hat is expected of them or when there are no incentives in place to reward outstanding performance, management is failing to take advantage of one of the most basic of management principles  to holdIf there’s anything that will prevent a company from optimizing its bottom line, it is a laissez-faire management style. In other words: a propensity among company managers to avoid too much interference in employee behavior.

All employees need leadership, and in addition, employees generally achieve a higher level of performance if they understand what is expected of them and their managers inspect what they expect.

Here’s a great question to ask an employee: “What sort of annual raise in pay do you generally expect to receive?” In recent years, the most common answer is 3% to 4%.

Now for the second eye-opening question: “What do you believe you would have to do to earn double or triple that amount?” All too often an employee’s answer is: “I don’t have a clue.”

When employees don’t know what is expected of them or when there are no incentives in place to reward outstanding performance, management is failing to take advantage of one of the most basic of management principles  to hold

n employee behavior.

All employees need leadership, and in addition, employees generally achieve a higher level of performance if they understand what is expected of them and their managers inspect what they expect.

Here’s a great question to ask an employee: “What sort of annual raise in pay do you generally expect to receive?” In recent years, the most common answer is 3% to 4%.

Now for the second eye-opening question: “What do you believe you would have to do to earn double or triple that amount?” All too often an employee’s answer is: “I don’t have a clue.”

When employees don’t know what is expected of them or when there are no incentives in place to reward outstanding performance, management is failing to take advantage of one of the most basic of management principles  to hold

t they expect.

Here’s a great question to ask an employee: “What sort of annual raise in pay do you generally expect to receive?” In recent years, the most common answer is 3% to 4%.

Now for the second eye-opening question: “What do you believe you would have to do to earn double or triple that amount?” All too often an employee’s answer is: “I don’t have a clue.”

When employees don’t know what is expected of them or when there are no incentives in place to reward outstanding performance, management is failing to take advantage of one of the most basic of management principles  to hold

second eye-opening question: “What do you believe you would have to do to earn double or triple that amount?” All too often an employee’s answer is: “I don’t have a clue.”

When employees don’t know what is expected of them or when there are no incentives in place to reward outstanding performance, management is failing to take advantage of one of the most basic of management principles  to hold

hat is expected of them or when there are no incentives in place to reward outstanding performance, management is failing to take advantage of one of the most basic of management principles  to hold employees accountable for measurable results and reward outstanding performance.

A bonus schedule is an excellent way to keep workers’ eyes on the measurable results that they have accepted as a performance goal. In the following example, assume that this particular employee’s bonus is tied to his or her ability to achieve a 10% net margin:

Goal                Annual Bonus
 No Limit              No Limit
 12.0% to 12.9%          $9,000
 11.0% to 11.9%          $7,000
 10.0% to 10.9%          $5,000
 9.0% to   9.9%          $3,000
 8.0% to   8.8%          $1,000
 Below 8.0%               Zero

Another beauty of the bonus schedule is its flexibility. Both the performance goal and the bonus itself can be modified in any way the manager chooses. The goal can be broken down into smaller or