How to reward good workers.
Discussion
In the USA un-taxed benfits are a big plus.
Company cars and/or petrol allowance
Company enhanced healthcare coverages to the best medical facilities and doctors
Company contributions towards retirement plans
Expense accounts that allow for an occasional night out for the family
On site fitness facilities or memberships to one
Vacations booked through corporate travel agencies
Free tickets to sporting, theatrical, movies, and events including access to private viewing suites or sky boxes when available
Reimbursements for continuing education
Scholarships or contributions towards childrens education
COLA (cost of living adjustments)
On site or subsidized daycare for dependents
These are the ones I bring up during an interview after HR sends up a possible new hire to my dept. Unfortunately it has been a year or bit longer since we have been able to offer anyone a position.
Calvin
>> Edited by cnh1990 on Sunday 6th April 16:29
Company cars and/or petrol allowance
Company enhanced healthcare coverages to the best medical facilities and doctors
Company contributions towards retirement plans
Expense accounts that allow for an occasional night out for the family
On site fitness facilities or memberships to one
Vacations booked through corporate travel agencies
Free tickets to sporting, theatrical, movies, and events including access to private viewing suites or sky boxes when available
Reimbursements for continuing education
Scholarships or contributions towards childrens education
COLA (cost of living adjustments)
On site or subsidized daycare for dependents
These are the ones I bring up during an interview after HR sends up a possible new hire to my dept. Unfortunately it has been a year or bit longer since we have been able to offer anyone a position.
Calvin
>> Edited by cnh1990 on Sunday 6th April 16:29
Borrow a copy of Jack Welch's autobiography (Jack) for details of the GE system. IIRC
- Top third only get bonuses (stock options)
- Bottom third go on report
- Three reports and you're out
The thirds are strictly applied - if you had a dozen geniuses working for you, four will go on report, no matter how good they are.
From a personal perspective, the best rewards are the informal:
- A thank you (as Podie says)
- Regular beers after work (rather than irregular, arranged bashes)
- A token reward (pen, a bottle). Made personal by careful selection (I would buy perfume, flowers for a secretary who had saved my skin). If you don't know what your staff like, you're not really a good boss, are you (even if it means you have to ask their spouse)?
- "Go home early and see the kids"
- Lunch (the sort where we don't see you till Monday)
- Honesty from the boss (passing on a spare ticket to the rugby, instead of keeping it for a mate)
I think it was Tom Peters who highlighted the "Golden Banana". Some guy had just been pitched a brilliant idea. "Have a...Have a... (grabs only thing in his drawer) Have a banana!" Sounds stupid, but it was clear the guy really meant it.
The rule I have aways seen is that the more formalised a reward programme is (this is in an office atmosphere), the more it is seen as a right or perk, and the less it is appreciated. The more random, instantaneous, personalised and on a whim, the more it is appreciated.
On a different tack, sales staff promotions are big business. Generally they gain points for selling a particular brand or product and can exchange them for rewards. Key rules:
- Achievability. Everyone can win something. Motivating a dozen poor salesmen can be cheaper and offer better sales than motivating one super-salesman.
- Reward choice. Practical, but aspirational. Things you would like, but don't need (and probably would not consider buying. On one such promotion, we shifted an incredible number of mountain bikes
- Gearing: A good promotions agency will look for rewards with high margins (ie the wholsale cost is far below the perceived value), e.g quality luggage sets. Management give away a £100 reward, and the salesman gets a £250 reward - everyone's happy
- Top third only get bonuses (stock options)
- Bottom third go on report
- Three reports and you're out
The thirds are strictly applied - if you had a dozen geniuses working for you, four will go on report, no matter how good they are.
From a personal perspective, the best rewards are the informal:
- A thank you (as Podie says)
- Regular beers after work (rather than irregular, arranged bashes)
- A token reward (pen, a bottle). Made personal by careful selection (I would buy perfume, flowers for a secretary who had saved my skin). If you don't know what your staff like, you're not really a good boss, are you (even if it means you have to ask their spouse)?
- "Go home early and see the kids"
- Lunch (the sort where we don't see you till Monday)
- Honesty from the boss (passing on a spare ticket to the rugby, instead of keeping it for a mate)
I think it was Tom Peters who highlighted the "Golden Banana". Some guy had just been pitched a brilliant idea. "Have a...Have a... (grabs only thing in his drawer) Have a banana!" Sounds stupid, but it was clear the guy really meant it.
The rule I have aways seen is that the more formalised a reward programme is (this is in an office atmosphere), the more it is seen as a right or perk, and the less it is appreciated. The more random, instantaneous, personalised and on a whim, the more it is appreciated.
On a different tack, sales staff promotions are big business. Generally they gain points for selling a particular brand or product and can exchange them for rewards. Key rules:
- Achievability. Everyone can win something. Motivating a dozen poor salesmen can be cheaper and offer better sales than motivating one super-salesman.
- Reward choice. Practical, but aspirational. Things you would like, but don't need (and probably would not consider buying. On one such promotion, we shifted an incredible number of mountain bikes
- Gearing: A good promotions agency will look for rewards with high margins (ie the wholsale cost is far below the perceived value), e.g quality luggage sets. Management give away a £100 reward, and the salesman gets a £250 reward - everyone's happy
Hmmm... I must be utterly SHITE at my job then, because in almost 10 years I have had practically none of the above. It is an effort for our directors to cough up for Xmas lunch (in the pub, nowhere flash). I have suggested time and time again that instead of a pay rise, they might allow extra days holiday with increasing term of service (let's face it, to give me a meaningful pay rise would cost them thousands. A day off... what, £80? They'd lose it anyway if I put in a bogus 'sickie' - which, in 9.5 years, I have done once, in order to go for a job interview 
)
I may get a mumbled 'thanks', like the one I got after being stuck in Saudi for 12 days as the Gulf war kicked off....
Work, eh. Who needs it.
Ian
) I may get a mumbled 'thanks', like the one I got after being stuck in Saudi for 12 days as the Gulf war kicked off....
Work, eh. Who needs it.
Ian
How about asking people what they want as recognition? Even from this thread its obvious there is no universal benefit.
Praise is all very good, but not when you then see the boss wander off with £1/2m in stock options.
Titles are a load of cack in my experience - anyone who is impressed by a title, of themselves or others, needs their head examined.
How about cash? Always goes down well...
Praise is all very good, but not when you then see the boss wander off with £1/2m in stock options.
Titles are a load of cack in my experience - anyone who is impressed by a title, of themselves or others, needs their head examined.
How about cash? Always goes down well...
Anything that someone wants that can be hidden from that taxman.
Off the cuff bonuses used to be quite widespread amongst consultants before the .com fiasco. Get in, propose a decent process change, make the money back, get your contract and sometimes the customer would throw in whatever you fancied at the time. Couple of air tickets perhaps? Or a weekend at a great hotel.
The trick with benefits in kind is that the taxman doesnt get hold of them...
Matt.
Off the cuff bonuses used to be quite widespread amongst consultants before the .com fiasco. Get in, propose a decent process change, make the money back, get your contract and sometimes the customer would throw in whatever you fancied at the time. Couple of air tickets perhaps? Or a weekend at a great hotel.
The trick with benefits in kind is that the taxman doesnt get hold of them...
Matt.
I think the idea expressed here about not making rewards too 'formal' is a very good one.
The current place I work has absolutely NO benefits of any kind. Every so often (very rarely!), management notices that everybody's getting a bit pi55ed off and organises something.
This is usually an activity day followed by dinner, pi55 up & hotel (so everybody from each office can attend without driving).
Sounds ok so far?
Well, no.
The day quickly becomes compulsory.
The day is arranged for a weekend.
Net effect - extremely pi55ed off workforce & company pleads poverty at pay review time due to cost of organised activities!
The current place I work has absolutely NO benefits of any kind. Every so often (very rarely!), management notices that everybody's getting a bit pi55ed off and organises something.
This is usually an activity day followed by dinner, pi55 up & hotel (so everybody from each office can attend without driving).
Sounds ok so far?
Well, no.
The day quickly becomes compulsory.
The day is arranged for a weekend.
Net effect - extremely pi55ed off workforce & company pleads poverty at pay review time due to cost of organised activities!
kevinday said: Calvin, good benefits all, but unfortunately almost all would be taxable in the UK.
So how in the world does one get company benfits in the UK if everything is taxable. Sort of dilutes everything. These items I listed are for the most part tax deductable in the USA for the company as an expense of doing business and form a basis of non taxable perks to employees.
I have had a company car for years. Only thing I am not allowed to have is something like a Benz SL series luxury car. Other than that a normal car is fine with the company picking up the insurance, maintenence, and petrol costs which allows me the extra money to drive my Esprit.
I was going to ask about what is taxable in the UK. Maybe it will be a shorter list to ask is there anything that is not taxed in the UK?
We don't even have sales tax on food, clothing, and service labor (only materials or parts are taxable).
So when one gets your car fixed, sales tax is only for part of the bill that contains parts.
The UK surely needs tax reform.
Calvin
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