the risk of congratulating
Some managers are afraid to congratulate their employees for fear of potential complacency that would follow. Of course, like many management actions, there is always the risk that a person will "abuse" a congratulation to ask for something in return. But most people are sensitive to verbal or written recognition and will not take advantage of it.
Congratulating can be done in a meeting for a team, or individually.
Managers know that to give feedback, it is important to sit down with the employee in question. The same is true for congratulating. A "well done" in a corridor or in front of the coffee machine will not have the same impact.
In what case should you congratulate?
Of course, there is no exhaustive list of actions or results that imply a congratulation. However, we often distinguish 2 cases where congratulating your employee is important and helps to encourage and motivate:
- On quantified results (sales team, achievement of objectives...): in this first case, it is necessary to base it on something very concrete and "quantify" the congratulation. "Pascal, well done this month, you achieved 122% of the objective, it's really an excellent result". To be able to congratulate, it will have been necessary beforehand to determine with your employees SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Trackable, Ecological).
- On attitudes or behaviors that help the person, the team and even the company to evolve: "Well done for your ideas and your attitude during this meeting".
Side effects
A manager who knows how to congratulate their employees will be able to give feedback much more easily when necessary. Those who are "too nice" or "too severe" always have difficulty maintaining the morale and motivation of the teams.
An employee who knows that when their work is well done, it is recognized by the manager and even management, will always be inclined to make efforts.
Congratulating sincerely and warmly helps to reduce stress in the workplace and reduce turnover.
Everyone benefits: the company where it is "good to live", the manager who will have a motivated team, and the employee who feels recognized for their efforts.
When you haven't yet adopted the habit of knowing how to congratulate, you need to learn how to do it.
Don't think too much about how you're going to say things. Go for it and above all avoid the "Well done, but..."!
Olivier de Launay.
Etre-bien-au-travail.fr
Published on December 7, 2012.
Taking the risk of congratulating
Some managers are afraid to congratulate their employees for fear of potential complacency that would follow. Of course, like many management actions, there is always the risk that a person will "abuse" a congratulation to ask for something in return. But most people are sensitive to verbal or written recognition and will not take advantage of it.
Congratulating can be done in a meeting for a team, or individually.
Managers know that to give feedback, it is important to sit down with the employee in question. The same is true for congratulating. A "well done" in a corridor or in front of the coffee machine will not have the same impact.
In what case should you congratulate?
Of course, there is no exhaustive list of actions or results that imply a congratulation. However, we often distinguish 2 cases where congratulating your employee is important and helps to encourage and motivate:
- On quantified results (sales team, achievement of objectives...): in this first case, it is necessary to base it on something very concrete and "quantify" the congratulation. "Pascal, well done this month, you achieved 122% of the objective, it's really an excellent result". To be able to congratulate, it will have been necessary beforehand to determine with your employees SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Trackable, Ecological).
- On attitudes or behaviors that help the person, the team and even the company to evolve: "Well done for your ideas and your attitude during this meeting".
Side effects
A manager who knows how to congratulate their employees will be able to give feedback much more easily when necessary. Those who are "too nice" or "too severe" always have difficulty maintaining the morale and motivation of the teams.
An employee who knows that when their work is well done, it is recognized by the manager and even management, will always be inclined to make efforts.
Congratulating sincerely and warmly helps to reduce stress in the workplace and reduce turnover.
Everyone benefits: the company where it is "good to live", the manager who will have a motivated team, and the employee who feels recognized for their efforts.
When you haven't yet adopted the habit of knowing how to congratulate, you need to learn how to do it.
Don't think too much about how you're going to say things. Go for it and above all avoid the "Well done, but..."!
Olivier de Launay.
Etre-bien-au-travail.fr
Published on December 7, 2012.
