Need Your Advice! How To Award Thai Workers For Good Performance?

[Yoyo777]

Hi guys,

We've been working with our workers for a couple of months now. It has become clear that some deliver much better performances than the others (we are in some kind of jewelry business). Now we would like to give them better pay for these two, but it is a common practice to tell everyone about this, or rather not inform others? One girl is the youngest and I am afraid that others get jealous... She already spends a lot of time alone. Eventually I want them to supervise work while I am not there, but then would it better to give them better titles so that it would become official? Better title, better pay. We do not have any super sophisticated performance measurement tools, but it is quite obvious that they are much quicker and able to do more complicated things than the others.

I guess there is no right or wrong answer... I just want to respect local customs, that is all... any thoughts?

Thank you!

[jtp]

The idea of giving different titles with differing pay rates is,in my opinion the best option to avoid inter-employee clashes.Using English titles is very effective,and also gives employees something to strive for.In my business i have a first year Sheetmetal Worker,senior stainless fabricator,senior Tig welder,E9 Machinist,supervisor and so on.Each title allows me to pay differing wages,without conflict between workers.However,i am not sure what titles you could give in your industry,so you will have to be creative.Having seen your work,i'm sure that won't be a problem for you!

[Yoyo777]

The idea of giving different titles with differing pay rates is,in my opinion the best option to avoid inter-employee clashes.Using English titles is very effective,and also gives employees something to strive for.In my business i have a first year Sheetmetal Worker,senior stainless fabricator,senior Tig welder,E9 Machinist,supervisor and so on.Each title allows me to pay differing wages,without conflict between workers.However,i am not sure what titles you could give in your industry,so you will have to be creative.Having seen your work,i'm sure that won't be a problem for you!

hi Tritexengineering,

Thank you for your tips! "Senior Stainless Fabricator".... sounds so sexy!!! Yes I still believe that the transparency is the best option. In our company in Germany, we have "Trainee", "Designer", "Junior Designer" and "Senior Designer" (and I am the only Chief Designer )Too complicated words would give them a stress I think, since my girls do not speak English and already have problems remembering crystal colours like "white opal sky blue" "crystal silvershade" "light rose aurore boreal"!!!

I think giving them a title like supervisor is sufficient right? No need to say how much more they should earn... so they are also responsible for managing stock, doing the final quality control etc.

Today we all sat down together and eat some delicious som tam 20 Baht! great price...! In Germany, a good som tam costs at least 350 Baht!!! Unbelievable...!!!

[think_too_mut]

The idea of giving different titles with differing pay rates is,in my opinion the best option to avoid inter-employee clashes.Using English titles is very effective,and also gives employees something to strive for.In my business i have a first year Sheetmetal Worker,senior stainless fabricator,senior Tig welder,E9 Machinist,supervisor and so on.Each title allows me to pay differing wages,without conflict between workers.However,i am not sure what titles you could give in your industry,so you will have to be creative.Having seen your work,i'm sure that won't be a problem for you!

hi Tritexengineering,

Thank you for your tips! "Senior Stainless Fabricator".... sounds so sexy!!! Yes I still believe that the transparency is the best option. In our company in Germany, we have "Trainee", "Designer", "Junior Designer" and "Senior Designer" (and I am the only Chief Designer )Too complicated words would give them a stress I think, since my girls do not speak English and already have problems remembering crystal colours like "white opal sky blue" "crystal silvershade" "light rose aurore boreal"!!!

I think giving them a title like supervisor is sufficient right? No need to say how much more they should earn... so they are also responsible for managing stock, doing the final quality control etc.

Today we all sat down together and eat some delicious som tam 20 Baht! great price...! In Germany, a good som tam costs at least 350 Baht!!! Unbelievable...!!!

Where do you end up with inventing new titles?

What about next year?

The year after?

[BigSnake]

Treating them to lunch at an Upscale Resturant in the Area would be a good starting point. Let be known to them before hand that this is your thank you to him/her or them for their support and a job well doing. A few hours off early would also be a nice touch, may suggest time to greet the family early for dinner.

[jtp]

I always feel the title gives them something to strive for..Also it makes the person getting the title(Say senior) feel they are appreciated,and gives them a level of pride in the company,thus returning a higher quality of workmanship.

[sbk]

posts and their responses have been deleted. If you have nothing concrete to offer in the way of advice for the OP then please don't hijack the thread with posts, thanks.

[Merangue]

Deleted as SBK already dealt with the issue.

Edited March 6, 2009 by Merangue

[think_too_mut]

posts and their responses have been deleted. If you have nothing concrete to offer in the way of advice for the OP then please don't hijack the thread with posts, thanks.

What can you offer to a troll?

[jtp]

posts and their responses have been deleted. If you have nothing concrete to offer in the way of advice for the OP then please don't hijack the thread with posts, thanks.

What can you offer to a troll?

She's not a troll,you are unbelievable.

[jtp]

sbk made it very clear pal,pull your head in!

[Merangue]

I think a combination of the above is a good option

Make it a Promotion to a new title, a small celebratery announcement ( perhaps food involved) and of course the increase in wages.

In this way they get to be lauded by the boss in front of the rest. They get an increase in wage ( no need to say how much ) and the rest get to munch on some tasty food and at the same time are given the opportunity to congratulate the two being promoted.

Generally if there is free food on offer most people, Thai or otherwise, are more amenable to saying nice things about others.

[jtp]

I think a combination of the above is a good option

Make it a Promotion to a new title, a small celebratery announcement ( perhaps food involved) and of course the increase in wages.

In this way they get to be lauded by the boss in front of the rest. They get an increase in wage ( no need to say how much ) and the rest get to munch on some tasty food and at the same time are given the opportunity to congratulate the two being promoted.

Generally if there is free food on offer most people, Thai or otherwise, are more amenable to saying nice things about others.

Food does give that smooth feeling to a ceremony,doesn't it. I like that idea.

Edited March 6, 2009 by tritexengineering

[Yoyo777]

ohhh I missed on some deleted comments! Troll (never called that before - kinda cute though, thanx think_too_mut) , ignorant, whatever I am, I just want to learn and understand the culture as much as I can so that we can offer our staff the most optimal working place.

there won't be more titles in any case. in our work, it will all depends on who decides things if certain things are not clear, like how to best implement designs, etc. If I am not there, I really need someone to give some kind of authority so that the others can follow. And these two girls I mentioned, they have the best eyes and talent, who understands me the best.

So I guess I will just tell them that they are both officially a supervisor, so they don't feel to much pressure. They communicate well, so I think it would be easier to deal with.

BigSnake: that is a great advise... but then I guess we have to invite their boyfriends etc, too? They are so sweet, we have offered them once a week lunch at a small restaurant around the corner (cost 30-35 Baht per food) because they are just great. They didn't accept it, because they think we are already too nice (because we provide them with Pepsi and water in their fridge!). Early time off, day off would be nice, too. Great tips!

Tritex....: I think the title is important too. We do that in Germany. Like I said, in what we do, there is no best way of doing things. Everyone has to make a decision, and often, inexperienced one makes a bad decision. Then if the other has a "better titel", then it is her job, too, to spot out mistake and correct it. Would they understand "supervisor" or what is equivalent in Thai? Thank you for defending me, you are my knight!!! hahaha

Merangue: ohhhhh I think I know what we can do! Today as we were eating som tam together, we started talking about crabs - everyone was like "ohhhhh aroy mak mak mak!!!!". There is a popular fish restaurant near by - may be I can take them there and order a big portion of crab curry!!!!or... since I am Japanese, I can also treat them to lovely Japanese food! Make it an official "promotion meal"! Great idea!!!

I really thank you guys for giving me some kind comments on my silly questions... I am just so new in Bangkok and really feel like don't know anything... or rather, I am so afraid of making any mistakes in treating our Thai staff!

[Merangue]

Would they understand "supervisor" or what is equivalent in Thai?

Supervisor = ผู้ควบคุม = pôo kûap kum = Control Person or Command person.

[Yoyo777]

Would they understand "supervisor" or what is equivalent in Thai?

Supervisor = ผู้ควบคุม = pôo kûap kum = Control Person or Command person.

Kop Khun Ka, Merangue, I hope I will be able to write in Thai someday!

[Merangue]

I will be honest i don't yet have the ability to write in Thai but i am trying to learn.

I cheat in the meantime using the Thai2English site and the downloadable package. Very good it is too.

[Yoyo777]

I will be honest i don't yet have the ability to write in Thai but i am trying to learn.

I cheat in the meantime using the Thai2English site and the downloadable package. Very good it is too.

hi Merangue,

I know the site! I use it very often to communicate with my girls. didn't know that there is a downloadable package? I have a small dictionary but it has such a very limited range of vocabulary, plus approx. 30 pages under L & M are MISSING! Great, isn't it.....

[Merangue]

I will be honest i don't yet have the ability to write in Thai but i am trying to learn.

I cheat in the meantime using the Thai2English site and the downloadable package. Very good it is too.

hi Merangue,

I know the site! I use it very often to communicate with my girls. didn't know that there is a downloadable package? I have a small dictionary but it has such a very limited range of vocabulary, plus approx. 30 pages under L & M are MISSING! Great, isn't it.....

Thai2English brought out the downloadable version only fairly recently and in all honesty it is pretty good. It also has a section for beginners on learning to read Thai.

You can try it for free but cannot copy and paste with it unless you pay the US$39.99 which also gets you the lifetime updates.

It is a lot better than the Main site. Much larger range of wording and of course it will expand over time as well.

Here is the link

http://blog.thai2english.com/

[Kf6vci]

Sanuk can be part of it. Let's have fun together. They will all crave some recognition and a guesture of appreciation. You might surprise and please these two individually and outside the team.

[Yoyo777]

I will be honest i don't yet have the ability to write in Thai but i am trying to learn.

I cheat in the meantime using the Thai2English site and the downloadable package. Very good it is too.

hi Merangue,

I know the site! I use it very often to communicate with my girls. didn't know that there is a downloadable package? I have a small dictionary but it has such a very limited range of vocabulary, plus approx. 30 pages under L & M are MISSING! Great, isn't it.....

Thai2English brought out the downloadable version only fairly recently and in all honesty it is pretty good. It also has a section for beginners on learning to read Thai.

You can try it for free but cannot copy and paste with it unless you pay the US$39.99 which also gets you the lifetime updates.

It is a lot better than the Main site. Much larger range of wording and of course it will expand over time as well.

Here is the link

http://blog.thai2english.com/

That sounds wonderful! I just threw away my dictionary - it is totally useless, nothing is correct in there! I will order it tomorrow! I hope that they will also add some audio files soon so that I can realy learn the pronounciation at the same time... Today I had my first Thai lesson with the teacher I found in this forum. I was so surprised how good his English is, and how professional he presented himself...

[Yoyo777]

Sanuk can be part of it. Let's have fun together. They will all crave some recognition and a guesture of appreciation. You might surprise and please these two individually and outside the team.

Hi, I strongly agree I think they are very happy with what they do, and of course we always try to praise them for the excellent performance they give us. So far everyone has been treated the same (we order food for them often, or bring them yummy icecream cake from Swensen's, some cash bonus... today we gave them some beautiful crystal pendants and they were soooo happy!!!) but for those two special girls, I have been slowly giving them more difficult & challenging work... and others seem to accept it. I try to allocate work fairy so that everyone gets the similar experience, but there are certain types of work which require extra precisions and skills... I mean, these two are sooooo much quicker than the others and understand me better, so I really don't think others would feel jealous to see these two promoted. It is just an obvious fact. So now we are planning a celebration dinner.... I think it would be great

[Nouf]

Hi Yoyo

i have actually spoke with a few ladies about your questions it seems the common answer is indeed a salary that is higher than the other ladies and is the 1st choice regardless of status

After all if you do more work, then the salary should confirm the role of the employee etc

what seems to be choice is some sort of Supervisory role, ie a manager or Supervisor, which was suggested, some sort or prefix or title

It really boils down to respect as you will no doubt know by now, if the ladies in question are a better workers than the others, it should not come as any surprise your choices as a supervisor, regardless of age, it would help a little if the age was similar,

But the ladies i spoke with confirmed what you have thought, regarding perks, presents etc, it still boils down to money, they would prefer the higher salary as oppessed to gifts,treats etc

As you will find out the longer you stay here, Money helps alot in this country

You can use the Mamasan approach with the ladies as its a similar concept, (i dont want to dwell of what a mamasan is, goggle it, as it might infringe the Thai visa rules as it would involve talking about the ladies of the night)

but the concept is the same, you have a lady(ies) that the other ladies look up to, again its respect, and as long as you have that in your team they should work well together

The ladies i questioned work for Jim thompson and that is run via the supervisor system where the girls look to the senior to resolve/fix the problems

if for some reason an older member doesnt like being under a younger member it might help to explain why you chose the younger lady and express the qualities you saw to make that decision, but like i say it should be obvious, if its not, then that may cause some friction

From what i have seen, thai`s are serious & hard working especially the Non Bangkok folks, if they come from out of town, they are likely to be part of a group from their city and possibly live/eat together in the night time away from work, so its likely they all know each other well anyhow

Some westerners could use a lesson from what i have seen on what hard work really is.

A little respect goes a long way in this country.

Edited March 9, 2009 by Nouf

[Yoyo777]

Hi Yoyo

i have actually spoke with a few ladies about your questions it seems the common answer is indeed a salary that is higher than the other ladies and is the 1st choice regardless of status

After all if you do more work, then the salary should confirm the role of the employee etc

what seems to be choice is some sort of Supervisory role, ie a manager or Supervisor, which was suggested, some sort or prefix or title

It really boils down to respect as you will no doubt know by now, if the ladies in question are a better workers than the others, it should not come as any surprise your choices as a supervisor, regardless of age, it would help a little if the age was similar,

But the ladies i spoke with confirmed what you have thought, regarding perks, presents etc, it still boils down to money, they would prefer the higher salary as oppessed to gifts,treats etc

As you will find out the longer you stay here, Money helps alot in this country

You can use the Mamasan approach with the ladies as its a similar concept, (i dont want to dwell of what a mamasan is, goggle it, as it might infringe the Thai visa rules as it would involve talking about the ladies of the night)

but the concept is the same, you have a lady(ies) that the other ladies look up to, again its respect, and as long as you have that in your team they should work well together

The ladies i questioned work for Jim thompson and that is run via the supervisor system where the girls look to the senior to resolve/fix the problems

if for some reason an older member doesnt like being under a younger member it might help to explain why you chose the younger lady and express the qualities you saw to make that decision, but like i say it should be obvious, if its not, then that may cause some friction

From what i have seen, thai`s are serious & hard working especially the Non Bangkok folks, if they come from out of town, they are likely to be part of a group from their city and possibly live/eat together in the night time away from work, so its likely they all know each other well anyhow

Some westerners could use a lesson from what i have seen on what hard work really is.

A little respect goes a long way in this country.

hi Nouf,

Thank you for your thoughtful comments. I am from Japan so respect issues are also very important to me. but of course I am still not so certain what kind of customs are apparent in every day workplace in Thailand, hence posting this thread to gather some comments from our Tv members.

Yes I would like to reward them with higher salary being a design supervisor - but then it is still not exactly the same as the role we have in Germany, there my "supervisor" takes cares of EVERYTHING in production, also managing other employees. In our case here in BKK, these 2 girls should be the one to decide what to be done as far as the design implementation is concerned when I am away, but they are superior only in terms of their craftsmanship, not in terms of their personal skills. They are not exactly the dominant type to lead others... but they definitely have eyes to tell others if something is wrong. The dilemma is, if they get this job, can they force it on others? or would others cooperate? Hence I wanted to have two of them to be the joint-supervisor so that they would not feel alone.

I know what mamasan is, it would be a perfect role for the most dominant staff, namely the oldest worker we have (although she is only 32). She is the only one I am concerned of, if others get promoted. but I cannot make her the all-round supervisor because her creativity is somehow limited and more over, she is quite stubborn and can get easily moody when I tell her to correct things. But then she is not pissed at me, but pissed at herself!!! But she never gives up - Miss Perfectionist!!! May be I could give her an extra job to manage inventory etc so that she does not lose face... if some hundred bahts a month can avoid any potential frictions, then may be it is worth it.

We have been giving some gifts etc but I don't consider this as part of the remuneration. I completely understand that sometimes they prefer to get extra money, but then it would make our company too impersonal. I just want our workplace to be as comfortable workplace as possible for us all and shares certain degrees of joys of working together. I mean food or snack is just complimentary, I gave these crystal pendants because they are the elements we had in stock - kind of relevant to what they do. And they really loved them!

Some westerners could use a lesson from what i have seen on what hard work really is.

What does hard work mean these days? Compared to my staff in Germany, our girls here are so grateful that they are able to work. Never complained, very disciplined to carry out their work. In Germany as soon as they enter the comfort zone, they starts to be increasingly lazy and quite often hard to convince them to do overtime work. This is when they start to complain that they get paid too little, and some would start to make a joke about "I'd rather stay at home and collect unemployment benefits!". Germany is definitely the worst country to be in if you are a business owner!