We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » watch those carrots and sticks
labor pool

watch those carrots and sticks

April 1, 2007
Donald Jacobson and Shelley Safian
No Comments

A pat on the back is likely to work better than a kick in the pants, but both are incentives to improve performance. Many companies are turning to incentive programs as a way to keep employees motivated and productive. These programs can do more harm than good, however, if the goals aren't reachable and the rules aren't completely clear. When drawing up an incentive plan, pay particular attention to the following details:

  1. Expectations. After you decide on your program's goals, spell out what workers must accomplish to qualify for the rewards. A minimum of 20 days accident-free? A reduction in late deliveries by at least 10 percent over the same month last year? Perfect attendance for 30 days? Your choices are wide open, but whatever you decide, put it in writing.
  2. Eligibility. Decide in advance who qualifies for participation in the plan. Are managers eligible? What about part-timers? The night shift? The swing shift? Individuals or teams and departments only? Be clear about this. Think of the resentment you'll create if people knock themselves out to achieve the goal and then discover they aren't eligible for the reward.
  3. Rewards. Whether they're positive (carrots) or negative (sticks), rewards can be divided into the following types of actions:
    1. Giving something good. Reward workers who achieve the goal by giving them something appealing. It might be money, a gift (like a jacket with the company's logo), a day off with pay, or a pizza party. Just make sure it has value to everyone. Offering a month's free day care isn't much of an incentive to workers who don't have children.
    2. Taking away something bad. Though people often don't think of it this way, a reward can also be the removal of something objectionable. This might be a promise of no overtime for a week or an exemption from having to participate in the inventory count next weekend.
    3. Giving something bad. In other words, let workers know that there will be unpleasant consequences if they miss their goals. These might include written job warnings, having to work overtime, or even being fired.
    4. Taking away something good. This is the kind of "negative" reward parents often use—like taking away cell phone privileges from a teen who stays out after curfew.
  4. Dates. When drafting an incentive plan, pay particular attention to these two dates:
    1. Eligibility dates. Specify the time period during which performance will be measured—the month of May, for example, or the first quarter—and be clear about the start and end dates. That sounds simple enough, but many companies realize too late that policies they thought were clear are actually open to interpretation. If there's a chance that might happen, decide how you'll handle each "gray area" situation before you announce your plan. For example, say you've set up an incentive program that offers rewards to truck drivers who go through the month of April without a single late complaint. How would you handle a complaint over late service on Friday, April 27, that isn't lodged until May 1? Does that ruin the driver's perfect record for the month of April? Or does he still qualify since the complaint fell outside the calendar month?
    2. Award date. Commit to a specific date for the awards (whether carrots or sticks) and stick to it. You'll do more harm than good if you promise a day off with pay and then six months later, you still haven't approved that time off. Likewise, if you had threatened to fire anyone who was absent more than four times in one quarter and you still have an offender on the payroll six months later, you've sent the wrong message—to everyone on the staff.
Business Management & Finance
  • Related Articles

    the 5-cent tag has arrived ... for those who can afford it

    Container-line transformation faces its biggest test from those paying the bills

Don Jacobson is the president of Optimum Supply Chain Recruiters, a recruiting organization that specializes in the placement of management personnel in the logistics field on a nationwide basis. You can reach him by calling Optimum SCR at (800) 300-7609 or by visiting the firm's Web site, www.OptimumSCR.com.
Shelley Safian is vice president of marketing for Optimum Supply Chain Recruiters, a recruiting organization that specializes in the placement of management personnel in the logistics field on a nationwide basis. You can reach her by calling Optimum SCR at (800) 300-7609 or by visiting the firm's Web site, www.OptimumSCR.com.

Recent Articles by Donald Jacobson

Survival strategies for logistics professionals

temporary help for the executive suite

how to deal with survivor's guilt

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Cold chain giant Lineage Logistics buys its own rail operator

  • Outlook 2021: What’s in store for logistics supply chain?

  • Cushman & Wakefield Brokers Sale of 170 Acres plus Lease for 1MSF Build-to-Suit for Home Improvement Retailer in Commerce City, CO.

  • Thriving in the long haul: interview with Colin Yankee

  • Capacity challenges will continue in 2021

Now Playing on DCV-TV

2mw 01 18 21 thumb

LTL Carriers Using Yield Management Techniques to Identify New Accessorial Charges

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
As we head into 2021, shippers are not too optimistic about negotiating rates with their carriers. The reason for this, as highlighted in the three CODE RED Webcasts we've hosted with our friends from CSCMP and NASSTRAC, is that in today's transportation marketplace, shippers are operating in uncharted waters. With...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Proven Benefits: A Compendium of Slotting Optimization Success Snapshots

  • Bridging Information Gaps in Dock and Yard Operations

  • How Intelligent Sensor Solutions Turn Data Into Action

  • Order picking Solutions: Understanding Your Options

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing