They exists, but would like to what others have to say for the mid-size tree company? Looking to see if any companies out there are using these to boost profit margins and company morale?? If so, I would like to know how it was structured? Percentages? Pros/Cons?
Reguarding Employee/Bonus Progams?
- Thread starter ChrisKelly
- Start date
rfwoodvt
New member
- Location
- This side of eternity.
I think this ought to go in the "Behind the desk" forum......
But Here goes. Productivity, retention, moral and quality all improve when employees feel valued and respected.
Bonuses can go a long way to maintaining your employee's feelings of value and respect.
Many ways to do it, from simple holiday bonuses or gifts to a structured profit sharing program.
Care must be taken to make the bonuses special and that they send the message to your employee that they are valued and respected.
The danger is that some bonuses can easily be considered as an expected part of thier wages or salary.
We surprised our people this year who went to TCI Expo with cash bonus just before we arrived at the conference. The idea was just to say thank you for being part of the team, and that furthering thier education has added benefits. Since it was cash in thier pockets they could spend it on anything they wanted.
Just keep in mind, that bonuses are taxable to the employee and that you might have to withold taxes and report it on thier w2.
Hope this helps!
But Here goes. Productivity, retention, moral and quality all improve when employees feel valued and respected.
Bonuses can go a long way to maintaining your employee's feelings of value and respect.
Many ways to do it, from simple holiday bonuses or gifts to a structured profit sharing program.
Care must be taken to make the bonuses special and that they send the message to your employee that they are valued and respected.
The danger is that some bonuses can easily be considered as an expected part of thier wages or salary.
We surprised our people this year who went to TCI Expo with cash bonus just before we arrived at the conference. The idea was just to say thank you for being part of the team, and that furthering thier education has added benefits. Since it was cash in thier pockets they could spend it on anything they wanted.
Just keep in mind, that bonuses are taxable to the employee and that you might have to withold taxes and report it on thier w2.
Hope this helps!
My limited advice for any sort of monetary incentive is that the rules be clear. No ad-hoc decisions! Something that is well-intentioned can quickly turn sour if rules change mid-stride.
I think besides $$, sending workers to Expos, the ITCC, and local green industry events are a great way to boost morale as well as educate. And if you are in a position to pay them a day's wages while they are at the event - very good for morale
peace,
mk
caveat: I don't own a business, but know what motivates me
I think besides $$, sending workers to Expos, the ITCC, and local green industry events are a great way to boost morale as well as educate. And if you are in a position to pay them a day's wages while they are at the event - very good for morale
peace,
mk
caveat: I don't own a business, but know what motivates me
- Location
- Northern California
Back in the family business we had under employ at one time 160 full time employees. We had a program in place that was tied into safety on the job. When you became a foreman on the job you were entitled to ten bucks a month for each month you didn't have an accident. For every month you didn't have an accident you received another ten bucks . So at the end of the first year you could get as much as $120.00 in bonus money. If you followed the first year with no accidents then your bonus for the second year was $240.00. The third year was $360.00 in bonus money. So and so on. We had a couple of guys who didn't have an accident in fifty years.( do the math) Nice bonus. If you had a lost time accident it all started back at ten dollars a month. Some foreman would spread the wealth as an incentive to not have accidents. It all must have worked since for a while the company had the fewest accidents in the nation for a company its size for almost ten years running. I personally liked the plan because everybody was more safety conscious considering they all had a stake in the outcome so to speak. I can remember in my first week of work back in the early seventies I personally set three foremans bonus checks back to ten bucks because of my three accidents in one week. One thing that was for sure is guys fixed almost anything on the job because it could effect their bonus check. Sometimes it wasn't just lost time accidents it sometimes included property damage also. Make it up as you go along but make it fair for all parties involved.
NickfromWI
Participating member
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA
I used to work at this place...I won't mention any names, but they did something I thought was awesome....a TIP JAR.
When a customer would give the foreman a tip for a job well done, it went to the tip jar. I don't know if there was an actual jar or what...but the money was set aside. Then on christmas, they gave me extra money. They did the math and figured out more or less how long I'd worked there and what percentage of the tip would be mine. It was more than $100.
If there might happen to be someone here that would know more about how it worked, perhaps they could pipe up?
love
nick
When a customer would give the foreman a tip for a job well done, it went to the tip jar. I don't know if there was an actual jar or what...but the money was set aside. Then on christmas, they gave me extra money. They did the math and figured out more or less how long I'd worked there and what percentage of the tip would be mine. It was more than $100.
If there might happen to be someone here that would know more about how it worked, perhaps they could pipe up?
love
nick
- Location
- That place north of America
My old company in Michigan had a great idea. You received $1 a day for every day you showed up 10 minutes early. It allowed the boss to reschedule crews and such so that at start time you were ready to go and hit the road. Doesn't sound like much until you add it up at the end of the year. Pays to be early.
They also did bonuses and awards, I won the toy tow truck for getting stuck the most that year
The good old days....
They also did bonuses and awards, I won the toy tow truck for getting stuck the most that year
The good old days....
- Location
- Tha Dirty Bean
At the co I used to work for there were a couple of bonus incentives. One was at the monthly safety meeting, there was a team player of the month award, the guys voted on it and whoever got the most votes got the $50.
At Christmas there was a different bonus. The holiday party would be held at the boss' house, Christmas eve, after working a half day. At the end of the party we all got a handshake a thank you and an envelope. Problem was the envelope didn't have cash in it, there were magnets with our names on them (I s#!t you not!) needless to say those magnets were not what we expected, and were disguised as cash. This is a case of a well intended "bonus" backfiring. We were all pissed.
In the following years we got one weeks pay, that is more like it!
At Christmas there was a different bonus. The holiday party would be held at the boss' house, Christmas eve, after working a half day. At the end of the party we all got a handshake a thank you and an envelope. Problem was the envelope didn't have cash in it, there were magnets with our names on them (I s#!t you not!) needless to say those magnets were not what we expected, and were disguised as cash. This is a case of a well intended "bonus" backfiring. We were all pissed.
In the following years we got one weeks pay, that is more like it!
I worked for a trucking company that gave a $100 safety bonus for each driving year with no chargeable accidents. It was cumulative so if you had 15 consecutive safe years you received $1500 at the end of the year. In my opinion it did little to make the drivers safer but it certainly made a lot of them dishonest. The company ended up with a yard full of trailers with dings and dents all over and it was extremely rare to have a driver claim responsibilities. I'm guessing there were some "left the scene" incidents as well. Receiving a bonus for what seems to be fundamental obligations of one's job; attendance and safety, always seemed kind of wacky to me.
Phil
Phil
allmark
Participating member
I offered my gut a $1 an hour raise to quit smoking 3 years ago.....now he chews too? but no smoking on the job. Still gets a xmas bonus. I dont feel a holiday bonus should be tied to safety. I think they should be seperate. But thats just my opinion.
- Location
- Home of the New Jersey Devils
That's funny Nick! Yes, we "jar" all tip money (not actually in a jar) and document it each time a change is made. Then we split it up twice yearly. We figure how many days each employee has worked and then give that % to each. We have had many times where full time employess received over $300.00 each time.
The only difference for the tip money is Saturdays. Only some offer to work Sat. so that money doesn't go to the guys who don't work Sat.s. The crews split that up the day of.
Christmas bonus are seperate from everything here.
Thanks for starting this thread. Now I have some really great intentions!
The only difference for the tip money is Saturdays. Only some offer to work Sat. so that money doesn't go to the guys who don't work Sat.s. The crews split that up the day of.
Christmas bonus are seperate from everything here.
Thanks for starting this thread. Now I have some really great intentions!
treehumper
Carpal tunnel level member
- Location
- Ridgefield, NJ
Incentive pay for performing your duties in an exemplary fashion is a great idea in theory but can often be abused as in the above example. It is still necessary to be denying incentives for abuse. Where there is obvious damage done with noone claiming responsibility then a reduction in the bonus should occur. Peer pressure would certainly compel the individual to come clean and also lead to more of a team attitude. The crew would, if they are of a mature and professional nature, ensure that anyone who would screw them out of their bonus be given the boot.
It's a delicate balance that hinges on human behaviour, incentives keyed to measureable indicators relevant to the profitability of the company and overall revenues being sufficient to support the program.
What about incentives for excellent customer service, upselling, cross-selling, or annuities for landing a long term contract? Referral fees?
Here's one of the benchmark programs in a different industry and I've heard complaints about it from employees there!
"Incentive Performance - A Cornerstone of Our Culture
The Incentive Performance System primarily attributed to James F. Lincoln has been in place at Lincoln Electric since the early twentieth century. It has resulted in one of the oldest "pay-for-performance" systems in the country, and is frequently used for benchmarking by other businesses and studied by academics around the world.
The Incentive Performance System in place in the U.S. Lincoln operations features:
An elected Advisory Board for direct and open communication with senior management since 1914.
Piecework incentive rewards for all production work.
A profit-sharing Bonus Plan for employees paid annually at the discretion of the Board of Directors since 1934.
Guaranteed Employment after three years of service. The company has not exercised its layoff options in the U.S. operations since post war 1948.
A 401(k) plan offering the employee a variety of pre-tax investment options.
Competitive compensation and other benefits.
A Financial Security Program which includes company contributions based on years of service from 4 - 10%.
An attractive vacation package based on comparable years of service.
Through this well-defined group of incentives, Lincoln encourages and compensates individual initiative and responsibility. Employees work together to reduce costs and improve quality. These individual and cooperative efforts create a more profitable company, the success of which each person shares according to his or her own contribution."
It's a delicate balance that hinges on human behaviour, incentives keyed to measureable indicators relevant to the profitability of the company and overall revenues being sufficient to support the program.
What about incentives for excellent customer service, upselling, cross-selling, or annuities for landing a long term contract? Referral fees?
Here's one of the benchmark programs in a different industry and I've heard complaints about it from employees there!
"Incentive Performance - A Cornerstone of Our Culture
The Incentive Performance System primarily attributed to James F. Lincoln has been in place at Lincoln Electric since the early twentieth century. It has resulted in one of the oldest "pay-for-performance" systems in the country, and is frequently used for benchmarking by other businesses and studied by academics around the world.
The Incentive Performance System in place in the U.S. Lincoln operations features:
An elected Advisory Board for direct and open communication with senior management since 1914.
Piecework incentive rewards for all production work.
A profit-sharing Bonus Plan for employees paid annually at the discretion of the Board of Directors since 1934.
Guaranteed Employment after three years of service. The company has not exercised its layoff options in the U.S. operations since post war 1948.
A 401(k) plan offering the employee a variety of pre-tax investment options.
Competitive compensation and other benefits.
A Financial Security Program which includes company contributions based on years of service from 4 - 10%.
An attractive vacation package based on comparable years of service.
Through this well-defined group of incentives, Lincoln encourages and compensates individual initiative and responsibility. Employees work together to reduce costs and improve quality. These individual and cooperative efforts create a more profitable company, the success of which each person shares according to his or her own contribution."
- Location
- Everywhere
Did somebody say Christmas Bonus? Let me tell you something about Christmas Bonuses!!!
- Location
- Western Norway
We have a bonussystem where a certain part of the profit each year is paid back to those who created the profit - our employees. The bonus is calculated by how many hours annually each employee have and have over the three last years been ranging from 0 - 3US$ an hour. 0 means one year with red digits on the bottom line. Staff seems to be happy about it and hopefully they put in some extra effort to maximize it.
Cheers
Svein
Cheers
Svein
