THE GUIDE POINTS SYSTEM BY DON STOCK, THE ADVENTURE GUILD
A guide incentive program can be an important influence on work culture and staff retention.
Finding and preparing staff for vari - ous roles within an aerial adventure company takes significant time and resources. Retaining staff should be given as much time, attention, and creativity as staff acquisition and onboarding. Without this invest - ment, we’re hopelessly consigned to the hiring and training loop, adding stress to our every day. There is ample information available to help us understand the factors that contribute to employee job satisfaction and retention (see “Staff Retention, Part 2” on p. 26) . Some of these factors, like competitive pay, work/life balance, job security and stability, and supportive leadership, are obvious. If we get those things wrong, it won’t matter what else we do, talented employees are not likely to stay with us long-term. Other factors aren’t quite as self-ev- ident, and can be easy to neglect or miss completely. Those factors include opportunities for growth and develop- ment, a positive and supportive work culture, recognition and rewards for good work, and opportunities for social interaction and team development. Path to success. Even in seasonal work like guiding or facilitating, people want a path to learn, grow, and acquire new skills, and to make more money be- cause of that advancement. Creating op- portunities for employees to shine and be celebrated for their contributions is a big part of fostering and feeding that kind of work environment. Providing those opportunities within a frame- work focused on teamwork and strong interpersonal relationships contributes greatly to overall job satisfaction.
A culture like that makes recruiting and retention exponentially easier. Ignore those factors and be prepared to compound the difficulty of finding and retaining quality staff. Developing an Incentive Program So, how do we intentionally incorporate these dynamics into everyday operations in a way that makes them self-sustain- ing amid all the other things we have to keep up with? For us at The Adventure Guild, game theory provided the answer. For those unfamiliar with the concept, game theory is a mathematical ap- proach to understanding decision-mak- ing and strategic behavior. It was devel- oped by John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern in the 1940s. Among other things, employers use it to design incen- tive programs that encourage employ- ees to behave in ways that benefit both themselves and the company. For example, a company may offer bonuses or other perks to employees who achieve certain goals. This is a win- win arrangement: Employees benefit by performing well and the company benefits from increased productivity and profitability. Using the theory, we developed a guide incentive program that focuses on the often-overlooked factors shown to increase employee satisfaction and retention. The Guide Points System The creatively titled “Guide Points System” is an integrated part of our employee and operations manual.
It includes various components that incentivize teamwork, provide rewards for specific actions and attitudes, and provide recognition based on guest and peer feedback. As the name implies, the program is built on a system of points accrued through various actions and behaviors. Each guide accumulates points over weeks, months, or the entire season, that can be used to acquire various items, benefits, or rewards Kudos. The points system recognizes things that are important to our busi- ness and culture. For example, since ensuring that staff make good money is key to retention, we encourage tipping and have incorporated the Guide Points System into the tipping process to allow guides to earn additional rewards. To do this, we make tipping as easy as possible for patrons. We place tip boxes in a prominent location beneath a world map on which patrons place pins of where they are from. Each guide has their own box with their photo on it and a QR code that links to their Venmo (a mobile app-based payment service). In addition, we provide small note pads and golf pencils for patrons or other staff to use to leave notes of thanks or appreciation in a guide’s tip box. Each of those notes constitutes a “kudos” and is worth a set number of points in the incentive program. Role-specific points. Guide of the Day, Week, Month, and Year recognitions are also part of the system, each with vary- ing point values. Role-specific points can also be earned for things like serv- ing as a lead guide or course manager
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