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Bringing the Team Concept Into Compensation-or Not

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Submitted By nurashekin
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Bringing the Team Concept into Compensation-or Not

One of the first things Sandy Caldwell wanted to do in his new position at Hathaway Manufacturing was improve productivity through teamwork at every level of the firm. As the new human resource manager for the suburban plant, Sandy set out to change the culture to accommodate the team based approach he had become so enthusiastic about in his most recent position.

Sandy started by installing the concept of team management at the highest level, to oversee the operations of the entire plant. The new management team consisted of manufacturing, distribution, planning, technical and human resource executives. Together they developed a new vision for the 500-employee facility, which they expressed in the simple phrase “Excellent Together.” They drafted a new mission statement for the firm that focused on becoming customer driven and team based, and that called upon employees to raise their level of commitment and begin acting as “owners” of the firm.

The next step was to convey the team message to employees throughout the company. The communication process went surprisingly well, and Sandy was happy to see his idea of a “workforce of owners” begin to take shape. Teams trained together, developed production plans together, and embraced the technique of 360-degree feedback, in which an employee’s performance evaluation is obtained from supervisors, subordinates, peers and internal or external customers. Performance and morale improved, and productivity began to tick upward. The company even sponsored occasional celebrations to reward team achievements, and the team structure seemed firmly in place.

Sandy decided to change one more thing. Hathaway's long-standing policy had been to give all employees the same annual pay increase. But Sandy felt that in the new team environment, outstanding performance should

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