You will be able to give recognition that is specific, timely and matched to how the person likes to receive it.
At the end of a hard quarter, Wei Ling sent a message to the team chat: "Thanks everyone for all your hard work this quarter, really appreciate it." Four thumbs-up reactions came back. Then nothing. A week later, in her one-on-one, Hui Min mentioned that she had stayed late three nights to fix the service report figures, and she wasn't sure anyone had noticed.
Wei Ling had noticed. She just hadn't said so in a way that Hui Min could hear.
"Great work, everyone." "Thanks for all your effort." "Well done on the report." Messages like these are kindly meant and cost nothing to send. They also fade almost at once, because they could have been written without looking at anyone's work. People can tell the difference between being noticed and being included in a general thank-you.
Specific recognition names what the person did and what effect it had. It is the same structure you used for praise in lesson 5.2, Situation, behaviour, impact, and it works for the same reason. It tells the person exactly what you saw and why it mattered, which makes it believable and repeatable.
Compare Wei Ling's group message with what she might have sent Hui Min directly: "Last week you stayed back three evenings to rebuild the service report after the account codes changed. Because the figures were right, Daniel could show the Tan & Co director a clean quarter, and they've renewed for another year. Thank you." Same sentiment, much greater effect, and it took two minutes to write.
Some people love public thanks. A mention in the team meeting or the company newsletter feels like a reward. Others find public attention uncomfortable, even embarrassing. In many Singapore workplaces, with colleagues from cultures where standing out from the group can feel awkward, you will meet both on the same team.
You can't tell which is which by guessing. So ask. A good moment is a one-on-one early on: "When you've done something well, how do you like to hear about it? Some people like it said in front of the team, some prefer a private message." Note the answer in their one-on-one document.
Hui Min, it turned out, would rather have a private message and a mention to Daniel than any public thanks. Arjun was the opposite: he liked a shout-out in the team meeting, partly because it helped his standing with the clients he now managed.
When you report to your own manager, the temptation is to describe the team's work as your work. "We hit all our report deadlines this quarter" is fine. "I turned the report process around" isn't, if Farid did the work.
Name the people who did the work. "Farid moved the warehouse data handover to Friday and has delivered every weekly report on time for 13 weeks." It costs you nothing with a good manager, who will see that you lead a team that delivers. It helps your people, because their names reach the people who make promotion and pay decisions.
It also travels back. People usually find out, sooner or later, how their manager described their work upward. Finding out you were named builds a great deal of trust. Finding out someone else took the credit does the reverse.
Recognition is telling people you saw what they did and that it mattered. It is free, and it should be frequent, something you do most weeks rather than once a quarter. You don't need permission or budget to give it.
Rewards are tangible things: a bonus, a pay rise, a promotion, an extra day off, a voucher. They have a place, but they work best saved for results that really matter. Hand them out too often or for routine work, and people start to expect them, and the work becomes about the reward.
A useful rule for a new manager is to recognise freely, and keep rewards for results that clearly went beyond the role. When you do give a reward, pair it with specific recognition so the person knows exactly what it was for.
Spoken thanks is good. Written recognition lasts longer. The person can reread it, it sits in their one-on-one document as evidence for their next review, and if you copy their manager's manager, it reaches someone whose view of them matters.
Before you copy anyone senior, check with the person. Some will be delighted. Others, especially those who prefer private recognition, would rather keep it between the two of you.
Think of one thing someone on your team did recently that deserves more than a thumbs-up, and write it down the way you would say it to them.
Send one specific piece of written recognition to a team member this week and copy their skip-level manager if they are comfortable with it.
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