The Build-A-Bear Workshop determines the sizes of bonuses for its 240 retail stores not based on sales performance or growth, but on customer satisfaction levels, which it measures monthly and posts at each store. "Employees should be graded on how well they treat customers and rewarded when they do a particularly good job," writes Build-A-Bear founder Maxine Clark in her new book, The Bear Necessities of Business: Building a Company With Heart (Wiley, 2006; coauthor, Amy Joyner). The St. Louis, Mo., company, uses more than bonuses in its motivation mix. Stellar service is recognized publicly with a small token like a tin of brownies—always delivered when the store is busy, of course.


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LAUNCH ARTICLES

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