1. Turn no-shows into an opportunity
“An incentive will never get the right person to do the wrong thing,” says TJ Schier, president of SMART Restaurant Group, a Which Wich franchisee with more than 50 locations. “Get rid of the 20% of your team who are complainers, and invest in the 30% of your team who are rock stars.”
To help invest in those who show up, Schier recommends motivating team members to take on the extra workload when an employee calls off work last minute. When that happens, he often gives each of his team members $1 extra per hour if they meet speed and accuracy goals. “All the sudden you have five highly motivated people, and it turns out that’s all you needed to successfully run your business,” he says. The next time someone calls off, he says, team members get excited about the opportunity to earn more money.