Hands On: Showing Up

Are your workers not in the habit of showing up everyday? Try instituting a bonus system to encourage perfect attendance.

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Hands On

For years the unemployment rate had been high in Helenwood, Tenn., and many of Tom Reddoch's new workers weren't in the habit of showing up every day. So the CEO of Container Technologies Industries, a $4-million manufacturer of steel containers, instituted a bonus system to encourage perfect attendance. Reddoch pays employees an additional 50¢ an hour for the week if they work every day, an additional 10¢ an hour if they work all of that week's scheduled overtime, and another flat payment of $25 if they can keep that up for the whole month. After three months of perfect attendance, staffers become eligible for an annual $500 bonus drawing. While the amounts may sound small, they add up, says Reddoch. "If you work 2,000 hours for the year, just for showing up 35 hours a week you get an extra $1,000," he says.

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