The definition of praise is to express warm approval or admiration. The person on the receiving end of this kind act is often appreciative and happy. For years Human Resource Professionals have been analyzing the impact praise has in the workplace. For examples, check out the Training Journal's article on "The Power of Praise and Recognition" and Gallop's Workplace article, "In Praise of Praising Your Employees". The conclusion seems to be unanimous. Employees who receive praise on an ongoing basis have increased engagement and productivity.
To help get you started spreading this positive feeling around your workplace, PAIT Group's Modern Workplace Consultant, Kat Weixel has recorded an easy to follow tips & tricks video that demonstrates just how easy it is to communicate praise in Yammer and/or Microsoft Teams.
For those of you who appreciate a written how-to that can be used to follow along with the video, I have organized that below.
As in Kat's video, we will start with Yammer.
UPDATE: Praise can also be shared from Microsoft Viva Insights.
How to give praise in Yammer:
Step 1: Choose which Community you wish to share the praise.
Step 2: Under Conversations, change the selection from "discussion" to "Praise"
for your new post.
Step 3: In the dialog box. Select who you would like to Praise and share what you would like to recognize/what they have accomplished.
Step 4: At the top of the section change the badge to correspond with what you are celebrating. In Kat's video she changes the thumbs up badge to one of a trophy or award. There are several badges to choose from in Yammer.
Step 5: Select the Praise button 
on the bottom right of the box to share with the community. Voila you have just recognized a colleague's success in Yammer.
How to give praise in Microsoft Teams
Sharing praise in a Team for group recognition
Step 1: Select the Team to which you would like to relay this Praise message.
Step 2: Start a new Conversation or add on to an existing conversation where this Praise would be a solid fit to mention.
Step 3: Select the Praise option 
that appears underneath the dialog or conversation text box.
Step 4: Select a badge option.
Step 5: Type in the name of the colleague you would like to Praise and if you wish add a personal note and select Preview.
Step 6: If you like what you see in the preview the go ahead and send.
Praise on a personal level in a Chat
Step 1: Start a new chat with the individual you would to personally send praise.
Step 2: Select the Praise option that appears underneath the dialog or conversation text box.
Step 3: Select a badge option.
Step 4: Type in a personal note and select Preview.
Step 5: If you like what you see in the preview the go ahead and send.
How to give praise in Viva Insights:
Sharing praise from the Home Page of the Viva Insights App
Step 1: On the Home page, select the Send praise to your colleagues' card (This is located on the Home page to the left of the center)
Step 2: Select a badge option.
Step 3: Type in the name of the colleague you would like to Praise.
Step 4: Decide whether you would like this recognition to be private (1:1) or share with the entire team (Team).
Step 5: Add a personal note (optional).
Step 6: Select preview
Step 7: If you like what you see go ahead and share.
As Kat so eloquently stated in her video "Please take this information and go praise your colleagues because we all like to receive some praise in some format and we all really benefit when we give praise and recognize others."
For additional ways, you can leverage Yammer for employee engagement check out Kat's guide.
