Recognizing an employee for the incredible work that they are doing is so important. Giving a shout out to a coworker, employee, teacher, boss, or team member is a great way to thank them for all of their hard work. A small gesture can raise morale, boost employee engagement, and just make people feel awesome. Change your entire office (or school) dynamic and build a positive work environment by creating an employee shout out board.
What is a Shout Out?
It’s simple, a shout out is any time that you give your team members public recognition. Being able to specifically name a coworker and tell others why you are grateful for them is an excellent way to show recognition. Showing appreciation for an employee means so much more when you can let everyone on the team know why you are giving them a shout out. Maybe they have:
- Helped on a project
- Received positive feedback from a client or customer
- Gone out of their way to be kind
- Thought outside the box
- Exceeded expectations
- A birthday or an anniversary
- A new baby, wedding, or important life event
Saying thank you will definitely be appreciated, but letting others recognize their team members is a great practice to have in the workplace.
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When and Where Should I Give a Shout Out?
It’s appropriate to give a shout out any time and any place at work. From the classroom to the boardroom, employee recognition should have no boundaries.
The best part about shout outs is that they are free and universal. Employees can recognize colleagues, students can recognize teachers, and staff can recognize coworkers.
When everyone engages in giving shout outs, it creates a culture of gratitude that keeps on giving. Because of the supportive and positive work environment, people feel comfortable speaking up, offering encouragement, and saying “great job” more often. Leadership can also use positive reinforcement to build momentum.
Benefits of Sharing Gratitude in the Workplace
It feels good to be appreciated. When you are recognized for your achievements and hard work, it will boost your morale and encourage you to keep up that amazing job. Feeling gratitude will increase your motivation; that will drive you to want to put your best effort into your work. When you create an environment full of gratitude, it will reflect how your team operates.
According to a study by the American Psychological Association, 93% of employees “who reported feeling valued said that they are motivated to do their best at work and 88% reported feeling engaged.” Furthermore, only 21% plan to look for a new job in the year to come.
When we think of recognition, we often assume it is praise coming from a manager, leader, or someone higher up in the workplace. However, peer-to-peer recognition is just as important, if not more. Showing gratitude for your peers can help strengthen connections within your team, allowing you to work better with one another. Practicing gratitude among peers and from management will help decrease turnover and limit regrettable attrition as well.
What is a Shout Out Board?
A fantastic way to show gratitude and workplace appreciation is by creating a board where each employee can go to give their coworker a shout out. Check out these ideas for a board:
Types of Shout Out Boards
1. Kudoboard
A Kudoboard is the best option for giving your employees a place to shout out each other virtually. A Kudoboard is a centralized place on the internet where each team member can go and post a message of gratitude for everyone to see. You add images, video clips, or gifs to your message as well.
Using Kudoboard to recognize your employees can be done in several different ways. You can pick a different employee each week or month and make a board specifically recognizing their accomplishments. Or you can make a general board each month for anyone to shout out whomever they would like to and spread kindness. A Kudoboard is a great idea for recognizing birthdays, anniversaries, or other special events as well.
If you have a large team that is working remotely, the employee recognition software is an amazing option to encourage recognition. With unlimited shout outs, premium features, and advanced admin tools, it makes it easy and fun to post shout outs, and better yet, read all of the shout outs that have been given to their coworkers—all on one platform.
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2. Bulletin Board
If your staff works on-site, you should consider putting up a bulletin board where team members can write out a note of recognition and hang it on the board. You can supply index cards and pens next to the board and place it in your break room. This way, any time an employee is on a break, they will see the board and can write out a note of praise and read the ones that coworkers have written about others’ dedication. The great thing about a bulletin board is that it can be an anonymous shout out. If an employee wants to show recognition without being named then they can do this with an employee recognition board, which is such a great option.
A staff shout out board is a simple way to show gratitude and raise morale in the workplace. You can change the theme out of the board each month and then give the card about the staff member to them so that they can keep it. It will be a great keepsake and a reminder that they are appreciated for the work that they do.
3. Slack Channel
Create a channel on Slack that is just for shout outs and appreciation. Your staff will have an easy place to go and recognize a team member, tell someone happy birthday, or recognize a work anniversary. Remote employees will love this centralized location to give a shout out.
You can call the channel ‘Employee Shout Outs,’ ‘#excellence,’ or ‘Staff Recognition.’ Name the channel something obvious so that all employees know what it is for. Add every staff member to the board so that they will see the posts of recognition. This is a simple way to help promote gratitude in the workplace.
Why Make a Shout Out Board?
So why should an office or school invest time in making a shout out board? Because people deserve praise and want to be thanked for the work that they are doing. Taking the initiative to create a public space to recognize accomplishments also shows that you are a business owner or manager who cares about thanking your employees and promoting peer-to-peer recognition.
Make shout outs a priority in your workplace by providing a place to do it. You will notice a definite shift in company culture, and each person will know and understand the importance of recognizing fellow employees. Take the first step and set up a shout out board.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a employee shout out board?
A staff shout out board is a way to show appreciation and gratitude for the hard work done by employees. This is also a great way to raise morale in the workplace. A Kudoboard shout out board is a centralized place for employees to give a shout out to each other. As part of your messages of gratitude you can add images, video clips, or GIFs.
What are the instructions to create a staff shout out board?
To create a shout out board, simply select “Create a Kudoboard” at the top of our website. Then fill out the information, select a board that meets your needs, and select a background. At this point, be the first to write and pin a message so others can see an example. Once your message is displayed, invite others to contribute by sending a link or inviting them by entering in their email into the website.
What are some employee shout out board ideas?
You know that an employee shout out is an important part of making your employees feel valued. However, knowing what to put on a shout out board can be difficult. Here are some ideas on what to include in an employee shout out board:
- Celebrate a big win. Did the employee land a new client? Overachieve on their goals? Make a positive change in the company? Any of these are a big win worth celebrating.
- Recognize the every day impacts they make. This is an opportunity to recognize an employee who is dependable, hard working, or performing other meaningful but every day tasks.
- Celebrate the worker who goes above and beyond . Recognize that one worker who is consistently going the extra mile.
- Just say thank you or give a compliment. Sometimes there may not be a specific reason to do a shout out other than you appreciate them continually doing their best.
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