Better than cash

As another busy year comes to a close, it brings with it the annual mental debate about “bonuses” and whether it is better to motivate people particularly employees, in cash or in kind. I actually came across a case study featured on a back issue of the Harvard Business Review that presented the dilemma to several experts in the field of Human Resource, Management and Finance. Interestingly, while there seems to be a universal agreement that “prize money” is always appreciated there are those who are pushing for reforming our view of the “carrot on a stick” system.

In particular, it is suggested that instead of depending totally on a cash based or performance bonus system, management executives and business owners should consider promoting or selling the idea that “Training programs”, seminars and workshops are also a form of “bonus” and not exclusively in the interest of the company or employer. To begin with training programs, seminars and workshops costs money. At today’s rates, putting together the smallest cheapest inspirational talks on Customer Care, Salesmanship, Integrity costs three or more times than many employees think.

Even if the event were done inside their conference room or factory, that space and utilities have a cost. Even if the boss were the speaker it costs something because their time costs or makes money. Many employees and executives fail to appreciate that while they are getting a training, seminar or workshop for free, they continue to be paid by the company to become better at their job, more empowered in their future and gain stock knowledge and certificates that increase their opportunities for promotion. Unlike your office table or corner office that stays behind when you leave or resign, the knowledge you gain go with you. The most that companies manage to do is make you sign a 1-year non-competing clause, but you still own the knowledge.

Employees and executives also lose sight of the fact that while cash bonuses and financial incentives gives you a sense of consumer power and the ability to make your shopping dreams come true, it is a short lived benefit. For the most part, 13 month, 14 month or year-end bonuses literally ends there. Cash bonuses are limited to a monthly figure such as base pay or a percentage of a projected sales forecast, and that’s it. On the other hand, when was the last time you tried to quantify, the actual value of a training, seminar or workshop? Factor into that the caliber and experience of invited experts and celebrities who are rarely seen in the academic environment, sharing with you information and experiences tailor made to boost your knowledge and expertise or expand your management skill set.

In the last 2 months, I’ve had the unique opportunity of observing all these in many such events. In some cases, I got a double portion of blessing being paid as a moderator, while learning so much from the sidelines listening to guests and company executives teach their junior associates about the business, corporate concerns and social responsibility. At the very least, I often walked away with material for this column, gained a better understanding of a company, or actually earned a short term education on Corporate Social Responsibility, Disaster Management, Consumer Banking or even Urban planning and design.

For instance, last Friday I was invited to help moderate a company wide Communicators Conference for San Miguel Corporation that featured 7 top caliber speakers in the area of crisis management, communications, social media and reputation management, corporate social responsibility, media engagement, and government relations. Albay Governor Joey Salceda who spoke on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management set the tone as he shared how he opted to invest on “kindness” instead of the politics of infrastructure. Help the most helpless by prioritizing education all they way to college, educate people how to protect themselves, and if you are the capital of disasters in the country, then turn it into the Center of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management of the Philippines. One of the best lessons that Salceda shared was to develop an appreciation for the numbers and statistics because they are very useful guides in policy planning and action.

Second speaker was Ms. Tenny Menorca, the head of SMC’s Corporate Human Resources who talked about Crisis Communication and Management coming out of the Guimaras oil spill. Menorca’s presentation was equal to a step-by-step case study of how things can go wrong even without you trying and how executives can eventually catch up and turn the tide with focus and teamwork. Important lesson from her presentation was problems are solved when people take ownership and recognize who can or should handle what. Don’t try to do everything on your own, always count on your team.  As expected the presentation of Dr. Donald Lim, a young but very experienced authority on Social Media and business as well as reputation management garnered a lot of interest from a crowd that was not fully immersed in Social media as of yet. After watching a series of viral videos featuring “Blair the bully”, “Amalayer”, “I should have been informed” and the tear jerk Coke OFW Christmas project and learning how to promote or bring down a Cyber issue, the participants quickly understood that social media needed to be in their communicators’ template.

The three speakers alone provided information overload even before lunch, but the sessions carried on as veteran broadcaster Ces Oreña-Drilon taught an audience of about 110 people practical knowledge on how media organizations operate and “think’, how to best engage the media and develop relationships. Then I was asked to introduce a double-header of experts on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) namely Mr. Sonny Carpio the Executive Vice President and Managing Trustee of the Aboitiz Foundation and Mr. Max Ventura the Executive Director of the Philam Foundation. Considering their combined knowledge and experience in CSR anyone in the audience would have fully understood the why, what and how of CSR and how it helps create better employees, able executives and generates some of the most effective means of communicating the core values of a company and its employees.

The last speaker was the one I was the most curious about since it was no less than the Majority floor leader of the current Congress, Mandaluyong Congressman Boyet Gonzales talking about lobbying and government relations. Cong. Boyet taught us a handful regarding the legislative process, the legitimacy of promoting and protecting business and community interests in relation to proposed bills or legislation and an over view on how to initiate or conduct lobby action.

To cap the event, the SMC Corporate Affairs Office called in Malou Tiquia a policy analyst and actual lobbyist to conduct an actual workshop exercise that required everyone to use all the inputs of 7 speakers in developing a crisis communications plan.

Safe to say, you will never find what you are not looking for and sometimes we need others to point out what we take for granted or fail to appreciate. Take these trainings seriously because “wisdom is worth more than it’s weight in gold”.

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