Cash, company stock, tuition help among employee incentives

To boost sales and motivate staff, companies try whatever works - from Harley Davidson motorcycles, dinner with the boss and elaborate parties to gifts cards and T-shirts. And sometimes simply cash will do the trick.

Thomas Cardella, founder and president of Thomas L. Cardella & Associates in Cedar Rapids, said employees receive shares of company stock on their hiring anniversary.

“Every time an employee hits an anniversary, I take them to dinner,” Cardella said. “I take groups of 25 to 30 people out to dinner each month from each of our call centers.

“We have a meeting where I present certificates to the employees and then we eat dinner. We also have a task force in each center that is constantly coming up with activities like theme days.”

Cardella said the company has a policy of promoting from within to fill supervisory positions, providing an additional incentive for quality work.

Steve Hinsley, the company's vice president of training and development, said developing front line supervisors from within the company is crucial.

“It's important that they understand our culture because we're a fast-paced organization,” Hinsley said. “We work so hard to get people to understand that the best way to do their job is to be serious about it while having fun.

“There's a lot of opportunities for frustration. We're converting 20 percent or 30 percent of our calls in some programs, but there are others where we're converting only 3 percent.

“That means that out of 100 calls that we make to people, 97 of them are going to say ‘no.' The one thing that makes those 97 calls tolerable is the 3 people who say ‘yes.'”

Hinsley said those three calls are necessary for an associate to feel successful - the No. 1 motivator in sales.

“They have to understand their goals and feel they are in control of achieving those goals,” he said. “If they feel they are in control of the conversations they are having and they are in control of the skills needed to get sales, it takes a lot of the frustration out of their day.”

At Go Daddy, the world's largest registrar of Internet domain names, Bob Parsons, Go Daddy's founder and executive chairman, said the company keeps motivation high among customer support staff with competitive salaries, generous benefits, performance incentives and cash giveaways.

In late 2008 when other companies were laying staff off, Parsons treated employees with a $2 million holiday party at Diamondback Stadium in Phoenix. This past December he hosted 850 employees and guests at a holiday gathering at the Cedar Rapids Marriott.

Go Daddy, with operations in Hiawatha and Scottsdale, Ariz., contributes money toward off-site employee activities - held during work hours - to boost team morale. Recent activities involved whitewater rafting, gold panning, competitive cooking courses and trapeze classes.

In January, Go Daddy was ranked No. 93 on the Fortune 100 list of the “Best Companies to Work For,” which noted that the company has never had a layoff and offers competitive pay, benefits and incentives.

“Go Daddy employees are passionate about taking care of our customers and the technology we provide,” Go Daddy CEO Warren Adelman wrote in an email. “Being part of Go Daddy is being part of something special, and that makes for happy employees and happy customers.”

While employees of RuffaloCODY in Cedar Rapids are primarily calling on individuals who have a previous relationship with a college or not-for-profit organization, they still require motivation, according to Gina Randklev, senior operations manager.

“Most of our employees here on the Kirkwood Community College campus are students, so scheduling flexibility is key,” Randklev said. “We look at their class schedule and when they're available to work.

“If they hit a certain percentage of their shifts, they qualify for an attendance bonus that's paid out monthly. They are eligible to earn up to $300 a semester in tuition assistance, which is enough to pay for a class at Kirkwood.

“We also offer them paid time off each month, so they can be gone when they need to be,” Randklev said.

Randklev pointed out that some employees are motivated by public recognition and positive feedback. RuffaloCODY also hands out gift cards from Kum & Go and Subway as well as monthly recognition of top performers.

“Some people are not (motivated) by receiving cash,” Randklev said. “They would rather get public recognition for their work.

“We look at the demographics of the people who are doing the calling. For a lot of them, it's their first job in a professional environment, so their supervisors also become their mentors.

“Motivation really varies and takes on different forms depending on the individual.”