What would you think if someone told you you’d receive a $50,000 bonus if you stayed in your job for five years? My guess is that most people would think, “it’s too good to be true” or “you’ve got to be crazy.”
Many people think Dan Schneider, founder and CEO of SIB Development and Consulting, is just that--“crazy.” Dan isn’t crazy, he’s just thinking outside the box and taking valuing his employees to an entirely new level. As stated in an interview with CNNMoney, “in this day and age, there is nothing that makes people loyal to companies anymore. However, a $50,000 retention incentive can change that.” Granted, Dan is a small business owner, but any of his 30 full-time employees are eligible.
This is not too good to be true and there are no strings attached. The incentive is simple: remain loyal to our company and you’ll get a check for $50,000 after five years of service. For those employees who continue to stay, the incentive remains the same. Commit 25 years to the company and you’ll receive a $250,000 check. Talk about putting your money where your mouth is! But how can companies (big or small) afford to offer such an incentive?
In these dicey economic times, Schneider’s program is mentally motivating but, more importantly, cost effective for the entrepreneur. Schneider developed the idea when he realized how much he was spending on training his employees (who would typically stick around for a year or two). Tens of thousands of dollars later and after experimenting with different ways to cut costs, Schneider’s business model developed, putting emphasis on valuing his employees.
A serial entrepreneur, SIB is Schneider’s third company. Schneider has a history of success. His first business, a retail mobile phone company, was started when Schneider was 18. His second company, a wholesale mobile phone company, grew to $35 million in annual sales before being sold. To date, no one has received an incentive check from Schneider because SIB is only in its third year of operations. But employees like Kelly Bogdan, an office manager at SIB, are not job hunting. She states, “It is nice knowing that you have a tangible reward ahead of you if you work hard and do a good job, outside of the regular raises that a normal company does."
Now there’s motivation…
