Sharing a piece of the pie

Looking for a new way to keep your team motivated? When team members at Franklin County Animal Hospital Inc., in Rocky Mount, Va., got into a rut, they adopted an idea from 1001 Ways to Energize Employees by Bob Nelson (Workman Publishing Co., 1997), and modified it to fit their practice.

Each department offers suggestions for improvement, and if the suggestion is implemented, the department gets one piece of a paper "pie." When they earn eight slices—a whole pie—the team members in that department go out to eat together, on the clinic. "The program really encourages departments to work as teams," says hospital manager Sherri Krauss. Krauss says she's had a variety of suggestions, from getting a new mailbox to changing kennel-cleaning routines. "Everyone sees that their opinions count, and it's fun for teams to get together outside the practice on company time," she says.