Employee incentives.

[kerrlynne]

I have been doing a percentage on all sales for my full time employees, I was hoping it would motivate them to be more aggressive with answering phone and customers but most they dont care. They want the commision at the end of the month but I don't see any improvement. Been doing it for 10 months - its gonna stop. Anyone else do anything to motivate $$ your employees... I have 2 great designers that suck on the phone and with customers.. they are what I call worker bees.. never stop until 4pm and then they are worthless. But they avoid the customers!! Talked to them, rotated them. My next idea is a 10 point system.. spot check on arrg pricing (not overstuffing, big problem with one) .. customer service.. and upselling items .. they get .25 for addon mylars,, .50 for candy.. .50 for arrg of $60
.. anything to appleal to there greed. Anyone else got any ideas?
They arent bad but there not like me, manager or other staff. I dont want to fire them, as you know it hard to find dependabl decent designers that show up, I just want to impove them.

 

[RWK]

A couple of suggestions for you.

First: For those designers who stop at 4 pm......Make it a mandate that beginning at 4 pm till close or whenever....whatever materials they have remainig on their work table must be used in design peices before they can leave. Be it silk, dried, fresh or a combination.

Secondly. Reward the top sellers each time and be quite vocal at that time about who gets the commision money and why.

Thirdly....depending on how many employees you have.......place a design table in your showroom area and alternate designers......They make the day's orders there and are forced to interact with customers who come into the store.
And/or make a phone answering schedule......this employees answers line 1, another one answers line 2, and so on.....and each day assign the phone lines to a different employee.

As a result of this.....several things may happen: Your employees who just 'get by' will be forced to either upgrade and improve, or leave. ..... leaving you with the best and brightest and the money makers for your shop. Better customer service, and when a customer sees the design that the front designer is doing.....He or she may decide to buy that design and spend more than they anticipated.

 

[Connie]

Great ideas, Rick!

 

[Tuberose]

Having worked for several years as an employee for both floral shops and mainstream retailers, I have found employee incentives to be an awesome idea if only it was fairly and reliably administered. More often than not, managers/owners tend to get all excited about an incentive program and then don't follow through so over time I have become very skeptical. I've also worked for places when I heard of the "incentive idea" and knew I didn't stand a chance of gaining anything from it because I knew all the benefits would go to one certain employee because they were the favored one. I've also been promised certain side benefits as a result of working 80 hours the week of Mothers' Day and not getting it.

Don't get me wrong, I work my butt off for my employers, on and off the job. I want to do the best I can, but sometimes I need reminding about extra effort with the customers or extra selling techniques because I become too involved in the production process as well. I think a well thought out and carried out incentive program can be a moral booster and a benefit to the shop as well.

Just my two cents, not as a shop owner, but as a long time employee.

 

[master J]

Ummmm, don't they get a set salary? aren't they supposed to do their jobs correctly? Why offer more money(incentive) to get them to do it better, when they should be doing right to begin with? Let them know who's the boss,and I 'm not talking about Tony Danza!:musical:

 

[Bigted]

I think you need to keep the incentive plans focused--link them directly to what you want to change. $ per mylar or $ for every wedding over $2000 or something like that. Doing a percentage of sales means that after two pay periods they just think of that as part of their salary. I needs to be something that goes to zero once in a while, and big enough to make a difference.

 

[Tuberose]

I've never worked at any place floral or otherwise that offered a monetary commission, the shop would have to be doing pretty good for that, just a bonus of $ in merchandise can be a cool thing. There are times when an inadequate employee does need to be set to right, and that can be the only way to handle it. It makes it also difficult for the others working when one or two employees are doing it their way and aren't responding to the requests and expectations of the owner/manager.

I was paid a flat salary for 40 hours and usually worked 50+ hours each week, even a heart felt "I appreciate your hard work" would have been nice, instead of being beat over the head with the "BOSS" thing. It works both ways.

 

[RWK]

I've never worked at any place .........even a heart felt "I appreciate your hard work" would have been nice, instead of being beat over the head with the "BOSS" thing. It works both ways.

It is interesting that you mention this because survey after survey of various employee/employer organizations as well as SAF lists appreciation for a job well done and well meaning Thank you's as well as employee involvement in setting the direction for the shop is far more important than monetary compensation alone.

 

[goldfish]

As a former employee myself, I'm not aware of any so-called "incentive" programs that actually motivate any employees. It seems to me that those programs are there, just to obscure the #1 reason why many employees are not motivated: because their stupid bosses keep doing everything that demoralize their workers.

When employees don't seem to be motivated, the first thing the executives or managers have to do, in my opinion, is not to tinker with yet another "incentive" program, but to look at themselves in the mirror and ask the following question: What am I doing wrong?

I agree with "Tuberose" 110%. It's really not the money that motivates employees. As humans being emotional creatures, employees need to be emotionally rewarded. Employees need to feel they are important members of the family (company), not just the number, and their opinions matter.