In the 40 years plus that I have been in lead-acid battery manufacturing,there are few topics that create as much controversy as a company incentive or bonus scheme.Unfortunately,many schemes are really paper exercises based on arithmetic and engineering design,which do not factor in human nature.This article is a salutary tale of one man's ill-fated efforts to introduce a fair and equitable bonus scheme into a lead-acid manufacturing company,which became possibly the most expensive project of his management career.It was in the early 2000s when a lead-acid battery factory was being overhauled and modernised.A new MD,Donnelly,was appointed.An engineer,he had a track record of improving company profits largely by successful equipment upgrades with consequent productivity improvements.Once in the company,most of the staff and workforce thought he spoke sense and had the credentials to get the business moving in the right direction.His basic theme was:”Let's pull together and be rewarded together.”With this in mind he set up basic reporting systems with feedbacks from all departments to a weekly management meeting where performances could be analysed and adjustments made to ensure the monthly targets were met.
展开▼
