How to Praise Someone Professionally
Tips, phrases, and sample letters on how to praise someone professionally.
63+ Examples of How to Praise Someone Professionally
Employees that feel valued are going to be more productive, have more trust in their management and are less likely to leave the company.
So how do you praise someone professionally and build a positive and productive work environment?
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How To Praise Someone Professionally
It shouldn’t be hard, but both giving and accepting a compliment can be quite the challenge. This is as true in the office as it is in your personal life. The key is to be truthful, specific and to back up your words with action.
- Be genuine - An employee or coworker is going to see through a fake compliment. Be honest, or your praise might backfire, hurting your credibility.
- Don’t exaggerate - Overselling your praise is also a turnoff. Over time, employees won’t feel like you’re being truthful or genuine.
- Be specific* - A general “Great job!” to a coworker or employee isn’t going to resonate. Tell them exactly what they did to earn your praise.
- Make it personal - One compliment to a large group of people is meaningless. Single coworkers (or a small team/division) out for their specific achievements.
- Make it timely - Giving a compliment for something that happened months ago is going to miss the point. Praise needs to be given for a recent work accomplishment to feel genuine.
- Back it up - A compliment is going to hit pretty flat if it doesn’t result in an improvement to their situation.
- Mix it up - Again, praise is good, but mix it up with other incentives to show your appreciation. Food, casual dress day, extra time off, a social media shout-out, gift cards, etc. Think of something—anything—to add to the mix.
Here's a quick video that shows how you can turn your frequently-typed phrases into snippets.
Check out our Common Work Emails page for more templates you can use today!
40 Ways To Say “Good Job”
How do you hit the sweet spot of a genuine professional compliment that doesn’t sound stiff or fake? Starting with some of these phrases is an excellent first step.
Project well put together
This project was incredibly well put together—well done!
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Thrilled you took the lead
We’re thrilled you took the lead on this one.
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Project turned out well
I can’t believe how well this project turned out with you in the lead!
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Impressive work
{formtext: name=first name; cols=8}, impressive work!
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Hard work paid off
Your hard work has really paid off.
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Can’t wait to work on future projects
I can’t wait to work with you on future projects.
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Project was easier with you
This project was so much easier with your attention to detail.
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Thank you for bringing together
Thank you for bringing this together.
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Your leadership is an inspiration
Your leadership is a true inspiration.
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Your work made a difference
Your work really made a difference!
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Fantastic project
This is fantastic! I had no idea this project would turn out so well.
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Fortunate to have you
We’re fortunate to have someone like you on our team.
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Blown away by your approach
I was blown away by your approach {formmenu: to this project; default=to this assignment;to this challenge}.
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Learned a lot
I’ve learned a lot from you.
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Enjoy hearing your perspective
I always enjoy hearing your perspective on things.
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Setting the bar higher
You keep setting the bar higher and higher.
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Thanks for everything that you do
Thanks for everything that you do.
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Prove yourself time and time again
You prove yourself time and time again.
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Project wouldn’t have turned out the same
This project wouldn’t have turned out the same without you.
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Appreciate your energy and passion
I appreciate your energy and passion for the job.
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Can’t wait to see you grow
Awesome job! I can’t wait to see you continue to grow with us.
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Always enjoy working with you
I always enjoy working with you.
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Impressively thorough work
This is impressively thorough work. Keep it up!
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Amazed by your passion
I’m amazed by the passion you show to your work.
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You’re incredibly talented
You’re incredibly talented!
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You’re a rising star
You’re a rising star at {formtext: name=company; cols=8}.
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The type of work everyone should strive for
This is the type of work everyone should strive for.
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Getting better and better
How do you keep getting better and better?!
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Stepped up
You really stepped up on this one.
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Stayed calm
I know things have been hectic, but you’ve stayed calm, collected, and never wavered.
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Need more people like you
We need more people like you!
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Keeping everyone’s spirit up
Thanks for keeping everyone’s spirits up.
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Crushed the assignment
You absolutely crushed that assignment.
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Going above and beyond
Thank you for going above and beyond when we needed it most.
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Relief to have you
It’s a relief to know we always have someone like you to count on.
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Can’t wait to see what’s next
I can’t wait to see what you do next!
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You make it look easy
You make it look easy!
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Would like to work with you on future projects
I’d love to work with you on a future project.
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Invaluable asset
You’re an invaluable asset to this company.
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How did we do it without you
How did we ever do this without you?!
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20 Genuine Compliments for Coworkers
Don’t want to sort through the above list? No worries. Jump to one of the categories below and choose from one of these 20 genuine compliments for coworkers.
Compliments About Skills
I’m in awe
I’m in awe of what you did on {formtext: name=project; cols=7}.
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Attention to details
Your attention to details was next level.
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Best perspective
You always have the best perspective on every project.
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Keen eye for detail and organization
You have a keen eye for detail and organization.
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Learning from you
I’m learning so much from you.
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Compliments on Enthusiasm
Your enthusiasm keeps me going
Your enthusiasm always keeps me going.
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Wee the bright side
You always see the bright side, no matter how challenging the situation.
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Easy to keep a positive outlook with you
It’s easy to keep a positive outlook with you around.
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Held it together
It’s been pretty stressful lately, but you’ve really held us together.
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Thank you for your enthusiasm
Thank you for your enthusiasm. We really needed it!
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Compliments About Hard Work
Challenge me to work harder
You always challenge me to work harder.
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Work ethic amazes me
Your work ethic never ceases to amaze me.
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Couldn’t pull this together without your hard work
We couldn’t have pulled this together without your hard work.
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You set the bar high
You set the bar high on the last assignment.
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Company would be lost without you
This company would be lost without you.
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Compliments About Being a Team Player
Pleasure working with you
It’s a pleasure working with you.
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Make it easy to come together as a team
You make it easy to come together as a team.
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Loved hearing your insight
I loved hearing your insight in our last meeting.
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Reliable and flexible
You’re so reliable and flexible. It’s a joy having you on our team.
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Look forward to collaborating with you again
I look forward to collaborating with you again.
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Save time on repetitive typing!
Save email and phrase templates and insert them anywhere using keyboard shortcuts.
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Three Sample Compliment Letters To Praise Professionally
Finally, it’s time to put it all together. Whether you’re a manager or team leader praising an employee or simply want to compliment a colleague, these three sample compliment letters will show you how to sincerely and professionally compliment someone.
We’ve used some of the phrases above as a first step and then added a detailed explanation of what the employee did and why it was so impressive.
In these letters, we tried to sound as sincere and natural as possible. We specified a reason for the praise and expressed a wish to continue working with the employee.
Sample Compliment Letter From an Executive to a Sales Manager
Compliment email for a sales manager
Dear {formtext: name=first name; cols=8},
I want to personally congratulate you on a job well done for the past six months. Since your last promotion, you’ve surpassed my expectations and then some.
I was impressed by your approach to some of our difficult clients. Your ability to foresee their needs has led to a record in sales in your team.
Your hard work has truly paid off, and we’re thrilled to have you at the helm of our newest sales division. As a token of our appreciation, we would like to offer you a small bonus.
We hope you’ll feel how much we appreciate your work and we’re excited to see what the next six months (and beyond) have in store!
Best, Tiffany
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Sample Compliment Letter From a Team Leader to an Engineer
Great performance email template
Dear {formtext: name=first name; cols=8},
I’m reaching out to thank you for your great performance as part of our research and development team.
Now that the project has come to a close, It is clear that it wouldn’t have turned out the same without your insight and creativity. The ideas you brought to the table changed the course of our project for the better.
Furthermore, while I know things have been hectic, you stayed calm, collected, and never wavered. I appreciated how you made it easy for us to come together as a team. Especially as you were so flexible in regards to changing deadlines and team members’ changing schedules.
To show the company’s appreciation, I’ve asked to give you a shout-out on our Twitter and Facebook pages and congratulate you on a job well done.
It was a joy being your team lead and I look forward to collaborating with you again.
Thank you, Sharon
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Sample Compliment Letter to a Designer From a Colleague
Praise for work ethics
Dear {formtext: name=first name; cols=8},
I wanted to personally welcome you to ACME. It’s been a wonderful few months since you joined our art team and I’ve been in awe of your work ethics.
You’ve had a great perspective on our latest designs and I’ve been impressed by the unique perspective you bring to every project.
Can I pick your brain about how you developed the art concept for the client in the lat project? Your designs were incredible and the client clearly loved them.
I look forward to continuing working with you and learning from your experience.
Best, Mario
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