Creating a Plan

• The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants states that every company, and often every department, sector or project, needs its own incentive plan. Management should begin designing plans by establishing very clear and realistic goals and defining all parameters. Therefore, employees working in a car manufacturer's corporate office have a plan distinct from those working in a plant or in direct sales.
  
  

Corporate Offices

• Salaried employees in corporate offices should work with plans that increase efficiency as well as meet other specific goals identified and defined by management. Cash bonuses can inspire employees to work more or improve quality, though management should take care not to make rewards too hard, which makes the incentive not worth the effort, or too easy, which can cause employees to take the incentive for granted. Stock incentives can bring employees' interests in line with owners' interests as employees become shareholders.
  
  

Plants

• Salaried employees at automotive plants can receive and administer incentive plans to increase production, efficiency and safety. Workers can get bonuses for increasing units produced in a given time period and decreasing waste, accidents and sub-par units. The CBS Business Network highlighted one plan that gave a cash bonus to plant teams that cooperated to reduce waste and increase safety by preventing accidents.
  
  

On the Lot

• The automotive industry focuses much of its incentive efforts on increasing sales at dealerships. Car salespeople often receive a base salary but make commissions on cars they sell. The Kellogg School of Management cautions companies to continue monitoring and tweaking dealership incentive plans, especially since overly aggressive plans can demoralize salespeople and disrupt sales patterns.