A friend of mine was hired recently to work for a large corporation. Upon being hired, he was informed that if he arrived to work on time for his first 2 straight weeks, he would receive an $800 bonus. Further, if he arrived on time for the following 2 straight weeks, he would receive another $800 bonus. Lastly, if he was on time for work for 4 straight weeks, he would receive an additional $2000. Thus, the motivation of the company is a guarantee that this new employee would be on time for work for his first 8 weeks, in turn setting good habits for on-time work arrival.
As I have recounted this story to those in my network, the reactions have been varied and intense. Comments such as:
“You have got to be kidding me! They are paying someone a bonus to show up for work?”
“Is this what we have come to as to implement company culture?”
“I thought that being on time for work is what a salary is for.”
“What happened to the work ethic?”
It is interesting to me the visceral reactions to using monetary bonuses to reinforce desired behavior in an employee. It is also very interesting to me as to why the company feels compelled to offer money to an employee to ensure they will be on time.
The real fact is that being late is a sign of lack of commitment. If your new employees are not automatically arriving to work at the agreed upon time, they should not have been hired. Ask more questions during your interviews about timeliness to avoid having to incentivize punctuality. After all, your time is too valuable to invest in a bad hire.