I
heard an interesting story today
from a member of
Chief Executive Boards
International. Her company
had won an award that she wanted
to celebrate with all the
employees. A bonus wasn't the
answer -- if you put $100 or
even a few hundred dollars into
a paycheck, it just gets lost in
all the deductions and other
"noise". And then in the
checking account, completely
forgotten, even when it's
"spent".On the other hand, gift cards and car wash coupons are a lot more tangible. At least when the employees use them, they have a brief recall of why they were awarded. See: "How Much Employee Motivation Can You Buy for $10?"
She took the car wash coupon idea and stepped it up to another level. She hired an on-site car wash service, designated a couple of spaces on the parking lot, and the employees rotated their cars through the temporary "wash bay". As one person's car was finished, he or she told the next office mate to head out and move her car into the wash area. While all this was happening, a sales rep from a vendor stopped by, and he got his car washed, too!
Now, that's an awards program they'll be talking about for awhile. Affordable, and not likely ever questioned as employee compensation -- it just finds its way into "services" on the income statement.
