Effective employee recognition is:

Sincere
People sense sincerity and commitment a mile away. Sarcasm or a flip attitude will undermine your recognition message and do more harm than good.

Immediate
For the greatest effect, effective employee recognition should occur as soon after the event as possible. Praising someone a month after the performance isn’t nearly as effective as just after the fact.

Specific
Saying, “Good job on the report,” won’t work as well as, “I really appreciate your attention to detail on the report you did for me last week. The facts were clear and it was error free. Thanks for your effort.”

Meaningful
An effective employee recognition message is meaningful when it ties the praise back to an individual’s personality or qualities. “I really appreciate your attention to detail on the report you did for me last week. The facts were clear and it was error free. It’s great having such a thorough, dependable person on staff.”