How much employee recognition does a team need? The short answer: Enough that every good piece of work is seen promptly and specifically, including the unspectacular kind. Grand gestures are rarely needed for that.
Recognition is a leader’s signal that they have noticed and value a piece of work or a behaviour. Praise is its shortest form, appreciation the attitude behind it. It’s meant for everyone on the team, the stars as much as the reliable people in the background.
Many decisions are made at management level without the people affected being properly informed. I see the result again and again in my work with companies: Rejection. People who feel like a means to an end pull back.
At the same time, the same people are expected to show independence and creativity. Those two expectations sit badly together. New solutions rarely emerge under pressure, and pressure builds exactly where targets get handed down to teams without any explanation.
The chain is usually the same: Frustration, demotivation and, at worst, refusal to perform. So leading without employee recognition costs performance, even if it never shows up on a budget line.
Back in 2019, I said in an interview that a harsh leadership style still prevails in some companies, with little appreciative recognition for performance and behaviour. That’s why leadership has the task of taking the pressure off and ending the secrecy around decisions.
If you need new ways of solving problems and want to use your people’s potential, you need leadership that makes sense to them and looks after collaboration. Building relationships through recognition, as I called it at the time. I still stand by that.
Two conditions decide: Authenticity and precision.
Your team senses very precisely whether recognition is a tool or genuine appreciation. A thank-you that only paves the way for the next extra task comes across more like tactics.
“Good work” is friendly and leads nowhere. A sentence the person can link to their work has more effect, for example: “Your summary made the decision easy for the executive board.” Recognition belongs on the level of the work itself.
If you know the person, you usually hit the right tone. After a difficult project, one person mainly needs a quiet word in private, while another enjoys being visible in front of the group.
Every good performance counts. Recognition applies to top performers and to solid everyday work alike. If you only see the stars, solid work becomes invisible. The reliable people who never stand out then go away empty-handed.
At the right moment. Show recognition when the work is done. If employee recognition only reaches people in the annual review, its effect has usually fizzled out.
Small doses. Effusive thanks are as out of place as long hymns of praise. A nod, a handshake, a “Well done” or a “Thank you very much” is usually enough.
Fit the person. Some people enjoy recognition in front of the team, others find it awkward. Decide case by case.
Keep praise and criticism apart. The classic approach in the annual review, first the positives and then the list of shortcomings, wrecks the effect of the recognition. The praise turns into the opening for the reprimand.
Involve people early. Recognition starts with information. If you involve employees in decisions early, you show respect for their work before a single word of thanks is spoken. How that works in a leadership team is described in Team collaboration: How individuals become a leadership team.
Material incentives are a separate question. What motivates people in large companies is covered in 14 incentives to motivate employees in large companies.
My position: Recognition costs nothing and has a very strong effect when it comes specifically and promptly. Sometimes a single sentence or a gesture is all it takes, and a person’s motivation, enjoyment of the job and self-confidence rise noticeably.
I consider the opposite extreme just as risky: Constant praise. If you celebrate every little thing, you devalue your recognition, and at some point the team stops listening. How seriously people take employee recognition depends on whether there’s a reason for it.
By the way, you can measure whether recognition lands. In engagements with leaders, I use 360-degree feedback before and after the coaching phase. The team’s responses then show whether the leader makes good work visible or whether that only exists in their own picture of themselves.
Whenever good work is done, and promptly. The frequency follows from the work itself. Good work should never be taken for granted without a word.
That depends on the person. Some enjoy public recognition, others find it embarrassing. If in doubt, ask, or watch how someone reacts.
Recognition is feedback on a piece of work, usually in words or gestures. A reward is material, such as a bonus or a day off. Both have their place, and one hardly replaces the other.
Yes, if it seems fake or serves as the lead-in to criticism. Then the team learns to read praise as a warning sign. Blanket, constant praise also wears off over time.
Further reading on hofmann.coach: Leader as coach: How trust and standing grow · Empowerment by maximising employees’ strengths · Corporate culture: What you can change as a leader
Note: This article combines two articles from 20.05.2019 and 11.06.2019 and was revised and expanded in October 2026.
Cristian Hofmann is an executive coach in Zurich and Schaffhausen (MAS Coaching & Supervision BSO, Forbes contributor). Over more than 20 years he has coached more than 1,500 leaders: CEOs, executive boards and leadership teams in Switzerland, with measurably agreed goals and, on request, pay-for-results. More about Cristian Hofmann.
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