Over the years, I have found that most warehouse operations utilize gain sharing/ incentives to reward associates for above average productivity. Unfortunately, they usually do not include customer service, quality, accuracy, and safety as parameters in those plans. Engineered Labor Standards are developed to provide sufficient time for the associate to perform their work within the warehouse’s customer service, quality, accuracy, and safety guidelines. Still managers are reluctant at times to hold their associates accountable for performance to the Engineered Labor Standards –particularly in those areas requiring the utmost quality and accuracy. Their concern is that the gain share/incentive plan will reward sloppy work. In fact, their concerns are warranted. The answer to this problem lies in developing a gain share/incentive plan that rewards customer service, quality, accuracy, and safety. One should never reward productivity alone without also providing countervailing rewards that prevent haphazard, unsafe work. Contact Aries Consulting for a comprehensive review of your company’s gain share/incentive system. ACL has assisted several of its clients in developing comprehensive gain share/incentive plans the enhance productivity but not at the detriment of customer service, quality, accuracy, and safety.