Practicing the Platinum Rule: How to Recognize Employees Using Wish Lists
Back in 2007 I was speaking at an Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) group meeting in San Antonio, Texas, when a question came up about employee recognition. How effective is cash?
I responded cash works with some people, but at least 75% of employees do not prefer cash. You see, giving someone cash is really easy. There’s hardly any effort or thought required. At most it’s a trip to the bank and an accounting entry. When a gift takes so little time and effort to give, it becomes meaningless.
There are so many other ways to motivate and recognize people that are better than cash.
The Platinum Rule
Fortunately, I didn’t have to mention one of the recognition methods during my talk, because one audience member shared his solution, which is super easy:
“Every 6 months we send out an email to every employee asking for their wish list - how they want to be recognized. Then when we want to recognize the person, we give them what they want instead of what their boss thinks they want. ”
This is a great example of The Platinum Rule. You’ve heard of the Golden Rule, right?
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (Mathew 7:12 and Luke 6:31).
Well, using Employee Wish Lists to recognize people is a variation of the Golden Rule. It’s called the Platinum Rule.
The Platinum Rule is a different version of the Golden Rule that takes into account the fact we are all different. Treating someone the way you want to be treated isn’t always the best way to interact with other people. Instead, perhaps you should treat someone the way they want to be treated.
This principle is true when it comes to recognition. Your employees are all different. Why would you reward them all the same? It makes no sense. They value each reward differently based on their personal preferences.
Instead, the Platinum Rule encourages us to think about others first.
How can you treat them the way they want to be treated? How can you reward each employee in a way that is meaningful to them?
That’s where employee wish lists come into play.
Employees Understand and Appreciate Wish Lists
You might say, “But what if my employees ask for really expensive stuff? My people are hard to please!”
Well, you might be surprised.
The EO member went on to say the responses they received were surprising. Before they started asking for employee wish lists they were worried employees would ask for really costly things like jewelry or concert tickets.
But they were wrong. Virtually everyone’s wish list was full of things that cost less than they would have expected. For instance, some people asked for a Starbucks card. One employee wanted a one-on-one lunch with the CEO. Almost all of the items on people’s wish lists were low-cost or no-cost items.
The best part about it? Employees really enjoy filling out wish lists!
Everyone likes to think about rewarding themselves. The “wish list” process only serves to focus people on achieving more and getting rewarded for their efforts. Plus, you get the benefit of finding out how they want to be recognized. It’s a win-win.
Steps to Gather and Use Employee Wish Lists
Here’s a simple 3-step process you can follow to gather Employee Wish Lists:
Draft and send an email requesting wish lists from your team. It can be simple, like “Hey everyone. You’re doing a great job and we want to recognize you properly. Please make a list of five ways we can reward/recognize you and send it to HR. Thanks!”
Gather the wish lists and store them in each employee file. If you have an HRIS or Employee Performance Management system you can put the wish lists in there.
Reward employees using the wish lists. When someone does something awesome and you want to recognize/reward them, pull up their wish list and choose something from there. The employee will feel valued and appreciated.
