Public Praise - More harm than good?

[Getty Stewart]

For years it has been my practice to praise in public (openly in front of other staff) and provide constructive feedback in private (in a one-on-one closed door discussion). The only time I would not praise in public is if I knew that person does not enjoy public attention and would prefer more personal recognition instead.

Today, someone challenged my thoughts on this practice by suggesting public praise for one employee has a negative effect on all other staff members. The concern is that other employees may feel left out, overlooked and demotivated - they may say to themselves "I work just as hard as the publicly praised employee, but I never get recognized for it, why bother?"

I'm not convinced. It seems to me public recognition works at letting the employee and others know their work is valued and recognized. In fact,there seems to be support and encouragement for those getting the praise from other employees, at least I don't see any underlying resentment.

Could I be missing something? Is public praise bad for moral?

[Clare Long]

I've heard this criticism in the past, but don't agree with it. Catch people doing the right thing and recognise them for it publicly to encourage the same behaviour of others.

[Eric Lobser]

Only if it is handled poorly, such as causing a shy person to be too much in the spot-light, or in the case you note, it's not given frequently or fairly enough. These can be managed, so don't start managing by exceptions or pretty soon, you'll be doing nothing...and that will disengage everybody equally.

[Susan Robinson]

You do want to consider group dynamics in how you deliver praise. Depending on how cohesive the group is, others can feel envious or de-motivated, or they may feel happy for the other person (and may even feel that they vicariously share in the credit).

Praise is not a universal reinforcer though, and it can backfire, especially if the praise is misplaced.

I'll give you an example: In a call center, one employee was publicly praised by the director for doing a higher volume of calls than other call center staff. When that employee resigned, it was discovered that he hadn't done any of the documentation on his calls - That's why he was so much faster than everyone else!

[Getty Stewart]

Thank you for your comments. I guess we've just proven once again that things aren't as simple as black or white, yes or no. We must always be aware of the situation.

[Jeff Cook]

If rewards and recognition are sparse, then perhaps. With ample rewards and recognition, then this risk goes down. I think some people have high trait anxiety about public attention, and for those folks, public recognition does not feel like recognition at all.

[Getty Stewart]

Absolutely Jeff. Recognition is suppose to be a good thing. If it brings more anxiety than good, we need to reconsider our delivery. We need to respect different folks need different strokes.

G.

[MinhNH]

If we have the right and good methods to evaluate people's performance, it is good to praise in public (because all are sure about that praise). And the risk goes down.

[Getty Stewart]

Call me a sentimental fool, but if we have the right intent, say it sincerely and are truly appreciative of others, then there must be some good in letting people know what we value and appreciate in our workplace by recognizing those who do it.

[David Zinger]

I prefer the word appreciate as opposed to praising. To me it seems that to appreciate levels us where sometimes it seems praising puts me in a superior position. Of course, I know, meaning is in people not words, so this is reflective of my own response to the words praise and appreciate. I appreciated this forum!

[Gary Uptigrove]

Within the Univ Human Resousce Dept, our most recent Employee Satisfaction survey results indicated employees did not like seeing/hearing what they considered public praise for a "job well-done." They indicated that everyone is supposed to perform well, so save the public praise/notice for jobs outside the normal realm of normal responsibilities - above and beyond!

[Getty Stewart]

Hmmm! Interesting.

My best practice is to custom tailor my praise/appreciation to the person I'm communicating with. I know some appreciate a personal acknowledgement for just showing up (especially if their personal life has huge challenges), some only want to be acknowledged for high level/above and beyond accomplishments (like the people in your survey), some want to be recognized publicly, some privately. I also know, no matter who it is, or how they like to be appreciated or recognized - everyone wants to be valued in some way.

I think, what separates the good from the great leaders is recognizing, appreciating and responding based on people's differences. Rather than treating everyone the same, treating everyone differently - based on how the individual prefers.

Even with a survey response like yours, Gary, I would still extend recognition, praise and/or appreciation to people. Maybe, that's just me.

Getty

[Kelley Eskridge]

Yes,definitely -- "everyone wants to be valued in some way." That's the heart of it. I agree with tailoring the style of appreciation where possible. Awareness of others coupled with authenticity of self is a powerful combination in a manager or anyone else.

K