The last sentence is a key... Think out of the box how to help out
with that and you have a really good incentive for your company over
others besides straight cash...
On 1/29/24 8:55 AM, Chuck McCown via AF wrote:
We do have a fully funded health plan. We make them wait 6 months for
eligibility. Has not seemed to be an impediment to hiring. Thanks
everyone. I think I will steer clear of published performance based
bonuses but just give surprise bonuses now and then. I could give a
spiff based on the completion of certain machines but some of the
teams have overlap and tracking that program could be difficult. I
will just crank up the pay a bit. I am a bit below average for
companies of my type but not for employers on average in my area. We
are about $19/hr company wide with some making as much as $24. Still
hard to run a family and pay a mortgage with that kind of pay.
Chuck McCown
McCown Technology Corporation
8401 N Commerce Dr
Lake Point, Utah 84074
801-250-9503
435-830-4306 cell
www.mccowntech.com
www.microtrench-blades.com
www.terabitnetworks.com
*From:* Trey Scarborough
*Sent:* Monday, January 29, 2024 9:52 AM
*To:* af@af.afmug.com
*Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] compensation for employees
I have always found one of the best ways is to provide better
benifits/perks. As others have said 401k match is a good one, but if
that's not something most your employees would be interested in. Fully
paid health insurance can be one, also send them to training or a
tradeshow. Even welders like to go to a tradeshow and gawk at all the
new equipment...
One of the best I found was catered lunches. We would have a day or
two a week we would bring in food from a good restaurant or order some
good steaks and grill them. It was also good as it got everyone together.
Another thing is give them a budget to go and buy whatever
tools/equipment/etc that you can write off and let them keep it
personally. Works great for labor workers and IT staff. The more
mechanical inclined typically went out and buy nice tools and the
others typically would get a laptop, or build a gaming rig.
On 1/28/24 12:16 PM, Chuck McCown via AF wrote:
My latest pivot a couple of years ago to microtrenching blades,
adding grout machines, then microtrenching saw attachments and now to
a specialized type of vacuum excavator has gone extremely well.
Almost no software involved. Just a little in a motion control PCB
in the grout machine to control the hydrostatic transmission. This is
by far my most profitable season I have ever had in 50 years of
running some kind of hustle. And those years of the stinger and
other related antennas and hardware were not bad at all. I am a bit
more confident that these new “durable products” have more legs than
the antennas that were radio specific.
But having been through wax and wane of business, economy and product
cycles for many decades, I am always reticent to ratchet up pay. I
do give bonuses. I will always live in fear of not meeting payroll.
Only happened once about 30 years ago, but that is a bad deal. And
actually nobody was unpaid but I had to layoff everyone. But I digress.
What would y’all suggest as a way to reward employees when things are
going well? I give COLA plus modest merit increases every 6 months.
I could give substantial merit increases but that plays into my
phobia of things getting tight again. Maybe that is totally
unfounded. I know when things started going well for Henry Ford he
doubled pay and things got even better for him.
I would like to do bonuses based on my bottom line income (I think),
but how to distribute that evenly? Should everyone get the same
amount? And how to relate that the size of the bonus is tied
directly to how well the company is doing? Or should I just give
really nice raises this go around? Or both? I guess if things slow
down we can always trim staff or let attrition do it for us. I think
you all can understand the reluctance to give raises as it is a one
way street. You really cannot cut pay.
I want employees to prosper and do better personally. I wonder if my
fears are justified. I know some of you have worked for large
companies at certain points in your life, how did they accomplish
this. I know some of you have really prospered with your WISP/ISP,
curious how you approached the whole sharing the wealth thing.
Chuck McCown
McCown Technology Corporation
8401 N Commerce Dr
Lake Point, Utah 84074
801-250-9503
435-830-4306 cell
www.mccowntech.com
www.microtrench-blades.com
www.terabitnetworks.com
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