Photo: © z_wei | Thinkstock
Employee pay can be a sticking point for workers. If one technician feels he’s working harder than another and not getting compensated – well, that’s not great for morale. And if workers figure they can get paid better by another company in town, then you could have some serious retention problems. For owners, the issue gets even more complex: compensating people fairly for production, efficiency, quality and an overall contribution to the company’s profitability.
What’s the best way to pay people and how do you incentivize them with meaningful bonuses that inspire camaraderie (not contention) and drive quality production vs. more hours for more pay? Michael Hornung, president at ValleyGreen in Sartell, Minnesota, focuses on paying at the higher end of the market so he can attract and retain the best people possible. His bonus program promotes teamwork and rewards senior technicians for training up the new talent.
Hornung implemented the system in 2003, and has tweaked it a bit over time. It’s based on efficiency per hour, service calls and callbacks. He calculated what technicians should produce per hour and per week. For example, new technicians are expected to make about $125/hour, or $5,000 in production per week. With this efficiency and zero callbacks, a technician could make $2 to $3 per hour more as a bonus. This is rewarded per paycheck. (Hornung says the bonus per hour ranges, but he uses this standard as an example.)
Read the full story from the November issue here.