Incentives

[smartwork]

Aside from allowing them to keep their jobs [], are any of you offering any type of incentives to your teams to help ensure that your company is well-represented and to help give you peace of mind that jobs are being completed with the quality that you expect?

-shaun

[Phil Nilsson]

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Different opinions on incentives ... let them know your production expectations each day work is assigned, regular pay in return, then do a quality control followup to inspect maintain control. Service beyond the "norm" is rewarded with "extras" but for "normal" performance why is the extra carrot needed? Plus ... if you harp quality be ready to have employees "possibly" overworking the accounts beyond what's needed to satisfy customer's expectations ... and inadvertently running up payroll dollars, and depressing profits in the process?

Most incentives are short lived ("yeah boss but what have you done for me lately") ... profit sharing "too far" into the future for them to appreciate, and too cumbersome for you to "calculate" ... most of the workers live week-to-week and will respond to a more frequent cash payment over short intervals?

[kutnkru]

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I know of companies who will offer a clothing allowance to their guys after 90 days of service to new hires. Some provide carhartts for the cooler seasons embroidered with the company logos while others offer a $75 refund towards footware since many buy the $150(+) boots.

I know of a few outfits who will take their guys out for brunch on Sat once a month to "discuss" issues at the office/in the field, or to reward those who have gone above the call of duty to maintain exemplary customer relations.

I used to offer 5 days pay for 4 days work during the hottest months for completion of the mowing schedule as short as it was w/o complaints. I thought it was a good way to keep them happy once the workload began to slow down, yet keep them from looking elsewhere because of the rollercoaster associated with mowing schedules.

[Jeff N]

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Phil is on the money. Try to incent only for production over and above "quota". Maybe only for the foreman, who can impact the jobs the most. Should be short-term or they lose interest-no more than quarterly. Also, know that there is no magic bullet. What works for one guy or crew might not work for another. Or what works one year might not work the next. Alway look to re-evaluate the program and tweak it as needed.

Jeff

[Scaper-S2k]

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I do give out unexpected bonuses. And a great Christmas bonus sort of based on how well each worked. I don't "dangle a carrot" in their face each day. Too many bonuses will make them dependent on them and expect them. That's not what I want. We offer great pay, and other good benefits. But as for incentives? We want the incentive to be a good working environment and a good paycheck.