How Full Is Your Bucket?: Expanded Anniversary Edition by Tom Rath;Ph.D. Donald O. Clifton

Author:Tom Rath;Ph.D. Donald O. Clifton
Language: eng
Format: epub

CHAPTER FIVE

Making it Personal

the personal story you just read is admittedly unusual, but there are countless examples of people whose lives were made better and more productive by frequent bucket filling. In fact, you can see this happening in great workplaces all the time.

Remember that customer service representative in Chapter Two who treated you so well when you called in with a problem? Let's say you were so impressed that you asked for his name, which you found out was Ted. And let's also say that you called back later to tell Ted's supervisor what he had done to win you over. As you were giving details about Ted's friendly voice or his ability to relate to your problem, his supervisor was scribbling notes as fast as he possibly could.

thirty minutes later, as Ted completed a call in which he won over yet another irate customer (yes, he does this all day), he got an e-mail message from his boss.

the first thing Ted noticed when he opened the message was that his boss had copied a group of Ted's closest friends from work on the e-mail. The subject line read: "You Made a Difference Today." Ted's eyes immediately moved to the text of the message, where his supervisor described exactly what Ted had done to win you over. As he detailed the scenario for Ted and his peers, he dropped in several direct quotes from your conversation. Ted's supervisor ended the note by explaining how Ted's actions not only satisfied a customer but also "made that person's day a lot easier."

As Ted was reading the note, he could barely contain the giant grin on his face. Though fatigued from a long workday in which multiple customers berated him, he was suddenly rejuvenated by the message.

Ted's boss knew the key to great bucket filling: Recognition is most appreciated and effective when it is individualized, spec~fic, and deserved. Clearly, he understood that writing an e-mail and copying Ted's peers would give Ted a real boost. And perhaps Ted's boss also knows that the same approach won't work for Ted's colleagues, some of whom may prefer a quiet pat on the back or perhaps more boisterous praise in a meeting.

The point is, there are unique and specific ways to fill each person's bucket - and most certainly inappropriate ways as well. Generic, one-size-fits-all awards don't work. Neither does recognition that seems forced or false.

And sometimes the recognition you think will inspire an employee backfires in the worst - and most public - way.

The Nightmare Scenario

Consider the true story of Susan, a manager, and her stellar customer service representative, Matt. The following events transpired at a large insurance company that Gallup consulted with several years ago. When Susan became a division manager in this organization, she quickly learned that her success would hinge on her ability to inspire her customer service group toward better performance.

At one point in her career, Susan was a customer service rep herself, and she just loved to win big awards and hear the ovations when she stood up in front of a crowd of her colleagues.

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