A million-dollar incentive plan
Two and a half years ago, the 325 employees who manufactured paper egg cartons at a Diamond International plant in Palmer, Mass., faced a cloudy future. Styrofoam containers were creating stiff competition, the recession was biting into profits, and with the American economy worsening, workers were suffering a bad case of unemployment jitters. Recalls Daniel Boyle, personnel director of the Diamond plant: "Relations between labor and management were strained at best."
Then Boyle, 35, devised a system of productivity incentives called the 100 Club. The results exceeded his wildest expectations. Today productivity at the plant is up 16.5%,...