Dear Annie:
I
recently took a job as head of business development for a mid-sized
financial firm. My predecessor in this position used to reward staffers
for particular accomplishments (meeting a tough deadline, landing a big
new client, etc.) by giving them things like impossible-to-get theater
tickets to a hit show, a day at a spa, or even a trip to Disney World.
These things are fun, obviously, but I think people would rather have
cash, so they can do with it whatever they wish. What do you think?
-- Big Carrot, No Stick
Dear Big Carrot:
When budgets are tight, many
employers like to reward people with "non-monetary perks like extra
time off or a party," notes Max Messmer, chairman of staffing giant
Accountemps (http://www.accountemps.com) and author of Motivating Employees for Dummies
(John Wiley & Sons, $24.95). "But employees also expect financial
compensation for their efforts, which can be an effective retention
tool." A few months ago, Accountemps surveyed more than 1,400 chief
financial officers nationwide, asking them to rank the effectiveness of
several rewards for outstanding performance. Just 17% said that extra
time off is the sweetest carrot; 16% chose "a departmental lunch or
social gathering." By contrast, almost half -- 46% -- agreed with you: They
voted for cold, hard cash. (Interestingly, 15% of those CFOs said they
don't believe in bestowing rewards at all. Guess who's going to have
trouble keeping top people as the job market heats up again?) To test
the waters where you are, why not try offering people a choice between
a prize and its cash equivalent? If the prize is something money can't
buy (like those impossible-to-get theater tickets you mentioned), you
may get some takers.
Dear Annie:
Help! About a year
ago, I left my hometown and moved across the country for a new job -- only
to find that the company has a hostile and aggressive culture where
senior people are always yelling at everyone below them. Besides that,
executives engaged in ethically questionable behavior and expected us
to "go along" in ways that made me extremely uncomfortable. Long story
short, I quit and moved back to the city I came from, where I'm now
starting a job search. What do I tell interviewers about why I left
that job, without badmouthing my former bosses? - Closed Mouth
Dear Closed Mouth:
Yikes.
Sounds like you made the right decision. Luckily, human beings are
complex creatures and very often do things -- including quit their
jobs -- for more than one reason. So ask yourself this: If the culture at
your former place of employment had not been obnoxious and unethical,
what else might have induced you to leave? For example, do you have
skills that were not being used to full advantage in that job? Or was
your upward career path in the company unclear or non-existent?
Whatever inherent drawback the job had (and, let's face it, all jobs
have at least one or two), focus your remarks on that when asked why
you quit. In your case, a desire to move back to your hometown might
turn out to be all the explanation you need.
Dear Annie:
What
do you do with a star employee who can't communicate in writing? I
recently hired a very bright, creative, energetic young person to do
special projects for our conference-planning business, and so far he's
been phenomenal, except for one thing: His memos are jumbled and his
written proposals are all but unreadable. Can you recommend a course he
could take, a book he could read, or something? -- Tired of Translating
Dear Tired:
Have I got a book for you -- or, more accurately, for your semi-literate star. Have him take a look at Writing That Works: How to Communicate Effectively in Business
by Kenneth Roman and Joel Raphaelson (Quill paperback, $13.00). At only
191 pages, it's a little gem, loaded with lively, lucid pointers on
writing memos, reports, presentations, proposals and letters that are
clear, concise, and get the job done. The authors offer foolproof
instructions for writing memos, but they note that, in our Internet
age, a blizzard of paper may just slow things down. The authors suggest
that everyone should ask themselves, before committing anything to
paper, whether it's really necessary at all: "An Italian proverb says,
'Think much, say little, write less.' Sometimes the most efficient
delivery of a message is still face-to-face. Just drop by the other
person's office." As for proposals, here's a succinct tip that may help
your wunderkind get to the point: "Never fail to answer the main
question your audience is asking, however silently: ' What's in it for me? '"
Last
week, in response to a reader signed "Looking Before Leaping", I asked
for your experiences and insights on the subject of working for big
companies versus small ones, and wow! So far, the mail is running four
to one in favor of outfits with 50 employees or fewer. Comments are
still coming in, so I'll pass along a sampling in a couple of weeks.
Thanks, all!
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