employee awards for service

We give end of year bonuses. 1 to 4 weeks pay based on a number of factors.

One of those factors is years of service. You get a multiplier for 5, 10, and 20 years of service on your bonus. It has always played the largest part in factoring the check.

Gotta be honest though, we've had this system in place for more than 30 years and the bonus has become expected. (It predates my presence at the company.) It no longer serves as an effective incentive, it's just the year end check. It's a part of their assumed regular pay at this point. Most don't even say "thank you" when I distribute the checks.

There are other ways to recognize years of service. Better parking spaces, nicer company car, extra day or two off, and a host of small items. (We've even had the bosses wash the cars of guys who pass certain milestones. You have no idea how effective that one is.)

I think benefits, good pay and reasonable amounts of time off help to retain good employees, and giving a watch or other item for years of service may seem trite.

We've decided to change the formula radically for 2006. Years of service will be a much smaller component of the calculation. Actual service towards profitability in the company will be a higher factor. As we are a manufacturing firm, effeciency is a relatively easy number to calculate against established performance standards.

I've never been a huge fan of giving a bonus or a reward just for hanging around for a long time. Loyalty in a good thing.... But effective loyalty is even better.

Oh, and out of 30 employees, 5 have worked more than 20 years for me, 2 that have worked more than 30 years for the company, and I have one who's been there since the end of the Korean War.(He's 70 something) More than half of my employees have worked 10 or more years for me. And I have about ten employees who have never worked anywhere else, including two who started at age 14 working part time after school, and are both 50+ yrs old now.

DM

 

What is a penal implant?
I don't like the sound of that...

 

thats when they remove your nose and implant a pecker their.

 

For two point five years of service, many promises for raises & bonuses that never came after all the issues I went through as the sole IT guy, I got let go. How's that for appreciation?

But I'm glad that I am gone. Life is much better now.

And nope, nothing I did. It is just downsizing, so outsourced IT work from DC and an incompetent replacement. They'll survive.

 

I think the recognition is more important than the gift. All my employer gives is a plaque and a pin but it is still a point of pride for most employees.

 

Then you all need to move on.

 

Really the only thing that motivates is bucks. Certificates and awards and pins are just ways for cheap assed pricks to lessen the cost while insulting everyone in the company.

Oh look...I got a copper pin this year in recognition for 10 years of service. What color pin do you think I will get in 20 years? Gold? Or maybe symbolic pink that represents the ass ****ing I got for all those years?

Really, BOB, you have been at this **** for a quarter centry and you still don't know how to compensate your people in a meaningful way?

How bout giving everyone a noose and a turn at your neck. I bet morale would go up!

 

dude, apparently it's time to up your dosage.

doody.

 

One size fits all rant looks pretty stupid in retrospect.

 

But you are right. Up your rope dosage and put yourself out of our misery!

 

I used to work for a company where the owner would give you a card with a nice note every year and there was an escalating $$ amount in it. $20 the first year, $25 the second year, etc... He quit doing that after I got to about $40, and coincidentally I lost interest in working there about the same time. I like the LetsJet idea for a company of 85 employees. Public recognition is most desired.
BT

 

Bruce...what does the "CEO" of Wellington Batt give it's high value employee?

 

our auto group has a 10 year vactaion that employees go on with our partners for 5 days. once you hit 10 years you and a guest go, after that everyone who has been 10 years goes into a drawing and we pick 5 out of the old groups to attend with the new ones.

We also gave our BMW shop forman of 12 years a lifetime award and we sent him to italy (he is italian) for the GP races with williams F1 pit passes.

 

LOL, once upon a time, this was my philiosphy!

Actually, the biggest bang for a buck that I ever got came from leasing a "nice car" for an employee that I wanted to reward (not for service, but actual performance.)

I went out and got a bargain basement lease deal on a bottom end BMW 3 car. Don't get me wrong, it was a nice car, but not what I'd drive. I think the car cost me $350 a month.

I took my top manager for a walk after a performance review, and when we turned the corner, there was the car with a big bow. She burst out in tears. It got embarssing because she started blubbering so much.

BTW, the car was in lieu of a big raise. Again, it was the biggest bang for the buck that I ever got.

Dale

PS I think that a retirement plan is the best compensation idea for length of service. For the right circumstance, an ESOP can be even better!