Bonus programs

Good managers like to reward their employees. Bad managers like to reward themselves. Good managers also like to reward themselves. So there is a fine line between good and bad.

Most construction companies have some kind of reward program, designed to help their builders stay focused on the 4 goals of any construction project.
Build a QUALITY product, ON TIME, SAFELY, and ON BUDGET.

My very first job, outside of the home was a newspaper boy. The bonus program there was real simple. Most people chose to pay the Gazette directly, but some preferred to have me come by and collect their monthly payment.

I choose now to see my salary as a bonus. The Gazette was under no obligation to pay me for delivering 36 papers, only for the surplus they had received in the office (I paid for the papers I delivered, but more people paid the office directly than I had to collect from, so the office sent me a check for the excess). And if I did not go collecting, I did not get money.

I will admit, I was not very diligent. I got all my money, but if I missed people one month, I would get them the next month. They must have hated that.

The bonus program should provide and incentive to ALL employees to do their part. If your program does not drive ALL to excel, then something is missing.

Construction employees tend to bonus so much because it is so easy to measure the products being produced. But how do you reward people that have harder to measure goals, while keeping them as team builders?