In this fourth blog in the blog series about teams, we explain why you should walk around the bonus trap, and we share a success story from a business that has improved profits and team happiness by removing barriers to growth, using a Business One Page Plan (BOPP), and attending Hallidays’ ‘Business AM’ growth programme.
Hallidays is one of the member firms of the Xeinadin Group.
Bonuses can sometimes have the opposite effect than intended.
The empirical and theoretical research in this area clearly demonstrates it is more important for people to believe they have a fair salary and benefits package than an irregular bonus. Bonuses generally only drive performance you want in tasks which are routine: E.g. “you’ll get an extra £10 an hour if you put over 250 letters in envelopes in that hour”. Bonuses often drive the wrong behaviour. In this example, you may get 250 envelopes filled, but the addresses are incorrect or the envelopes badly creased. In short, what you make up for in quantity you lose in quality.
Succes story 1
Business Growth Events unleash team power
Hallidays supported the owners of Paper Salad to develop their leadership and management skills. Here’s how they grew their business by unleashing the power of their team.
Before
- As designers, Claire and Karen created their greetings card business, Paper Salad, but hadn’t identified their long term vision. They also wanted to build their leadership skills and self-belief about what they could achieve.
- Claire and Karen wanted to free up their time to focus on designing new product ranges. They needed to give their team more responsibility by developing their skills and changing the way their business operated.
- To grow their business, they wanted to find new ways to motivate and reward their sales agents and further increase their customers’ happiness.
After
- Business AM enabled Claire and Karen to identify the future they wanted for their business and also personally. This collective vision has driven their business forward in the right direction for them.
- Hallidays worked with Paper Salad to develop their Business One Page Plan, enabling them to run their business more efficiently. By profiling and restructuring their team they have created more time to focus on designing new products.
- Sales agents are regularly sent gifts to show appreciation and motivate them. Relationships with customers have been strengthened with more frequent and proactive communications.
By investing in the personal development and happiness of their team they have created an award-winning business and a happier, more productive working environment
Outcome
Hallidays’ Business AM Growth programme provided Claire and Karen with a step-by-step guide for developing personally and growing their business. This enabled them to develop their knowledge, skills and confidence for taking the business forward. By investing in the personal development and happiness of their team they have created an award-winning business and a happier, more productive working environment. Paper Salad is now a thriving and growing business. They supply a wide range of respected UK and worldwide businesses.
Read the previous blogs
This is our fourth blog about making teamwork work. If you haven’t read the previous blogs yet, here are the direct links:
> Blog 1
> Blog 2
> Blog 3
