Employee recognition in 2025: 10 ready-to-use phrases to keep your best talent

For years, my go-to phrase was a quick "great job!" in Slack. I thought I was being efficient. Turns out, I was just being lazy.

That "good job" had zero impact. It was recognition junk food—empty calories that felt good for a second and were forgotten a moment later. My team deserved better, and frankly, the business needed their best work, which is fueled by feeling genuinely valued.

The problem isn't that managers are insincere. The problem is that we're busy, and we fall back on generic praise that feels like a checkbox exercise.

Real recognition isn't about handing out gift cards. It's about being specific. It's about connecting the work to the impact. It's free, it takes 30 seconds, and it works.

This guide gives you two things:

1. Ten copy-and-paste phrases that you can start using today.
2. A simple way to measure if your team actually feels recognized.

Why "Good job!" doesn't work anymore (the 2025 data)

Let's be real for a second. We're all fighting to keep our best people from getting poached, especially with the market as it is.

And yet, the research from places like Gallup and Workhuman consistently points to a simple, powerful truth: when people feel seen and appreciated for their work, they stop taking calls from recruiters. A recent study by Workhuman, for example, found they're almost half as likely to be looking for another job. Think about that—you can practically cut your turnover risk in half just by getting recognition right.

So you'd think companies would be doubling down on praise, right?

Wrong. A new Achievers' 2025 Engagement and Retention report found the exact opposite is happening: a huge number of employees say they're getting praised less often than before.

This is the gap where your best talent is quietly slipping away. In today's competitive world, specific, timely praise isn't a "soft skill" anymore. It’s a straight-up competitive advantage.

The simple formula for praise that works: what + why

Before you look at the phrases below, here’s the single thing that makes them work. Most praise fails because it only mentions the action. Great praise adds the impact.

The common mistake (action only):

"Good job on the presentation!"

The simple fix (action + impact):

"Great job on the presentation today. Because you used that customer data to frame the problem, the leadership team finally understood the urgency."

See the difference? The first is a nice comment. The second proves their work actually mattered. That's real recognition.

10 phrases to steal for recognition that actually work

Here are 10 lines, split by situation, that you can start using today.

1. For when the work was a grind

• The scenario: An engineer just spent two days on a horrible, frustrating bug. A generic 'thanks' feels empty because it ignores the struggle.
• The phrase to use: "I know that bug fix was a beast. Seriously, thank you for wrestling that thing to the ground. The team can finally move forward because of you."

2. For when their work had a hidden impact

• The scenario: An analyst finished a report. They have no idea what happened next. You need to connect the dots for them.
• The phrase to use: "That report you sent over last night? Just wanted you to know the exec team used it to make a call on the budget this morning. Your work directly influenced that decision."

3. For when they saved a teammate

• The scenario: You see someone help a swamped colleague. If you ignore it, you’re sending the message that teamwork is invisible work.
• The phrase to use: "I saw you jump in to help Sarah with that deployment. You didn't have to, and you probably saved her hours of stress. That's what makes this team actually work."

4. For when they made a meeting better

• The scenario: Someone asks a tough question that makes everyone in the room pause. It feels disruptive, but it’s incredibly valuable.
• The phrase to use: "Props for asking that hard question earlier. You made everyone think and probably saved us from a big mistake down the road. We need more of that."

5. For when the work was just plain excellent

• The scenario: A designer creates a new layout. It's just... really good. Be specific about why.
• The phrase to use: "This new design is fantastic. The user flow is so much cleaner now. This is a huge step up for us."

6. For when they handled a client perfectly

• The scenario: A customer was upset, and your support specialist dealt with it with grace and skill.
• The phrase to use: "I listened to the recording of that call with [Client Name]. You handled that situation perfectly. Total pro."

7. For when they took a smart risk

• The scenario: An employee tried a new approach. It didn't totally succeed, but it was a good idea and a learning moment.
• The phrase to use: "I really liked how you tried [the new approach] to solve that problem. It was a smart risk. Let's talk about what we learned from it."

8. For when they were a culture-add

• The scenario: Things are stressful. One person's positive attitude is keeping everyone else grounded.
• The phrase to use: "Just wanted to say, your calm attitude during this crazy deadline push has been a huge help for the whole team."

9. For when they were incredibly reliable

• The scenario: Someone on your team just consistently delivers quality work, no drama. Don't let that go unnoticed.
• The phrase to use: "I just want to acknowledge how reliable you are. I know I can always count on you to deliver, and that makes my job a thousand times easier. Thank you."

10. For when they took feedback well

• The scenario: You gave them some tough but necessary feedback. They didn't get defensive; they asked questions.
• The phrase to use: "Hey, I really appreciate how you handled the feedback in our one-on-one. Being open to improving is a real strength and shows a lot of maturity."

From chaos to a system: frequency, channels, and peer-to-peer

Having the right words is half the battle. The other half is turning random acts of recognition into a reliable system. Otherwise, praise just depends on your mood and memory—which isn't fair to your team. Here’s how to build that system.

1. The 1-hour rule: timing is everything

Praise has a short half-life. The longer you wait, the less impact it has.

A specific, in-the-moment comment in Slack right after a win is worth ten times more than a perfectly crafted paragraph in a 1-on-1 meeting a week later. Don't save it. Send it now.

2. Public vs. private: read the room

Not everyone loves a public shout-out, and that's okay. For your star developer who hates the spotlight, a private DM acknowledging their hard work is perfect. For a huge team milestone that reinforces a company value, the public team channel is the place to be.

The rule of thumb: celebrate team wins publicly, praise individual effort with a personal touch.

3. Empower your team: you can't see everything

The best way to scale recognition is to get your team to do it for each other. You simply can't be in every meeting or see every small act of teamwork.

The easiest way to start? Create a #kudos or #props channel in Slack. It creates a public record of collaboration and gives everyone permission to celebrate their colleagues. Lead by example, and it will catch on.

4. Avoid the "everything is awesome" trap

If every small accomplishment gets a "You're a rockstar!", the words lose their meaning. This is "praise inflation," and it makes real praise feel cheap.

Instead of just an empty adjective ("Awesome!"), describe the action and the impact. This keeps praise grounded in reality and ensures that when you do say something was a massive win, people will actually believe you.

How to measure recognition: the pulse survey template

So, you start giving better praise. That’s great.

But if you’re managing a global team across five time zones, you can't see the look on their face. You're basically guessing at the impact. Are people actually feeling more valued, or are you just talking into the void?

The answer is a simple, regular pulse survey. A pulse survey is a short, frequent check-in to track how valued your team feels.

• Frequency: Run it bi-weekly for the first two months to get a baseline, then switch to monthly.
• Channels: Use an anonymous tool like Google Forms to start, or an integrated HRIS survey feature. Keep it to 5-8 questions and under 3 minutes to complete.
• The Follow-up cycle: This is the most important part. Share a summary of the anonymous results with the team. Commit to acting on one or two key themes. Then re-measure in the next survey to see if your actions made a difference.

Pulse survey questions (based on AIHR & Qualtrics best practices):

• I feel my contributions are genuinely valued here. (Likert scale: strongly disagree to agree)
• In the last two weeks, I received recognition that was meaningful to me. (Likert scale)
• The praise I receive is timely and specific. (Likert scale)
• My colleagues, not just my manager, acknowledge my contributions. (Likert scale)
• Where do you most often receive recognition? (Multiple choice: Slack/Teams, 1-on-1s, Team meetings, Email, Other)
• What’s one thing we could do to make recognition here more effective? (Open-ended)

The future of feedback with HarmonyHR

A manual survey is a good start. But you and I both know the real problem is trying to track those results over time in a spreadsheet. It's a mess.

HarmonyHR is fixing that.

Our new Performance Reviews & Surveys module is set to launch next quarter (Q4 2025). The idea is simple: you'll be able to launch this exact survey in two clicks, and the results will appear on your dashboard in real-time.

Want to be the first to see it in action?

Join the HarmonyHR waitlist to get early access, see sneak peeks of the interface, and be invited to a live demo.

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