Recognizing your direct reports is one of the most effective ways to boost motivation and morale— in fact, 81% of employees say they’re more motivated to work harder when their boss shows appreciation for them! As a manager, you have the perfect opportunity to share this appreciation by giving high fives while reviewing your team's Check-ins. High Fives are a quick and meaningful way to show your team members that you value their efforts and make them feel more supported and motivated to succeed.
In this article, you will learn...
- How to high five while reviewing a Check-in ✋
- Additional resources 📝
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) ❓
Access and availability
⛔️ Required access to Check-ins.
👥 This article is relevant to Managers.
📦 This feature is available in the Perform, Legacy Focus, and Total Platform pricing packages.
How to high five while reviewing a Check-in ✋
- Click on Check-ins in 15Five's main, left-hand navigation bar.
- Open the 'Team's' tab at the top of the page.
- You'll be taken to a list of your direct reports' Check-ins for the current Check-in period. Click on a person's name to open their Check-in.
- Once you're in the Check-in, scroll down to the 'High Fives' section. Type your high five using text field under "Give [Name] a High Five."
Tip
Check out the FAQs at the bottom of this article for tips on giving a great high five.
- When you're done, click Mark as reviewed at the bottom of the Check-in. Your high five will not be shared until you mark the Check-in as reviewed.
Additional resources 📝
- Help Center article 💡: High Fives Feature Overview
- Help Center article 💡: Review a Check-in
- Help Center article 💡: Give a High Five
- Blog post 🕺: Using High Fives To Motivate Employees
- Blog post 🕺: How The Subtle Art of Acknowledgement Drives Performance
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) ❓
In addition to giving high fives while reviewing Check-ins, you can high five your team using the following methods:
To amplify the impact of recognition, we recommend using strengths spotting in your high fives. Strengths-spotting refers to the practice of identifying, describing, and appreciating the innate talents, abilities, and positive qualities of individuals. Practicing strengths-spotting when recognizing people at work fosters heightened engagement and productivity, as it aligns with the core tenet of positive psychology to harness individual strengths for enhanced well-being and performance.
At 15Five, we use an acronym that makes giving strengths-based high fives easy: S-E-A.
- Spot the strength this person exemplified.
- Explain, in detail, the behavior you observed. Details are what set apart good feedback from great feedback. Ask yourself: "What did this person do that worked well?", list out the specific behaviors, then tie them back to the strength you spotted.
- Finally, express Appreciation for the person's strength and share the impact it had on you.
Absolutely! You can achieve this by clicking the button to the right of the text field and selecting the private option.
Note
Research from Harvard professor Francesca Gino and Stanford professor Frank Flynn shows effective recognition isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach and needs to be customized to the preferences of the receiver. You can always check a person's profile to see if they prefer being recognized privately or publicly.