How to get recognised at work

Feel like your hard work is going unrewarded? Putting in the extra hours but without the recognition? You’re not alone. Feeling frustrated due to a lack of recognition in your job is a common thing. Everyone likes to get a pat on the back when you’ve put in lots of effort or achieved something great. Often it can feel like we’re working away without anyone even noticing, particularly if you work in a support function or as part of a big team. Whether you’re looking for a pay rise or simply a thank you, here’s our top tips for how to get recognised at work.

# Define your objective

First up, think about the reasons you think you deserve to be recognised and what sort of recognition you’re after.

It will be much easier to get noticed if you can define exactly what you’ve been doing well and why this success deserves to be shouted about. Think about how your work has gone above and beyond the standard expectations of your day-to-day job. Try not to compare yourself to others but focus on what you have done to impress.

Equally, if you have an idea of the outcome you’d like achieve, you can use this to state your case with your line manager or co-workers. Do you just want your efforts to be acknowledged or are you hankering after a promotion? A small gift or a well done from your manager might be easy to achieve, whereas a step up the ladder for example may take longer to work towards.

# Take the credit

Once you can explain why your work deserves special attention, make sure you take the credit for it. This might not be straight away, but it could come at the end of a difficult task or lengthy project, or even when the customer feedback or sales reports start coming in.

Whilst it can sometimes feel more natural to deflect praise and point out the contributions of others in the team, now’s not the time to be modest. If you want to be recognised, make sure you take the credit when it finally comes.

Try to strike a balance between being humble and gracious whilst not hogging the limelight too much. A simple thank you will suffice (rather than an insincere response or a lengthy acceptance speech!) Remember, you don’t want to make your colleagues feel uncomfortable at the same time.

# Speak up

If, at the end of a key project, your boss doesn’t give you the feedback you’re after, don’t feel disheartened. It could well be your manager has noticed, but not had the opportunity yet to talk to about it or is saving the opportunity for another time.

To make sure they have, however, don’t be afraid to speak up and do a little self-promotion of your own. Let your manager know about big or small accomplishments, or if the task you were set proved more challenging or time-consuming.

Having good lines of communication and making sure your boss knows about the details of your work will help them to appreciate your contribution more easily. Taking the opportunity to sing your own praises on a regular basis (rather than saving them up for your end of your appraisal) will also show them that you add constant value.

# Recognise others

Sometimes a great way to get recognised yourself it to recognise others around you. Thanking others for their efforts or acknowledging their great work can lead to a culture where they’re more likely to do the same in return.

Showing your co-workers you appreciate them helps to build positive work relationships. It can also help you to collectively build the profile of your team when working together on a task, rather than being seen as showing off on your own.

You may even find that in giving feedback to those you’re working with also helps you get noticed higher up. Effective teamwork and communication are positive attributes, often required to take on a leadership role or prove you’re ready for more responsibility.

# Keep going

Above all, the best way to get recognition at work is to keep being great. It’s easy for awesome results to be missed if it’s just a one off, but if you continue to churn out fantastic results it won’t be long before someone spots it.

Aim to be an expert in one particular aspect of your job – whether it’s sales, customer service, meeting deadlines or solving problems. Get known as the go-to person for that particular task or issue. This may lead to you being relied upon, acknowledge and even asked to train up others.

Being great at your job and an expert in your field are sure fire ways to get the objective you set yourself.