Mark Novotny, CGCS, has started a bonus system to reward and retain quality employees at Westchester GC.

2000 Leo Feser award candidate

A bonus program can help you reward dedicated employees and develop a values system for staff. When developing a program, use the previous year's labor hours to estimate the effect bonus payouts will have on your budget. Use bonus penalties for negative actions, but make sure the punishment fits the infraction. Any bonus program needs to be course-specific; what works with one group of employees may not be effective for yours.

As I get older, I find that many of my long-term seasonal and/or part-time employees do not have the same work ethic that I do. I hear the same concerns from other superintendents around the country. "Show me the money," "What can you do for me?" and "I want to be noticed" seem to be normal points of view from many employees.

For me, success for employees is easily measured. If you want to be noticed, do an honest day's work for an honest day's pay. Minimize the number of your mistakes and the severity, and you will be "noticed." You'll be a standout, and you'll see the money!

The qualities and values that my parents and teachers instilled in me as a child seem to be lost on many. Therefore, I have developed a bonus program at our facility with values at its core.

The competition
Westchester Golf Course in Canal Winchester, Ohio, is blessed to have one of the best turf schools in the country just 15 miles away. However, we are also in close proximity to at least five of the top-100 courses in the country, and we compete with them for the turf interns that Ohio State produces each year.

Therefore, we grew in the course with the help of local high school and college students and long-term (nine-month) seasonal employees. That was in 1997, and the students were usually making $5.50 per hour. When we weren't able to attract new long-term seasonal workers because of the competition for employees from local fast-food restaurants and grocery chains, my general manager and I raised starting wages by $1 per hour. The higher wages yielded no earth-shattering results. We found that we had higher-paid employees, but we still lacked the traditional employer / employee relationship.

I was afraid that if we continued to increase the starting/training wage, we could be looking at a $10-an-hour starting wage. Although that is not all bad with a rising economy, if the economy had a major downturn, those wages could be a problem for us.

I thought a bonus program might work because it could keep wage increases based on merit and cost of living. It could also entice seasonal employees. Plus, reviewed and adjusted annually, a bonus program would not hurt the long-term employees who were earning a higher wage for longevity. In addition, it would keep us competitive with the local merchants. So 1999 became our test year.

Rules of the game
The bonus program is designed to reward the non-tipped seasonal staff who have dedicated their time to Westchester GC. The program is not a replacement for longevity or merit raises to regular wages. It's a reward system for individuals who have shown a commitment to Westchester throughout the full season and have helped provide high-quality playing conditions.

As a result of the bonus program, Novotny has found that employees are paying closer attention to detail in their overall work on the course.

Goal setting. Goal setting is the key to setting up a bonus program. We decided to tackle the things that were driving us crazy: tardiness, no-shows and no two-week notice (seasonal workers leaving early).

However, you have to make a realistic expectation of compliance -- you have to be fair. For example, do you want the policy to be "no smoking" or "no smoking in certain areas?" The first might discourage a potentially excellent employee from working for you. The latter encourages new employees not to blow themselves up by smoking near gasoline.

Homework and teamwork. Ask your supervisory team for help -- anyone who helps you run the course: assistants, service manager, horticulturist, irrigation manager, general manager or golf professional. Use group techniques, such as structured brainstorming, or just sit down one slow day and have a gripe session. Determine what employee problems are ruining your happiness. Determine whether this program will be the fix. Some problems cannot be solved with a bonus program.

Develop your program
Determine a program start date, minimum commitment, end date, bonus rates and penalties. We run on an all-seasonal situation with no 12-month hourly staff. The program starts the first day of work and ends the last pay period in November so that bonuses are handed out before Christmas.

Our bonus rates start at 50 cents for every hour worked, including overtime. It's important to make the math easy. It keeps the accountant happy, and it's also easy for the crew to track their own bonuses from their pay stubs.

The bonus is not an hourly wage. It's calculated on hours to reward those who have worked longer in the season. To further entice our crew to stay longer in the season, our accountant decided that the more hours you work, the higher the bonus rate. Here is how our plan breaks down:

	50 cents for total hours up to 600
	55 cents for total hours from 601 to 1000
	60 cents for total hours from 1001 to 1400
	65 cents for total hours over 1401

Remember this is for the seasonal staff. When developing a plan, don't forget the budget -- it will cost you money. Ask your accountant to estimate the cost based on the previous year's labor hours. Take the staff budget, using your total labor hour calculations, and calculate a bonus number for each employee and when it will be paid.

The penalty phase: bonus deductions
The other half of the program includes consequences for negative staff actions. When it comes to deductions, let the punishment fit the crime. The punishments should mirror your employee handbook. Put a dollar amount on each action and eliminate gray areas -- make it as black and white as possible. Be specific and reduce subjectivity -- either you are late or you are not.

If you have a low tolerance for a specific action, set the penalty high. For instance, I have a low tolerance for no call/no shows. My first-time penalty is $25 plus suspension equivalent to 16 hours. The second time means loss of bonus and loss of job.

If the action has less impact, so should the deduction. As the impact and infraction escalate, so should the deduction. That is how we handle tardiness:

	first time: no deduction
	second time: no deduction
	third time: $20
	fourth time: $40
	fifth time: 100 percent of bonus and job termination

Although you should be specific, be sure to add a disclaimer to allow deductions for anything for which you have to issue an unsatisfactory performance notice. We can deduct bonuses as determined by the golf course superintendent, one additional supervisor and the approval of the general manager.

Keeping score
Document all bonuses as much as you can. Distribute the bonus agreement with everything spelled out as much as you can foresee. Make sure bonus deduction forms are sent to your accounting department with descriptions of the infractions and the deduction amount. Arrange to have bonus updates sent from accounting about every six weeks. These printed updates should show the employee's name, total hours, bonus earned, bonus deductions and year-to-date total.

Starting a bonus program has several advantages. Quality employees will appreciate the higher standards that the program emphasizes in their fellow crew members.

Originally, our staff wanted the updates, but I thought this could backfire on us. I thought showing the deductions would have a negative impact. However, even with the deduction column, the response is good. The staff members advise each other on how to avoid deductions in the future.

Start your program whenever you can. Mid-season might not work because of budget constraints. If that's the case, start at the beginning of next year. But start watching now and note what can be developed into the program for next year.

Results
Our first season results were positive, but of course that doesn't mean we didn't give penalties. We had less tardiness, and all but two employees gave two-week notices when they left. Of those two, one had another job to which he had to report immediately (so losing the bonus was not important), and the other simply walked off in a huff. In that case, the other staff members said they were surprised he had lasted as long as he did. Although there were two no-shows who did not meet our call-in deadline, only one individual received more than one deduction for the season. That person was not invited back the following season.

Our best employees, who have "traditional values," took the money and ran. They liked the extra money for doing what they normally do. They also liked that they felt less burdened from carrying the weight of co-workers who came in tardy.

The ones who made a few mistakes (and lost a few dollars), saw the consequences of their actions immediately and tended to make only one mistake. After some sort of deduction, they realized we were serious and started paying closer attention to detail. They also told other crew members that we were enforcing the program, and we had a trickle-down effect.

In 1999, 22 employees worked for us, but four of them could not participate in the program because they didn't meet the minimum requirement of 10 weeks of work. In all, four employees had bonus deductions totaling $108. Four others lost their entire bonuses, amounting to $1,061.89, and they no longer work for us.

On the positive side, of the 41 percent of employees who received the full bonus without any deductions, one employee did such a good work that he received a $50 addition to his total bonus. For the year, our employees worked 1,3749.18 total hours, and we paid them $5,486.09 in bonuses. The largest payout to an individual was $938.90.

The program is still evolving. For 2000 we are including problems that occurred in last year, such as excessive call-offs and negligent equipment damage. Our pro shop is trying to alter the program to fit its employee profile.

The right fit
I must emphasize that this program was developed for seasonal staff and not for full-time staff or supervisors. The responsibilities of being on time, calling in when ill and giving notice before leaving for another job should have already been instilled in employees before they were hired full time. The bonus money should not be an issue for full-time staff because they are compensated by higher wages, vacation pay, sick days, holiday pay, uniforms and other perks not available to seasonal staff. However, your full-time staff will find that their jobs are easier because of the higher standards the program emphasizes in their fellow employees.

I also recommend developing a program specific to your course's needs and values. Don't copy another course's program and expect it to automatically solve your specific problems.

As I have gotten older, I have become more aware of my "traditional" values. Our bonus program has helped make sure that our employees follow these values -- at least while they are on the job.

Mark A. Novotny is CGCS at Westchester Golf Course in Canal Winchester, Ohio, and a 12-year GCSAA member.