8 Positive Feedback Examples for Employee Performance

Updated December 23, 2022

Good feedback allows people to understand the impact of their actions, celebrate their successes, and identify areas for improvement. Providing this feedback is important as a hiring manager or team lead because it encourages an excellent work ethic and increases team morale. Understanding the importance of feedback ensures you can achieve improved team performance in an organization. In this article, we explore what positive feedback is, highlight the benefits of this feedback for employees, share some examples, and provide tips to ensure you can provide employees with excellent feedback to improve morale and performance.

What is positive feedback?

Positive feedback, or forward-looking feedback, refers to an evaluation that prioritizes an employee's strengths, accomplishments, and talents. It involves telling team members that they're performing well, identifying the areas where their performance is exemplary, and encouraging them to continue. It contrasts with negative feedback, which identifies employees' mistakes and errors and focuses on how to improve those areas.

Benefits of giving good feedback to employees

Giving good feedback to employees is a great idea because it makes them feel better about themselves, leading to more determination and motivation. It also helps them understand the right approach to their tasks and improves their chances of continuing to succeed. Criticism is sometimes a useful tool to encourage improved performance, but positive feedback is more beneficial as it helps team members better understand business goals and standards. In some cases, you can combine good feedback with constructive criticism, as long as you maintain a positive balance between them.

You can provide forward-looking feedback to employees who work overtime, help a coworker finish a complicated project, earn new responsibilities, and contribute to discussions and meetings. In these cases, employees feel proud of their accomplishments and inspired to achieve more.

Examples of good feedback to give to employees

Here are some examples of good feedback you can share with employees in various workplace scenarios:

Example 1: Employee contributing to discussions and meetings

An employee has invaluable contributions during the team meeting by sharing new insights and ideas. In this example, you let them know you appreciate their insights and ideas and how it benefits the team:

"Thank you for preparing adequately for our meeting today. Your quality of thought showed it was well-researched and considered. The team is very grateful you constantly come up with new ideas that allow us to perform more efficiently and reach our company's goals. We all look forward to having you contribute significantly to the next discussion."

Example 2: Employee working overtime

An employee worked overtime to meet a client's deadline while maintaining positive behaviour and ensuring the team fulfilled its role. In this example, you appreciate their vital efforts by giving good feedback:

"Thank you for being of immense help to ensure the timely completion of the task. I know you had to work extra hours throughout last week, even with your already busy schedule. The team appreciates your continuous efforts to ensure we remain productive. In addition, the team is grateful for the positive attitude you displayed throughout the period."

Example 3: Employee submitting excellent work

An employee completed all allocated tasks before the deadline and submitted excellent work that demonstrated attention to detail and in-depth research. In this example, you let them know you appreciate the commitment to the outstanding delivery of tasks:

"Tom, your delivery looks great as usual. It is clear you conduct in-depth research on every task and pay great attention to every relevant detail. You need to know that this makes everyone's work easier and more seamless. The team is grateful for your hard work over the years. Let me know if there's anything you need to make your work easier."

Example 4: Employee meeting their goals

An employee just exceeded their quarterly goal at the company by 25%. In this example, you let them know you noticed their dedication and commitment to producing the best results:

"Jessie, you were impressive in the last quarter and exceeded my expectations. Thank you for being reliable over the last few months. You set an excellent example for the team, and I'm sure you are on a path to the top. Well done."

Example 5: Employee needing an increase in morale

An employee was unconfident in the last couple of weeks. In this example, you let them know you consider their contributions valuable and important to the team's success:

"Hi, Ava. You have been exceptional at work in the last few weeks. I noticed how you approach your tasks with so much flexibility, making it easier for everyone on the team to perform. I am happy at how much you've grown after you began working with us. Thank you for your dedication, and please inform me if you need anything to improve your experience with us."

Example 6: Employee handling conflict effectively

You saw an employee resolve a conflict between two other team members during a meeting. In this example, you let the employee know you appreciate their taking the initiative to stop the conflict from escalating:

"Morgan, you were great at managing the conflict between Lois and Sean at the last team meeting. I loved how you stepped in and made everyone understand that conflict is inevitable while addressing the issues. Thank you for showing such impressive leadership in that situation."

Example 7: Employee completing a difficult task

An employee has found it quite challenging to complete a new task. While handling the task, they maintained a positive attitude and made the extra effort to ensure they completed the task. In this example, you let them know you appreciate their tenacity:

"I am glad that you remained determined to complete the tasks, regardless of the difficulties they posed. I always knew you were the right fit for the job due to your positive attitude while working on other projects. Thank you for taking on the challenge and for the extra effort it took to overcome it."

Example 8: Employee helping coworkers

An employee has been assisting a new intern with the onboarding process. The employee has been extremely helpful in helping them feel comfortable. In this example, you let them know that every member of the team appreciates their help:

"Hi, Rachael. I just needed to let you know we appreciate all your efforts in helping John feel more comfortable as a team member. You have been accommodating in supporting his internship experience, and that's great. It is amazing to see you display excellent leadership skills in such a short while working with us."

Tips to help you provide forward-looking feedback to employees

Here are some tips to help you provide encouraging positive feedback to employees:

Be specific

You need to provide your feedback clearly to ensure that team members understand what you appreciate. This guarantees that they can identify what they're doing well and the skills that need improvement. For example, ensure that you identify the exact skill they demonstrated that impressed you and if there is more than one, highlight all skills.

Provide detail of their impact

You need to provide details about the impact of each contribution from the team members. For instance, you can tell them how their timely delivery of tasks improved client retention by 10% in the last quarter. Team members can realize that their actions are important by providing the impact of their contribution, which encourages them to remain dedicated.

Be timely

While waiting until the end of a project or quarter is acceptable, it's a great idea to provide timely feedback to team members. As soon as you realize their performance is excellent, you can comment on their effectiveness. This helps them understand they've adopted the right approach to work, which can prevent them from adopting newer and less effective approaches due to doubt. It also improves their morale and motivates them to deliver more effectively on that particular project or task.

Be open

You can provide good feedback to employees through various mediums. For instance, you can provide verbal feedback or email the employee. Regardless of the medium, ensure that it's open and others can see it. You can also motivate other employees this way, as they're likely to dedicate more time and effort to their tasks to ensure they also receive such affirmative feedback.

Be encompassing

You need to ensure you praise all team members when they deserve it. By providing feedback to all members, you ensure they feel important and part of the team's success. Also, it shows that you're objective about your review, and every team member receives appreciation as long as they deliver optimal results. This motivates team members to commit themselves to company goals.

Be concise

While praising everyone for their contributions is a great idea, you need to ensure that you restrict good feedback to deserving situations. This ensures that it remains special and desirable among employees. For instance, if you provide it in every situation, it becomes a norm for employees without special effort. This defeats the purpose of the feedback, which is to motivate employees to perform better.