One of the ways companies try (and fail) to raise employee morale is by something called an Employee Recognition Program. The idea behind this simple premise is to single out hard-working stiffs and give them some sort of prize, which in turn encourages them to work harder for the same rate of menial pay. Seems pretty simple, right? A low cost, low risk, high reward solution that makes employees feel like their contributions are "valued" and that their work is "meaningful."
So how does a company screw this up? One way is to make the prize worthless. For example, any reward that results in a certificate of appreciation will result in reduced employee morale. A plaque is nicer, but ultimately still has the same result. But why?
The reason that 99.9 % of us go to work is because we need to make money. That's why employers have to pay us - why else would we be there? There is the .1% that is the exception to the rule. These are usually retirees who have nothing else to do, or people sentenced to community service. So our ultimate goal when we go to work is to make as much money as possible, and hopefully make enough so we can retire early and never have to work again.
I don't know about you, but if I win an award, I'd rather have a cash prize over anything else. If a company wants to show me that they value my work, then show me the money. That's why I'm there. When a company gives you an award, and all you get is a piece of paper and a pat on the back, what kind of reward is that? I'm not saying they should double my salary for doing something right, but an extra few bucks in my paycheck would be a nice gesture.
I know of one company that takes the step of killing employee morale one step further. They have a recognition program set up where co-workers can nominate each other for cashless awards, sort of a peer-to-peer award (this is a paper award, as discussed above). This allows co-workers to show each other that they are appreciated. At the end of each quarter, the company takes all the awards and randomly selects one of the nominees, who in turn wins a prize. What is the prize, you ask? A $25 gift certificate... to the corporate store. That's right, as a way of rewarding its employees, the company let's them spend up to 25 bucks on hats or t-shirts or a sweatshirt with the company logo on it (and if you pick something over $25, like I imagine a sweatshirt would be, you get to pay for the rest of it with your own money! What an incentive program!). And to top it off, this company recently changed its name, so you get to buy corporate merchandise with the OLD LOGO ON IT, because the new logo isn't ready yet! And this is somehow supposed to be a reward? You're telling me there's even one person in that company that would rather have that prize than have an extra 25 bucks in their next paycheck?
Bottom line, if a company wants to show its employees that the employees are valued, the most effective way to do that is to toss them an extra few bucks. Certificates, plaques, corporate gift cards, all those other things may seem nice, but in reality, we would rather you take the money you spend on those things and just share a little more money with us.
As you can see, even when companies get the right idea on how to increase employee morale, it's so poorly executed that it can actually have the opposite effect. Does your company do something like this? Share your examples of Employee Recognition Programs.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Bonuses
Employee morale (if such a thing exists) is a topic that will be covered quite frequently in this space. One of the ways companies try to raise employee morale is by giving a bonus to its employees.
If you have a job, there's a decent chance that your company has some kind of bonus program to reward its hard working employees (and sometimes even the slackers). Usually you have to be a full-time employee, and most of the time the company has to have had a good year, though this isn't always the case. My company used to have a bonus program only for managers, but recently they extended it to include all employees (assuming you met certain time-in-job criteria). This was obviously a nice gesture by the company, and was initially appreciated by its employees. But given the title of this blog, you've probably guessed that there's more to the story.
Back in the "old days" of this company, every employee used to get bonuses, and from what I've been told by people who were here at that time, they were significant. In fact, rumor has it that auto dealerships in the area used to have extended hours when the bonuses were awarded because they were often large enough to purchase a car (or at least make a great down payment).
A few years ago, things changed. New management took over, and many of the perks that were common in the "old days" were suddenly gone, including bonuses (except, of course, for management). The result, surprising as it may seem, is that employee morale went down instead of up! How about that! Take away the bonus, and it hurt employee morale! Who would have thought?
Fast forward a few years and the company, after realizing that many of its employees were abandoning ship, decided it would be in its best interests to do something to try to retain its employees. It was announced that the bonus program was coming back, and it wasn't just for managers anymore. However, the employees quickly discovered, there was a catch.
The bonus program was not an automatic payout each year. It was to be voted on by the Board of Directors, and if they decided not to approve it, the employees were SOL. On top of that, the amount of the bonus varied from person to person, even to the point that some employees may not even receive one even though everyone else on their team did. It all depended on a bunch of variables, most of which were out of the employees' hands.
First of all, the corporation had to have a good year. This means all segments of the company, all over the world. Second, the US division had to have a good year. Third, the section of the US division you were in had to have a good year. And finally, YOU had to have a good review from your manager. And if all four of these criteria were met, you were eligible for a bonus up to four percent of your average pay for the prior year. Read that again. Assuming that the corporation did well, the US division did well, your section did well, and you got a good review, you could get a maximum of four percent of your average earnings from last year. That last part is key - your average earnings are not the same as your end of year salary. If you got a decent raise during the year, you don't get a bonus based on your current salary, you get a bonus based on what your average earnings were. So if you got promoted or got a raise late in the year, it won't have much of an impact on your bonus because most of your earnings for the year were at the lower salary.
So what do we have here? The company, in an attempt to raise employee morale, actually deflated all of the excitement by putting so many conditions on the potential bonus that it took away any joy and good will that it might have created. Certain people in the company, whose section didn't do so well, got smaller bonuses (maybe 1-3%). Other people, in sections that did well, got maybe 2-3% because of a poor review from their manager. I know of at least one person who did not get one at all, even though the rest of the group qualified, because of a poor manager review (she swore her manager hated her). And to top it off, the bonus was a maximum of 4% of average earnings, and don't forget that 40% of the check goes to taxes.
Now, it would be ignorant of me to pooh-pooh this program entirely, because at least the company is trying. However, the straw that broke the camels back is not that these bonuses are miniscule compared to what the company used to do, it's that our competitors outdid us by a wide margin. We were told that part of the reason our company brought back the bonus program was to keep employees from jumping to our competitors, and that their research tells them that our bonus program is in line with our competitors. However, when our employees do leave, we often keep in touch with them because we're friends. Well, several of them who have gone on to work at our competitors have called to let us know that they just got their bonuses, which ranged from 10-16%, and they didn't have to worry about other parts of the company affecting the amount of bonus they received. That to me does not sound competitive.
This is a perfect example of a company trying to do something good for its employees, but shooting itself in the foot in the process. Their attempt to raise employee morale has actually had the reverse effect, as most employees were either worried that they weren't going to get a bonus, or were worried that it would be relatively small (as it turns out, 4% is less than one normal paycheck). So rather than employees being excited about getting a bonus, many actually look down at the whole process and see greener pastures with our competitors.
Got any good stories to share? Post a comment and share with the rest of us!
If you have a job, there's a decent chance that your company has some kind of bonus program to reward its hard working employees (and sometimes even the slackers). Usually you have to be a full-time employee, and most of the time the company has to have had a good year, though this isn't always the case. My company used to have a bonus program only for managers, but recently they extended it to include all employees (assuming you met certain time-in-job criteria). This was obviously a nice gesture by the company, and was initially appreciated by its employees. But given the title of this blog, you've probably guessed that there's more to the story.
Back in the "old days" of this company, every employee used to get bonuses, and from what I've been told by people who were here at that time, they were significant. In fact, rumor has it that auto dealerships in the area used to have extended hours when the bonuses were awarded because they were often large enough to purchase a car (or at least make a great down payment).
A few years ago, things changed. New management took over, and many of the perks that were common in the "old days" were suddenly gone, including bonuses (except, of course, for management). The result, surprising as it may seem, is that employee morale went down instead of up! How about that! Take away the bonus, and it hurt employee morale! Who would have thought?
Fast forward a few years and the company, after realizing that many of its employees were abandoning ship, decided it would be in its best interests to do something to try to retain its employees. It was announced that the bonus program was coming back, and it wasn't just for managers anymore. However, the employees quickly discovered, there was a catch.
The bonus program was not an automatic payout each year. It was to be voted on by the Board of Directors, and if they decided not to approve it, the employees were SOL. On top of that, the amount of the bonus varied from person to person, even to the point that some employees may not even receive one even though everyone else on their team did. It all depended on a bunch of variables, most of which were out of the employees' hands.
First of all, the corporation had to have a good year. This means all segments of the company, all over the world. Second, the US division had to have a good year. Third, the section of the US division you were in had to have a good year. And finally, YOU had to have a good review from your manager. And if all four of these criteria were met, you were eligible for a bonus up to four percent of your average pay for the prior year. Read that again. Assuming that the corporation did well, the US division did well, your section did well, and you got a good review, you could get a maximum of four percent of your average earnings from last year. That last part is key - your average earnings are not the same as your end of year salary. If you got a decent raise during the year, you don't get a bonus based on your current salary, you get a bonus based on what your average earnings were. So if you got promoted or got a raise late in the year, it won't have much of an impact on your bonus because most of your earnings for the year were at the lower salary.
So what do we have here? The company, in an attempt to raise employee morale, actually deflated all of the excitement by putting so many conditions on the potential bonus that it took away any joy and good will that it might have created. Certain people in the company, whose section didn't do so well, got smaller bonuses (maybe 1-3%). Other people, in sections that did well, got maybe 2-3% because of a poor review from their manager. I know of at least one person who did not get one at all, even though the rest of the group qualified, because of a poor manager review (she swore her manager hated her). And to top it off, the bonus was a maximum of 4% of average earnings, and don't forget that 40% of the check goes to taxes.
Now, it would be ignorant of me to pooh-pooh this program entirely, because at least the company is trying. However, the straw that broke the camels back is not that these bonuses are miniscule compared to what the company used to do, it's that our competitors outdid us by a wide margin. We were told that part of the reason our company brought back the bonus program was to keep employees from jumping to our competitors, and that their research tells them that our bonus program is in line with our competitors. However, when our employees do leave, we often keep in touch with them because we're friends. Well, several of them who have gone on to work at our competitors have called to let us know that they just got their bonuses, which ranged from 10-16%, and they didn't have to worry about other parts of the company affecting the amount of bonus they received. That to me does not sound competitive.
This is a perfect example of a company trying to do something good for its employees, but shooting itself in the foot in the process. Their attempt to raise employee morale has actually had the reverse effect, as most employees were either worried that they weren't going to get a bonus, or were worried that it would be relatively small (as it turns out, 4% is less than one normal paycheck). So rather than employees being excited about getting a bonus, many actually look down at the whole process and see greener pastures with our competitors.
Got any good stories to share? Post a comment and share with the rest of us!
Saturday, March 24, 2007
The Premise
You know the feeling you get when you're sitting in your cube, and you're staring at your computer screen, and you know you really should be doing your work (because let's face it, you know you have a lot of work), but for some reason you can't stop thinking of other places you'd rather be than in your cube? They don't even have to be good places, like "home" or "on my way home." You'd rather even be in bad places than in your cube. For example, the waiting line at the DMV suddenly looks pretty good. Being stuck in an elevator with that smelly guy from accounting would even be tolerable. In other words, anywhere but in your cube would be better than in your cube.
Well, that's the feeling I've been having lately, and I know I'm not the only one. And that's why I wanted to start this blog - as much as work sucks sometimes, there is humor in it, and it's an experience that almost everyone can relate to. We'll try to find the lighter side of cube life, and maybe come up with some ideas on how to survive your day/week/quarter/career. And even if you don't work in a cube, I'm sure you can relate to many of the stories that will be shared here.
One of the central themes of this blog will be about "Employee Morale" and why this concept doesn't exist in reality. Many companies pride themselves on boosting employee morale, and yet they shoot themselves in the foot trying to accomplish it. I will try to include one example in each of my work-related posts. Feel free to contribute yours.
I also want this blog to be interactive. I want you to add your comments, or email me your funny work stories. All I ask is that you keep it clean (so that others can read it at work without the internet Nazis coming down on them) and keep it relatively anonymous (no last names). If you don't want to post a comment, feel free to email me at employeemorale@gmail.com. And if I eventually decide to put some ads on here, click on them. It won't kill you, I promise. Don't be a cheapskate. Maybe someday I'll be able to get HBO with all the ad revenue. Then I can finally see what the fuss is about with the Sopranos.
One last thing - although many of you will know who the author of this blog is, I will not be using my name, mainly because I don't want to risk any retribution from my current employer. Until this blog turns into an opportunity which allows me to quit my job, I need to keep said job. Ironically, if this does somehow turn into a new career and I quit that job, I'd have lost the main source of information and humor for this blog. You can't beat Corporate. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading these posts, and I hope you contribute to the site as well. Most of all, I hope you click on the ads that will eventually show up. And spread the word, that would help, too.
Well, that's the feeling I've been having lately, and I know I'm not the only one. And that's why I wanted to start this blog - as much as work sucks sometimes, there is humor in it, and it's an experience that almost everyone can relate to. We'll try to find the lighter side of cube life, and maybe come up with some ideas on how to survive your day/week/quarter/career. And even if you don't work in a cube, I'm sure you can relate to many of the stories that will be shared here.
One of the central themes of this blog will be about "Employee Morale" and why this concept doesn't exist in reality. Many companies pride themselves on boosting employee morale, and yet they shoot themselves in the foot trying to accomplish it. I will try to include one example in each of my work-related posts. Feel free to contribute yours.
I also want this blog to be interactive. I want you to add your comments, or email me your funny work stories. All I ask is that you keep it clean (so that others can read it at work without the internet Nazis coming down on them) and keep it relatively anonymous (no last names). If you don't want to post a comment, feel free to email me at employeemorale@gmail.com. And if I eventually decide to put some ads on here, click on them. It won't kill you, I promise. Don't be a cheapskate. Maybe someday I'll be able to get HBO with all the ad revenue. Then I can finally see what the fuss is about with the Sopranos.
One last thing - although many of you will know who the author of this blog is, I will not be using my name, mainly because I don't want to risk any retribution from my current employer. Until this blog turns into an opportunity which allows me to quit my job, I need to keep said job. Ironically, if this does somehow turn into a new career and I quit that job, I'd have lost the main source of information and humor for this blog. You can't beat Corporate. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading these posts, and I hope you contribute to the site as well. Most of all, I hope you click on the ads that will eventually show up. And spread the word, that would help, too.
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