I’ve been accused over the years of being cynical because of
some of the comments that I make.
However, I really believe that I’m a realist and my comments only
reflect what is actually happening. If
you are an active follower of my blog you have been exposed to many examples of
my realistic views. In one recent
posting I suggested that readers who question a company or persons motivation
for a particular action should follow the money trail. While this does appear to be a cynical
comment suggesting that most actions are money motivated, it is more realist as
I accept the fact that money is a great motivator and will stir companies and
people into action. Certainly not all
actions are money motivated as religion has been an equally great motivator
throughout history. There are plenty of
other motivators for companies and people but if you look beyond the platform
being used to motivate and drill deeply sooner or later it will come down to
money. Am I a Cynic or realist?
In business, we are all motivated by money. Certainly we business owners come to work
each day because we enjoy what we are doing; and, there are those owners who
enjoy what they are doing so much that they claim that they’d work for free. But at the end of the day whether an owner in
a start-up business struggling to pay the bills or an owner whose business is listed
on the INC 500 we are all looking for profitability. One way to reach profitability is to leverage
manpower by hiring people to help produce products or provide services. Business owners have great opportunities as not
all people want to devote the time necessary to own a business and would prefer
to work for someone else. In looking for
employment, people certainly look for jobs in their chosen field but then
narrow down the offers for employment based upon such things as proximity to
home, work schedule, pay and benefits. Whether owner or employee, money plays a
major role in motivating our actions.
Unfortunately, not all businesses can afford to provide
convenient locations, flexible work schedules, high pay or abundant
benefits. There are businesses that by
the very nature of the product or service they provide struggle to compete for
employees. If this describes your
business you are probably all too aware that money motivates people. Your business doesn’t generate the type of
returns that allow you to provide pay and benefits to attract the brightest and
best employees. But, you still can
compete. You just need to think outside
the box. My suggestion to business
owners in the aforementioned situation is to create a pay schedule based upon
performance. A base level of pay that
your firm can afford and incentives based upon a portion of increased profits
or some other measurable standard. This
is where the idea of profit sharing came from.
If you aren’t able to come up with an incentive system on
your own it is advisable that you look for assistance in putting together a
program. Networking with other business
leaders is an inexpensive and effective way to learn about incentive based
rewards but if that isn’t an attractive alternative to you there are a large
number of individuals and firms that provide consulting services specializing
in employment issues.
