{"id":296,"date":"2021-02-25T19:27:54","date_gmt":"2021-02-25T19:27:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/allred10.com\/?p=296"},"modified":"2021-03-02T15:16:38","modified_gmt":"2021-03-02T15:16:38","slug":"viii-reward-your-employees-fairly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allred10.com\/?p=296","title":{"rendered":"VIII.\tReward Your Employees Fairly"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\"accolade-63001_640\"“The secret of success is sincerity. \u00a0Once you can fake that, you’ve got it made.” \u00a0 \u00a0-Jean Giraudoux<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

It is ironic that someone would try\u00a0to fake sincerity, but sadly, it is fairly common.\u00a0 In reality, success in management has nothing to do with sincerity.\u00a0 I have seen bosses who sincerely think that the way to succeed is on the backs of their employees.\u00a0 Most who have reached the management level will say, \u201cOur people are our greatest asset.\u201d\u00a0 Many truly believe it but a far smaller group will treat employees that way.\u00a0 They might talk about wanting to improve the corporate culture but sincerely do not want to make the necessary changes in how they reward their employees \u2013 Aye, there\u2019s the rub.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Rewarding employees fairly has a direct impact on maintaining the company image, giving customers the service they expect, creating quality products, minimizing legal actions and increasing employee retention.\u00a0 In that light, it is one of the most important keys of success.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

When considering employee rewards, the first item on the list is typically the pay.\u00a0 Pay is required by law for all employees and overtime is required by law for all non-exempt employees.\u00a0 Minimum wage and wage and hour laws dictate the lower limit of pay.\u00a0 But, rewarding employees fairly is an entirely different\u00a0matter.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Some argue that \u201cstudies have shown\u201d that pay is not a motivator.\u00a0 There is some truth to that statement it\u00a0can not\u00a0stand alone.\u00a0 The complete truth is that pay, including bonuses and perquisites, is not a motivator when the pay is adequate and fair. \u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Adequate pay is enough for employees to maintain the minimum lifestyle that they are willing to accept.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Fair pay means that it is essentially equal to what others in similar positions are receiving both inside and outside of the organization.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I worked for an organization that had a large percentage of workers that were paid slightly above minimum wage.\u00a0 Their jobs were emotionally and physically demanding; much more so that their friends who worked at In-N-Out Burger for relatively the same pay.\u00a0 The turnover was horrendous, with all of the terrible side effects on their managers and the customers.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Management was reluctant to increase wages even slightly.\u00a0 They often cited that many employees currently in management had begun their careers in the same low-paying jobs.\u00a0 They neglected to recognize that the current managers were being paid approximately 30% more than minimum wage when they worked in those jobs, and the current employees were now making less than 10% more than minimum wage.\u00a0 The current employees were living on government assistance and receiving help from their parents because their wages were neither adequate nor fair.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I finally convinced the owner to\u00a0increase the starting salary and give modest increases to high performing staff.\u00a0 The changes were immediate and significant.\u00a0 Morale improved, customers received more consistent service, manager and employee complaints decreased dramatically and in the first 12 months of the program total turnover decreased by more than 25%.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Turnover costs are estimated to be $4,000 for an employee making $8 per hour, according to the American Management Association.\u00a0 A study done at Louisiana State University for $8 per hour employees estimated the cost to be $25,000 per employee.\u00a0 In this particular company, the turnover savings approximated $600,000 per year.\u00a0 That was just the tip of the iceberg of benefits the company received for paying adequate and fair wages.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Paying adequate and fair wages applies equally to burger flippers, engineers and nurses.\u00a0 Once the basic requirement of paying adequately and fairly has been met, the organization can work on the other rewards that will motivate their employees.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

10 Best Practices of Rewarding Employees <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. \u00a0 Adequate pay<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. \u00a0 Fair pay<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. \u00a0 Recognition<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n
  4. \u00a0 Trust<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n
  5. \u00a0\u00a0Work\/Life Integration<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n
  6. \u00a0 Autonomy<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n
  7. \u00a0 Opportunity to Advance<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n
  8. \u00a0 Communication<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n
  9. \u00a0 Honesty<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n
  10. \u00a0\u00a0Respect<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Each of the items on this list must be addressed to have employees that are motivated to achieve their highest potential.\u00a0 The \u201cnon-compensation\u201d rewards are interwoven in all of the 10 Best Practices of Exceptional Leaders and are addressed in the posts on this blog.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    So, the secret of success of being a good leader<\/a><\/span> is not sincerity.\u00a0 The secret of success is sincerely rewarding the employees adequately and fairly.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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