Case Note-- Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc.
This article is a case about Harrah’s Entertainment Inc.’s hiring policies and reward system. Harrah’s instituted an incentive pay plan to reward its employees, in order to implant a competitive mindset in its employees and, ultimately, improve customer satisfaction. However, the gain sharing program was not as effective as it designed. Many of Harrah’s employees feel that the managers kept raising the bar on their expectations on customer service improvements. Employees would not be able to meet the targeted. They continue to work hard but no longer receive the incentive payout. This resulted in employees feeling like their hard work was not recognized, they are no longer get motivated. Winn needs to find a way to revise the employee rewards program that she has implemented to reduce turnover, improve employee motivation, and improve customer satisfaction.
I believe Winn needs to reevaluate the incentive program. In order to get employees at Harrah’s motivated, it’s important to understanding employees’ preferences. I think Harrah’s should have a settled target on customer satisfaction instead of moving the benchmark away from realistic expectations. This would allow employees to feel a sense of accomplishment once they achieved the defined target. Also, Harrah’s could collect feedback from employees of the current reward system or new ideas on how the system could be changed and how the customer service program could be improved. In addition, Winn could customize current system to give employees the option to receive cash reward or others, for example, a paid leave. I believe this is the best way to get employees motivated again. The purpose of option would be to send a message to the employees that Harrah’s values its employee’s opinion and cares about its employees. By getting a physical reward, employees are less likely to feel entitled to the cash reward. Implementing this plan will lead to better satisfaction...