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By Carolyn Mitchell
O ver the last two years, the sluggish economy has curtailed traditional raises and bonuses. As a result, many companies have gotten creative about how they motivate and retain employees.
At LBMC, employees are allowed to perform volunteer service for their favorite non-profits during work hours. They enjoy fresh fruit, candies and other free snacks in the break room. Parking is also free, and in the summer the shop closes at noon on Fridays.
“Flextime is another huge morale booster for us,” says LBMC Business Developer Christy Viens. “These are just a few examples of things we do for our employees. To see the staff happy makes us realize that it is paying off.”
A poll of 133 Chamber members showed that more than 70 percent use non-monetary rewards to achieve a variety of objectives related to keeping employees upbeat and productive.
Frequently mentioned non-monetary rewards include flex hours, telecommuting, recognition events, and team building/ cross training. But according to our respondents, the most effective option is giving employees a say in improving the workplace or work process.
Dr. Gary Gesualdi at Affordable Botox of Chattanooga, PC says, “The best nonmonetary reward with measurable success is soliciting input from an employee. I ask for innovative ideas to resolve problems and advance the goals of our business. It’s amazing what an employee will do for you when they play an active role in helping the business grow. Their sense of ‘ownership’ really energizes them and their input becomes both measurable and invaluable.”
Toni Perry at the Chattanooga Allergy Clinic agrees that seeking suggestions from staff on company operations has a positive impact. And Heiko Juerges, president of Honigsberg & Duvel Corp., says, “A lot of ideas to enhance the work atmosphere come directly from our employees.”
Expressing gratitude to employees with a hand-written note, a text message to the whole staff or a round of applause at a staff meeting is another effective motivator.
When Molly Maid customers call in to compliment the cleaning service employees, their sentiments are posted on a “heart wall” that dominates the Eastgate Town Center office. The messages of appreciation and praise form part of the company’s staff recognition for their hard work. “Encouraging our employees to be the best of the best is one of our main challenges on a day-to-day basis,” says
Ashley Doherty, who owns the business. Aman Patel, executive vice president for Vision Hospitality Group, Inc., credits another employee incentive -- the company’s quarterly newsletter -- with increasing employee satisfaction. “The newsletter enables us to project success companywide,” he says. “We share community efforts, personal accomplishments, announcements and company progress to instill pride and promote teamwork.”
Adam Sanders of Aladdin Printing applauds the company’s owner Ginger Weeks for seeking ways to reward her staff. “She lets us eat breakfast every morning on the clock as we discuss the coming day’s work,” Sanders says. “She is eager to give us event coupons and gift certificates that come her way, and she hosts the entire staff at her home during the holidays and football season. These things make Aladdin more of a family place where you want to work than a place where you have to work.”
Some businesses use incentives to achieve specific company objectives. At Miller Industries Towing Equipment a perfect attendance program rewards employees with extra paid time off each month and an annual luncheon for those who don’t miss a day of work all year.
“Nearly 40 percent of our workforce has qualified for the luncheon for the past couple of years,” says Bill Beckley, director of human resources. “This level of dependability helps us achieve on-time deliveries for our customers.”
Clay Dennis at Southern Hearth & Patio says non-monetary rewards include events to recognize top performers, soliciting and acting on input from employees about improving the work process, and team building and cross-training -- all designed to enhance productivity, improve employee moral and cultivate teamwork.
At Access America employees can earn points that reap rewards such as gift cards, electronics and free vacations.
“Employees receive points for attending company functions, length of employment, achieving departmental goals or going the extra mile,” says Access America President Ted Alling.
A company sometimes takes advantage of its own services to make employees happy. Play Dog Excellent, for example, is a dog daycare, training and boarding business. “Since most of the employees have their own dogs, the company offers free daycare as well as discounts on boarding and training classes to employees with us over three months,” says Bev Eitner, Play Dog Excellent managing partner.
“This means employees can be with their own dogs while they’re at work. It also encourages employee interest in the safety, cleanliness and overall appeal of our business. Our turnover is incredibly low in a field notorious for revolvingdoor staffing.’”
Several businesses reward employees with, well, just plain fun. Hullco Exteriors, Inc. has launched a oncemonthly theme Friday that involves special outfits and free food. For the Hullco Five-O Friday everyone sported Hawaiian shorts and shirts and enjoyed non-alcoholic pina coladas. The staff donned T-shirts and shorts and grilled out for Backyard Bar-B-Q Friday. “We’re always wanting to create a fun environment for our employees,” says Hullco sales manager Brian Brock.
At Cornerstone Community Bank staffers get a charge out of the “Trivia Challenge,” a fun contest to motivate and educate Cornerstone employees.
Charlotte Lindeman, vice president for marketing at the bank, explains the game this way: “Basically my assistant, April Goodwin, and I come up with a question to fire out via email every Friday. These questions can range from “Name three features of our e-checking account product” to “Make at least seven words from the letters C-O-R-N-E-R-S-T-O-N-E,” to random seasonal or event-related trivia.”
The first employee to respond with the correct answer receives a Cornerstone-logoed item -- a coffee mug, water bottle or key chain.
“It’s amazing how many people look forward to and respond to this little contest, which sometimes serves a dual purpose of educating our employees about Cornerstone and the various products and services we offer,” Lindeman says.
“It’s just a simple, low-cost morale booster that employees really seem to enjoy.”
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