Reward award

What's the key to keeping employees satisfied? Not surprisingly, money matters most. Seventy percent of employees surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management reported that compensation is the most important factor in job satisfaction, followed by benefits.

Compensation alone, though, is not enough to differentiate a company as an employer of choICe. As the labour market tightens, companies need to increasingly emphasise non-monetary rewards. Work/life balance benefits help make many organisations employers of choICe among certain groups of workers. Employees, especially women and those under 35 years old, have consistently rated work/life balance as a major component to overall job satisfaction.

Many SC&RA member companies remain attractive by offering a regular schedule or planning carefully so that drivers, crane operators and labourers are home more often. An investment in electronIC toll passes can help companies reduce their drivers' time on the road.

You also can stand out by making work feel more like home. Something as simple as comfortable seats and reliable air conditioning can make a huge difference for operators of cranes and trucks. Larger, more comfortable sleeper berths found in many newer model tractors also can dramatICally improve driver satisfaction.

Whether a company acts ethICally also is a signifICant factor in the average person's willingness to work for an employer, according to independent research released in August by LRN, a provider of governance, ethICs and compliance management applICations and servICes. More than one in three employed AmerICans have actually left a job because they disagreed with a company's business ethICs.

Eighty-two percent said they would prefer to be paid less but work for a company with ethICal business practICes than receive higher pay at a company with questionable ethICs. It's worth noting, however, that 86% of those employed full-time in professional or managerial positions would prefer to work for an ethICal company rather than be paid more, compared with 76% of those working in blue collar occupations.

Regardless of the company, insisting on ethICal behaviour from top to bottom is a prudent business decision. Companies that inspire principled conduct throughout their workforce experience fewer ethICal distractions.

You will often find that good men and women work much harder for reasons other than money. You can give people true satisfaction by acknowledging their efforts and achievements with awards. SC&RA can help. We offer a number of prestigious awards for individuals and businesses.

Professional drivers, for example, who have accumulated a minimum of one million consecutive miles of safe driving in the industry are eligible for the Million Miler Award, an 11-inch pewter plate carrying the winner's name. Whenever you have drivers who qualify for this award, you should help them gain the recognition they deserve by submitting entry forms on their behalf.

Your entire company can share the satisfaction of receiving other honours, including safety awards, safety improvement awards, and zero accident awards in crane & rigging and transportation categories. Consider combining an SC&RA Awards Program with a programme at your company that offers incentives such as bonuses and gifts.

The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration found that after companies introduced safety incentive programmes, the incidence of insurance claims, workers' compensation claims, and crashes decreased by 65%. Incentive programs that offer progressively increasing safety bonuses for longer periods of crash-free operation give drivers a material reason for staying with their employers rather than moving to another place of work, where they would have to start again to accumulate safety credits.

Remember, too, that SC&RA offers Job of the Year Awards in crane & rigging and in hauling categories. Employees who can tell relatives and friends that they were instrumental in a job recognised as one of the best in the world definitely will feel like they're part of a winning team. Such success breeds loyalty.

We encourage all SC&RA member companies to partICipate in our Awards Program. For rules and entry forms, visit our web site at www.scranet.org