Material gains obtained from performing work. This includes salary or hourly wages, bonuses and benefits. Jobs with adequate compensation allow the worker to meet their basic needs.

Improvement Action: Establish a profit sharing program

Source:

Semler, Ricardo. (1989). Managing without managers. Harvard Business Review. Sept-Oct 1989, p 84

  • GWT Analyst Summary: At Semco, the leadership has established a flat rate of profit sharing. All employees are given access to balance sheets and are aware what costs and sales and profits are. The employees are aware that a fixed percentage of company profit will be returned to the employees and, as such employees are motivated to help reduce costs.
  • Excerpt from text: “Everybody knows the price of the product. Everybody knows the cost. Everybody has the monthly balance sheet that says exactly what each of them makes, how much bronze is costing us, how much overtime we paid, all of it. And the employees know that 23% of the after-tax profit is theirs.” p 84

 

Improvement Action: Make all attempts to prevent laying off tenured workers

Source:

Semler, Ricardo. (1989). Managing without managers. Harvard Business Review. Sept-Oct 1989, p 80

  • GWT Analyst Summary: Semco's policies are aimed at giving job security to those who have served for longer periods of time or are older employees. Procedures for layoffs of tenured employees or those over age 50 are designed to be intentionally difficult.
  • Excerpt from text: “We encourage - we practically insist on - job rotation every two to five years to prevent boredom. We try hard to provide job security, and for people over 50 or who’ve been with the company for more than three years, dismissal procedures are extra complicated.” p 80