Can you give me some examples of how I can recognise a team member?

by Raj
(india)

I need to write a recognition speech to acknowledge the efforts of someone in my team. How can I write this? Can you help with some examples please?

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My Answer:

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Hi Raj,

Without knowing your team member, and what you want to recognise, I can only provide some general thoughts:

• Don't worry too much about the words!
  
  When recognising someone, I think it's most important that you are genuine, and that the recognition happens as soon after the achievement as possible.
  
  While preparing for your speech is essential, getting the words perfect isn't. Mostly, people will just remember:
  
  
  • that you acknowledged what they achieved, and
    
    
  • how sincere you were in your appreciation.
  
  Taking the time to recognise someone is the most important thing, as this video shows...
  
  
  
  
  

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• Be as specific as you can...
  
  For any feedback, I've always found that it is much more valuable and appreciated if you can be really specific. Talk about what, when, how ... and most of all WHY what the person did was important. What impact did their actions have on the team? Why did it have a positive influence on the organisation?
  
  For example:
  
  "One of the things that we all appreciate about Joe is that we can count on him to do what he says he will do. Or to tell people very clearly if he expects a problem, so we can plan for it. For example, on the most recent project, he told me the design would be complete by last Monday. And it was. This was a great outcome for the company because it resulted in one very happy customer ... who has already rung me to say thanks and that they'd love to work with us again."
  
  

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• Make it personal, and memorable..
  
  If you can, tell a story. A story of how you were impressed by something the person did. Or a story of a time you observed them do something which contributed to their success.
  
  Recognition is always more meaningful and memorable if it is personalised in some way.
  
  
  

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  I hope these 3 ideas will be helpful. For more detailed assistance, I think the 10 minute YouTube video below is worth watching.
  
  All the best,
  Alison, Team Building Bonanza.