Praise a Colleague
Overview
- Recognition where work happens: celebrate colleagues’ contributions directly in Viva Insights or Microsoft Teams
- Quick, meaningful praise: strengthens team culture and promotes connection and positivity
- Badges and personal notes: choose from a variety of predefined badges and personalize each message with your own note
- Private or public: share praise privately in chat or publicly in Teams channels to spotlight achievements
- Consistent recognition habits: boosts morale, engagement, and well-being across the organization
Benefits
- A positive workplace culture: recognition becomes a natural part of daily collaboration
- Higher morale and motivation: timely, visible appreciation for good work
- Stronger team connection: especially valuable in hybrid and remote environments
- Alignment with company values: praise reinforces desired behaviors and achievements
- Better engagement insights: praise activity contributes to Viva’s wellbeing and culture metrics
Common Questions About This Praise a Colleague Design
What is this Praise a Colleague design built with?
The experience is built entirely with the Send a Praise feature in Viva Insights, working directly inside Microsoft Teams – standard capabilities included with Microsoft 365. There is no custom code and no third-party employee recognition platform involved. It is the kind of clean, maintainable employee experience Greg Zelfond builds for HR teams inside Microsoft 365.
What’s included in the Praise a Colleague design?
The design includes the full praise flow: message creation with a choice of predefined badges, a personalized note, and a message preview before sending. Praise can be delivered privately in a Teams chat or shared publicly in a Teams channel to spotlight achievements, and a praise messages summary shows the recognition history over time.
Does this design use any custom code or third-party tools?
No. Everything in this experience uses the standard Send a Praise feature in Viva Insights and Microsoft Teams, available with Microsoft 365. That matters because out-of-the-box solutions are stable, secure, and easy to maintain – nothing breaks when Microsoft rolls out updates, and there are no third-party licenses to manage. Out-of-the-box is the only way Greg builds.
Can this recognition experience be customized for our organization?
Absolutely – in the ways that shape your culture. Each praise message is personalized with a chosen badge and your own note, and you decide whether recognition stays private in chat or gets spotlighted publicly in a Teams channel. Greg adapts the rollout to your organization – which behaviors and values get reinforced, and how praise fits into your broader employee experience in Microsoft 365.
Where do employees send and receive praise?
Directly in Viva Insights or Microsoft Teams – no separate recognition app to open. An employee picks a badge, writes a personal note, previews the message, and sends it privately in a chat or publicly in a Teams channel. The recipient sees the praise right where they already work, and a summary keeps the history of praise messages in one place.
Can Greg set this up for our organization?
Yes – this is exactly the kind of work Greg Zelfond does. As an independent SharePoint and Microsoft 365 consultant and Microsoft MVP, he helps organizations roll out out-of-the-box employee recognition experiences like this one, tailored to your culture and values. If you want recognition your employees will actually embrace, reach out through the contact page to get started.
