Incentive programs are becoming increasingly more common within supply chains today and for good reason. The motive is to increase productivity in the workplace and encourage top performance from associates. While implementing an incentive program can yield positive results for both the company and its associates, the programs must be planned and executed correctly to offer the most significant positive impact to your business and avoid any negative pitfalls. When in the planning stages, keep these guidelines in mind to get the most out of your incentive program:
- Understand what the need for the incentive is. Having this answer helps develop the incentive program and ensure the program will make an impact on associates and their work performance.
- Get associates involved during the planning process to understand their perspective and interest level. Some of the most common types of incentives used are paid time-off, additional pay and rewards. Identify which type of incentives will motivate your particular associates.
- Keep the program simple and easy for associates to understand. This will result in a higher implementation success rate and achieve desired results.
- Make sure to include all associates in the development planning process. Avoid segmenting out certain work groups as this could result in jealousy and resentment in the workplace.
- Use methods and labor standards to evaluate associate performance. An associate observation program should be developed to make sure realistic goals are set and met over time.
- Offer rewards only for work that directly supports the movement of goods in the facility. Less important, indirect work such as cleaning and attending meetings should not be included in the program.
- Utilize existing systems, such as a warehouse management system (WMS), to track rewards and capture data to track individual progress in the program.
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Make sure that once the incentive program is developed there isn’t a gap between associates earning incentives and the incentives being awarded. This will cause a loss of motivation from associates. Come up with a reward compensation schedule to follow and regularly reassess the program to make sure goals are continually being met. Keeping these guidelines and tips in mind will help associates stay positive and motivated in the workplace, ensuring productivity is at an all-time high.
