Compensation is Key

By: Jon Workman Posted on: 2008-09-08 ** Print Article ** ** Copy Article ** - Category Feed

Article Summary: Do you know how to keep good employees around? Do you know how to make employees more productive and make you more money? Read on to find out how.

Compensation is key
One of the most obvious things that I have noticed, and experienced throughout my years in the work force and as a business owner is how companies, employers and employees are affected by compensation.
This is a very interesting part of having your own business because it can make or break you. It will create a good or not so good working environment for you employees. Let me share with you a couple of experiences, good, bad and ugly that may illustrate my point with compensation.
My wife worked in a dentist office as a dental hygienist. They had one of the best compensation plans that I have seen. First, they received their regular wage of course, but then it got better. They offered insurance, and a retirement option (401k), and then some bonuses. The bonuses were great. They had a production bonus if the days were booked. They had a collection bonus if all the patients had paid within a certain amount of time. They had a “no days missed” bonus if you showed up to work on all of your scheduled days without taking a sick day and a few others I can’t remember. But they had more bonuses than you would imagine in that office.
And guess how the employees felt about their employer. They loved working there. Why? Because the dentist made them feel important, needed, and compensated them when they went beyond the mark.
Another instance comes from a company that I worked for that serviced oil fields. It was the exact opposite end of the spectrum. This company, I dare say, made way beyond what a dentist office would make, yet they only paid their employees barely over minimum wage, not matter how skilled or what the background. And on top of that, they were expected to work long hours, many days were 12-14 hour days, and no bonuses of any kind. Well, except for the tiny Christmas bonus that usually amounted to a hundred bucks or so. Never any words of thanks or gratitude just do your job and we’ll give you a paycheck. So, there was no incentive to do a good or even mediocre job, and their employee turnover rate is very high. And everyone complained every day about how they hated their jobs!! Sound familiar?
My final example deals with a company that I started and tried to base the compensation on the first example, so that my employees would enjoy the work and want to stay for a long time. I, however, didn’t do a good enough job crunching numbers and learning how this would affect my business. It did affect the business, in a big way. We kept our employees, until we couldn’t afford to pay them anymore.
My point with sharing these experiences with you is that you need to find the good employees and do what it takes to keep them. They are the ones that will grow your business for you and help take you to the level that you want to end up on. Don’t treat them like “the help” or as dispensable. You don’t know what they are capable of. So put them to the test and if they pass then give them an “Atta boy” and make sure they know that there is more to come if they keep up the good work.
On the flip side, don’t break the bank. Start out slow and let them know where you want to go with the bonuses and keep them involved. If they know that you truly do have their best interest at heart, and you really do want to give them more, they will work harder, smarter, and have a real desire to help you grow your business to the empire you always dreamed of.

Article Source: http://www.upublish.info

About the Author:
Jon Workman

Keywords: Employee+Compensation, Business+strategies, money, bonus, small+business, entrepreneurs

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