Hopefully it isn’t a surprise to you that employees feeling valued is at the top of the list when it comes to employee retention. And it probably isn’t a surprise that employee recognition is key to helping employees feel valued.
What may or may not surprise you though is that not all employees like to be recognized the same way. But often times that’s what we do. We apply the “Golden Rule” of recognizing them the same way we would want to be recognized.
It is important though that leaders apply the “Platinum Rule” of employee recognition in helping them feel valued. Applying the Platinum Rule means you recognize employees the way they want to be recognized, not the way you want to be.
Through the years I have sent out a quick survey to those I have led. The survey has specific questions asking how each member of my team likes to be recognized. The following are the questions I ask in my employee recognition/feeling valued survey.
1. What types of personal hobbies or interests do you like to talk about the most?
2. At work, what increases your happiness or creates positive emotion the most?
3. Who do you like to receive recognition or praise at work from the most? (e.g. peers, manager, senior leaders, customers)
4. How do you like be recognized? (e.g. public, privately)
5. What types of recognition motivates you the most? Do you like gifts, a heartfelt email or card, call, trophy/certificate or something else?
6. Tell me about the greatest recognition you ever received? Why was it so great?
I have personally had a lot of success in administering this survey and tool to many on my teams through the years. Employee recognition needs to be personal. The more personal it is, the more employees will feel valued.
Let me know what you think. Do you think this tool can help you understand your staff better in terms of employee recognition? Do you feel that customizing employee recognition will result in employees feeling more valued?
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