^Ri^^-'F,^:-:.. 



^ii^;:i;,v' 



TRADE TRIES 



<^ PROFIT SHARING 



To meet the problems created by the scarcity of labor during the last 

 two years, a number of florists have put into practice profit-sharing plans. 

 Many others Jiave manifested an interest in them, seeing a possibility of 

 remedying their own. difficidties. Here are told the plans forisis have tried. 



VERY florist whose busi- 

 ness is of such size that it 

 cannot be handled by a 

 few workers, all in close 

 contact with their em- 

 ployer, has racked his 

 brain continually during 

 the last two years to find 

 a means of meeting the 

 acute problems presented 

 I IV tlio scarcity of help. How to over- 

 roiiie the general unrest that has pre- 

 \ ailcil in greenhouse and store, impelling 

 ( iii|iloyecs to express vague dissatisfac- 

 tion and often leave for no real reason, 

 lias been a subject pondered frequently 

 and at length. Time and again the em- 

 ployer 's thoughts have turned to forms 

 of remuneration, whether 

 profit-sharing, bonuses or 

 some other addition to the 

 usual wages, as a possible 

 solution of the problem. At 

 trade meetings the subject 

 lias bobbed up, to evoke 

 general discussion but to 

 loach no definite conclu- 

 sions. Not infrequently in- 

 quiries have been made of 

 The Review as to forms of 

 I'rofit-sharing or bonus pay- 

 ments best adapted to this 

 trade. Indeed, the wide- 

 spread recurrence of this 

 topic has compelled its rec- 

 f>!,'iution as one of much im- 

 I'ortance in the minds of 

 inombers of the trade, in all 

 Its l)ranches. 



mediate success in their efforts to create 

 a plan adapted to their peculiar needs. 



In addition to meeting the needs pre- 

 scribed by the working conditions of the 

 trade, such a plan must also be formed 

 witJi recognition of the temperament of 

 the men who are to work under it, for 

 the personal factor is exceedingly im- 

 portant in profit-sharing systems. 



-. Personal Element. 



That is only logical, since the object 

 of such a system is to replace the stimu- 

 lus supplied in small establishments by 

 the personal contact of employer with 

 employee. Where the proprietor is able, 

 by his example and presence, to establish 

 an esprit de corps and by constant asso- 



Peculiax Needs. 



HOLDING THE HANDS 



To devise a form of profit- 



>liaring suited to the needs 



•>} this trade is not easy. 



^.'Jll proof of that fact is 



Kuen by the experience of 



tl'ose who have tried. Mod- 



"'•■•itions, if not complete 



'•''•inses, have been found 



'necessary in all cases, not 



l.'^cause the initial plan was 



:;^'>"ymitself, but because 



, i.^i^ 0^ the employees 



,'f t , ^""r^"* from tijg^ desired and ex- 



,'',^: ^his is not a condition con- 



. "ca to this industry; it is true and has 

 '•n true since profit-sharing was first 



; "«Pted. Study of the most success- 



. ' ' SA stems, in existence for many years, 

 , 'arge manufacturing corporations of 

 "nn ''''*^i of the Procter & Gamble Co., 

 , P makers, discloses that the original 



• n nas undergone many transforma- 

 ir-n ^'".1^ '*^ establishment. It is not 



- n , I' vL'"^^*''^' if florists, whose work 



./o. fn\ ^^'■^^t ^^^^ that in standard- 

 lactory conditions, do not meet im- 



The war's draining of men from the 

 florists' field of work into the army and 

 into other industries, from which many 

 have not returned, has caused in this 

 trade a labor problem more acute than 

 the general scarcity that has prevailed 

 throughout the country. In conse- 

 quence has arisen a keen interest in 

 profit-sharing plans as a means of hold- 

 ing the hands in greenhouse and store. 



They are, consequently, energetic or 

 slack in accordance with their estima- 

 tion of the proportionate value of serv- 

 ice and return. They do not feel that 

 they are working in their own behalf, 

 but in some one 's else interest. To coun- 

 teract that feeling is the object of the 

 profit-sharing plan, or bonus system, or 

 whatever style of extra payment one 

 wishes to establish. 



There are other objects of a profit- 

 sharing system. In addition to creating 

 a spirit of loyalty and interest, it is 

 urged by advocates that such a plan in- 

 creases efficiency and cooperation, that 

 it promotes continuous service and gets 

 rid of rolling stones, that it secures 

 regular attendance and induces the per- 

 sons interested to work 

 harder, that it thereby de- 

 creases the cost of produc- 

 tion and increases the prof- 

 its in the business, that it 

 enables a firm to keep its 

 employees during rush sea- 

 st)ns. 



Perhaps the perfect prof- 

 it-sharing plan would ac- 

 complish these things if the 

 individuals to whom it was 

 applied were to react ac- 

 cording to expectations. 

 Some of the results are ob- 

 tained under plans now in 

 force, but often disappoint- 

 ment and discouragement 

 come from the workers' lack 

 of appreciation of the em- 

 ployers' effort. 



Faults Found. 



elation to discover and remove any 

 hindrance to a perfectly functioning en- 

 terprise, the desire for or need of a 

 profit-sharing plan is not perceptible. 



In a large business, however, the 

 presence of the proprietor is not able 

 to be felt by the individual workers. 

 They do not receive the appreciation 

 and commendation that in the smaller 

 establishment is worth so much, regard- 

 less of money payment. The employees 

 think of their service to the business 

 in dollars and cents and calculate their 

 worth in return in the same medium. 



From various sources 

 come various reports. One 

 is that the employees seemed 

 to prefer their total earn- 

 ings in fixed wages with no 

 variable element. Another 

 is that they were suspicious 

 of the employer's motives; 

 or that, in spite of the bonus 

 or share in the profits, they 

 sought higher wages; or 

 that after a large distribu- 

 tion of profits one year, the employees 

 were disgruntled if they received a 

 smaller one the following year; or that, 

 upon being told they were {o have an 

 interest in the business, the workers im- 

 mediately told their employers how it 

 should be run. These are the points in- 

 dicated as responsible for the lack of 

 success of profit-sharing by those Who 

 have tried it. 



There are, of course, many kinds of 

 profit-sharing. Indeed, the term, profit- 

 sharing, itself requires some definition. 

 It is here used to mean a remuneration 



