Pay for Performance

Use effective pay plans to get the most out of your employees.  Face it – most employees are driven and motivated by money.  Intangible benefits are important, but when it comes down to it – employees respond to cash in their pockets.  A pay plan that is structured around performance measurements benefits both the employee AND the employer.   If your only method of compensation is the traditional annual salary, then you can pretty much plan on getting the same results (good and bad) from your employees.  You’ll also end up hiring the same type of employee throughout your organization and possibly developing a corporate culture of complacency.

I’m not saying you should completely eliminate the traditional salary, but rather supplement that plan with a performance based plan that offers incentives/commissions based on performance metrics such as customer service, gross profit, departmental profit, company profit, etc.  For example, if you’re trying to increase your sales, you might consider paying your sales team a commission based on achieving a predetermined sales goal or gross profit percentage.  If you’re trying to reign in expenses and get your employees to focus more on overhead expenditures, you could offer a commission to employees for reaching a departmental profit goal.  Try to include as many employees in your bonus program as possible.  It will create excitement, purpose, and unity throughout your company.  A few good examples might include bonuses paid for customer service excellence, zero defects, or zero safety violations for a set period of time.  These objectives include everyone in your company from top to bottom.

Important tips before you get started :

• Define your objectives clearly – If you don’t know what you’re trying to achieve, your employees won’t either.
• Monitor the results on a consistent basis – Don’t wait until the last minute to review your progress.  You won’t have enough time to make corrections or adjustments to change the final results.
• Communicate with your employees – Clearly state your objectives to your employees.  Be available to answer questions and provide guidance.  But most of all – be a cheerleader!

Email Marketing

There is a great need for email marketing and communicating with your current customers, as well as potential customers. There are great resources out there that can help you reach out in a professional way. “Constant Contact” is one of the leading e-mail marketing companies and their features are endless. Functionality and Price is what make the service so wonderful. The E-mail marketing helps create and maintain your brand . It also keeps customers coming back. Always try demos before you purchase.

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