Geared Up Issue 1 2015 | Page 28

by Kristen Perez Book Bonus Program | 2015 Issue 1 GearedUp T 26 hey say knowledge and money are power. They are also great incentives. The book bonus program created by Anchor Management Group has seen the power of an incentive based on knowledge and money. The program is an initiative that rewards employees for reading books that instill the company’s core values. The books themselves are business-related, approved by the home office for bonus, and in some cases, are recommended by corporate. Books may be required, or simply recommended. While required reading is only asked of employees in team leader positions and higher within the Planet Fitness system, the incentive is available to all employees. Employees are rewarded $100 for each title they read. They must prove that they not only read the book, but absorbed its information by completing a book bonus form. This form asks for information such as listing three things learned, how the employee will apply this knowledge to his or her job, a summary and whether or not the employee would recommend the book. There is no timeframe to complete a book and there is up to $1,000 in bonuses available to employees. Anchor Management aims to come up with at least one or two books a year for employees to read. They have seen positive reactions to the program and after almost four years, have every intention to further its implementation. One effect of the program is that it is a “quiet training,” meaning employees read a book picked specifically to further the company’s established goals. Through this type of information consumption, employees are learning, developing psychologically and acquiring skills that bring about a change in performance. This “quiet training” also brings about a change in perception, which is its ultimate and most lucrative effect. By changing perception, you change Recommended Reading Raving Fans by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles The E Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber Wooden on Leadership by John Wooden Delivering Knock Your Socks Off Service by Kristin Anderson thought. By changing thought, you change action for far longer than a simple incentive can stimulate. Together, knowledge and incentive create a lasting impression upon your employees’ minds and upon your business. The first three readers to email communications@pffranchisee.org with the subject line,“Book Bonus Program!” will receive a free copy of some of the books used in the incentive program.