glassblog

In a February 2007 e-glass poll, 83 percent of industry representatives reported they offer employee incentives such as bonuses. Almost two years later, the U.S. is up to its eyeballs in a recession, with a bleak forecast on the horizon. What can glass companies do to motivate employees when bonuses just aren’t in the budget?

In my elementary school days, my slim allowance money couldn’t quite get me through the holiday shopping season. Macaroni-cover tin cans, and homemade coupon books with promises of hugs and car washes, however, served as cost-free and greatly appreciated gifts. But for cash-strapped companies looking to provide holiday incentives to employees, macaroni art likely won’t cut it.

In its November issue, Fortune magazine asked three business leaders what they do for employees when times are tight.

Laura Sejen, global director, strategic awards for Watson Wyatt, an HR consultancy out of Arlington, Va., said employers should strive to cut back bonuses rather than eliminating them completely. “Start a recognition program that gives spot bonuses based on performance. It’s a low-cost way to reward employees and allows you to be selective in granting awards,” Sejen said.
Jim Weddle, CEO and managing partner of Edward Jones, a brokerage firm out of St. Louis, said his company cuts bonuses when the alternative is layoffs. “I’ve been asking managers to simply tell folks that they’re appreciated,” Weddle said.

Weddle said being upfront and honest about the situation eliminates the surprise. “Explain how they system works, and they’ll get it. Revenues are down, so variable compensation is down too.”

Paul Amos II, president and COO of Aflac, Columbus, Ga., agreed that honesty is the best policy when cutting bonuses. “Tell [employees] via every means possible. First, look them in the eye and tell them. They may not fully absorb the changes, so you need to follow up in writing. And then third, make sure to give employees a forum to ask you questions about the change,” Amos said.

Weddle and Amos said they also get creative with their incentives. “We do little things like add casual days. We hired the Ringling Bros. circus to perform for our associates,” Weddle said. “We also recognize folks by giving them a day off to volunteer for causes like Habitat for Humanity,” Amos said.

Glass Magazine publisher Nicole Harris asked glass business owners what they were doing about end-of-year and holiday bonuses in her January 2009 Publisher’s Notes. She received varied responses, including one from an owner who was still undecided about 2008 bonuses. “We stopped doing a Christmas bonus and are doing—or were doing—a bonus on profit. I am considering eliminating that this year in an effort to conserve cash. We are fortunate that we still have work and have only reduced our staff by one. In an environment where many people are losing their jobs, I think my employees will be understanding.”

So, what are your bonus plans for employees? Hopefully nothing with macaroni.


—Katy Devlin, commercial glass & metals editor, fabrication co-editor, Glass Magazine

A day after a CNN poll revealed that 61 percent of Americans oppose bailing out the Big Three automakers, executives of General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC appeared for a second consecutive day of hearings, Dec. 5, before the House Financial Services Committee. The executives testified before the Senate Banking Committee Dec. 4.

The members of the House committee, unwilling to approve taxpayer money to bail out the three, suggested alternatives, including a much smaller emergency transitional amount or a "protected restructuring" under government auspices, according to a Dec. 5 article in The Washington Post.

According to The Post article, in the hearings, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), the committee chairman, said “a lot of mistakes were made," referring to what he described as poor decisions by the auto industry in the past. "The consequence of all those mistakes is that the country is to some extent held hostage.”

One among those mistakes particularly stands out: GM mocking global warming and stubbornly cranking out SUVs. Should Darwinism prevail: Adapt or die?

The “mistakes” continued even up until a couple of weeks ago. During their first unsuccessful appearance on Capitol Hill, the Big Three head honchos flew in on their corporate jets. In stark contrast, Richard Wagoner, chairman and CEO of General Motors, Alan Mulally, president and CEO of Ford, and Robert Nardelli, chairman and CEO of Chrysler, drove or carpooled hybrid or fuel-cell vehicles from Detroit to the December hearings.

On the same note, Chrysler's corporate Web site now touts the following sentence in large type, in the color--you guessed it--green: "It's not a bailout to keep us from failing. It's a loan to help us succeed."

All said and done, Congressional Democrats and the White House still couldn't reach a consensus on how to handle the urgent request for $34 billion in bridge loans—$7 billion for Chrysler, $9 billion for Ford and $18 billion for GM. Democrats and Republicans continued to disagree on where the money should come from, how much should be paid upfront and what kind of conditions to impose. And even though the news of the worst job losses in the U.S. in 30 years--533,000 in November--added urgency to the Big Three's appeal, it still was not good enough for Congress to reach a decision.

Now, I am not saying that the Big Three should not get any loans; given the job losses and the state of the economy, it's a no-brainer that something needs to be done to help the companies stay afloat. But should they get the money without any strings attached? I'm curious to know your thoughts, especially the auto glass repair and replacement folks out there, whose businesses could be directly/indirectly affected by this decision: What would you do with the Big Three? Would you give them the money unconditionally? Not give them a dime? Or give them a lesser amount with conditions, such as producing fuel-efficient cars and serious restructuring within the companies?

By Sahely Mukerji, news editor/managing editor, Glass Magazine

When looking for a little extra motivation in these trying times, sometimes the right movie and/or book can do the trick.

One film that always works for me is The Untouchables.

In one dramatic scene, Sean Connery (playing a gritty Chicago cop) and Kevin Costner (as Elliot Ness) are meeting in a Catholic church. They're debating how to address the Mafia's recent change in tactics, specifically its willingness to shed blood more liberally to achieve its criminal objectives. In other words, the Mafia had just changed the rules of the game, and the FBI was going to have to adapt to the new reality. Sound familiar? As the scene reaches its climax, Connery's character looks at Elliott Ness and asks, "How far are you prepared to go?"

As you know, the rules of the economic game have changed recently. My, how they've changed!

But if you're like me, you believe every problem has its solution. Now don't misunderstand; I'm not trying to sugarcoat your problems or mine. Indeed, every situation is different. As I've found in discussions with several NGA members, many glass shops are adjusting to their new economic realities by branching out into new segments, and doing quite well. Some are finding tougher sledding.

We here at the NGA are adapting our business model by exploring new market opportunities, improving our service and innovating like never before. For example, we recently announced a strategic alliance with Architectural Testing Inc. to extend our state-of-the-art training programs -- notably http://www.myglassclass.com/ -- to the retail window and door market.

One quality that all successful people share is the willingness to meet challenges head-on. Are you conveying that attitude to your staff? Or are you leaving them to wonder what your plan is...or even if you have a plan at all?

NGA members know it is better to prepare than repair. Whatever segment you serve, you understand that the cost of fixing a job done poorly is high. It can turn a profit into a loss in no time flat. The same lessons apply in our role as managers and leaders.

In short, now is the time for leaders to lead.

Looking for some added support and guidance?

Read John Maxwell's "The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player." Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel gave a copy to each member of his staff prior to the season as mandatory reading. I just finished it on my trip out to Vegas for GlassBuild America. Powerful stuff. Much like The Untouchables, it really gets your juices flowing to overcome obstacles.

One last shameless plug. (I know... I know...) Whatever you do, especially if you’re an auto glass retailer, get some added fuel for these challenging times by attending the 2009 NGA Auto Glass Conference and Executive Forum http://glass.org/events/at_ov.htm You'll find a world of great ideas and insights there – on leadership, strategy, technical excellence, you name it. Feb. 18-20 in Orlando.

I’ll even throw in the good weather!

—David Walker, Vice President of Association Services, National Glass Association

It's been a couple of weeks since I returned from Düsseldorf, but I am still digesting the fact that I had the chance to cover the world’s largest glass show. I feel so grown-up in glass age!

The enormity of it hit me while sitting on the plane headed to Düsseldorf and looking at the floor plan of the show. Nine halls? I was going to cover more than 1,300 exhibitors spread over more than 73,000 square meters of net exhibit space? My panic radar was on red. I tried to collect myself thinking about Nicole’s advance pep talk: “Do the best you can, I know you will, and remember, you can’t cover it all.” Nicole hadn't missed a glasstec in more than a decade, but had to cancel this trip at the last minute due to a family emergency. She knew what I was heading into.

“You can’t cover it all.” Invaluable words, as far as glasstec is concerned. Of course, it didn't hit home until I was at the show. As I walked to the fairgrounds from the tram stop the first morning, I remember thinking to myself, “it’s not that bad that I’ll miss my workout the next few days, because if I walk briskly, this hike will tide me over.”

And then I got to the fairgrounds.

It took me a couple of days to orient myself--yes, I am directionally challenged--and then it was a matter of very precise planning to get to places that I needed to get to and at the time specified. For instance, the press office was nearest to Hall 17 and our booth was at Hall 13--long hike; Glaston’s press conference was in Room 1, Conference Center South, and the Messe press meeting was right after at the press center--short hike; meeting with Lisec folks in Hall 17 and a symposium at Hall 11 right after--long hike.

You get the picture. The walk from the tram stop to the fairgrounds was peanuts in comparison to walking the floors.

Eventually, I bettered my sense of direction and knew exactly--down to seconds--how long it would take to walk from one hall to the other. And once I got that down, I couldn’t get enough of the show. I had a hard time dividing my time between symposiums and booths, choosing one symposium over another, and constantly got distracted by the amazing products on the floor while on my way to a particular booth for a meeting. All my meetings took longer than I estimated, and that’s probably just European. They make you sit, have a drink, chat about various issues that don’t have much to do with glass, and by the time you get to their product, it’s time to rush off to another meeting.

At the end of the day, it was an experience of a lifetime to cover glasstec. The products and the technology were mind-boggling, and all that walking reminded me of good old India. We walk a lot in India, but 14 years in this country, and I have gotten spoiled rotten.

And funny thing, even after walking the halls for five days, I had it in me to walk more in the Altstadt, Königsallee or the Kö, and go for a long stroll along the Rhine, up to the harbor, to watch the night skyline of the city. It was almost as cool as the show, but not quite.

"Cool." Now, is that a word a grown-up would use?

Click here to read glasstec coverage.

By Sahely Mukerji, news editor/managing editor, Glass Magazine