For the first time in the history of the Sault Tribe Board of Directors, the decision was made to reduce the board salaries by a whopping 25%. A well-timed move on the part of Todd Gravelle was reluctantly given unanimous approval by the board, effective immediately. This is a savings of over $200,000 a year but it is not enough.
What else could they do in this election year, especially considering the state of the tribe's finances? The first cuts rightfully belonged to the board because of the failure by most of them to pay attention to the business end of the tribe. Start taking a look at those expense accounts for the board and find another 25-50 grand.
The next step should be to examine salary ranges per position versus state and federal standards. I have no doubt that the tribe's pay scales are way out of whack with the cream going to the top and the bottom barely surviving on skimpy unfair wages. The financially responsible next move, while not too popular, would be to look at wage caps, with some reductions in order.
If the casinos are falling behind their competition, then there is a failure at the top level of management to promote and manage our resources properly. Other areas within our tribe that have failed or operated below what should be expected needs to be closely scrutinized for mismanagement and it certainly appears that there is a lot of it. It is time to hold all managers responsible for their failure to hold up their end and a 'hit 'em where it hurts' approach may be just the ticket.
A drastic reduction in salaries with the possibility of a year-end bonus based on profits may be the incentive necessary to motivate managers to take their jobs more seriously with part of that bonus trickling down to the team members.
Wage caps and early retirement incentives need to be strongly considered....make way for those willing to start near the bottom of the pay scale and climb the ladder for the position. Incentive awards could help ease the pain such as "Kewadin points" with a dollar value placed on them that can be used as cash within the Sault Tribe enterprises.
For example...customer praise for a good deed by a team member could result in a 100 point coupon which could mean a reduction in the price a team member pays for gas or other items at MidJims. Place a reasonable value on the points such as $5 per 100 points with individual coupon points beginning at 25. If a team member is motivated to do a good job and management is being fair then those points can add up fast. A team member holding off going to lunch on time in order to fulfill or assist in an obligation could mean a 25 point coupon to add to their collection for a future dinner or discount at DreamCatchers.
The whole point is to increase team member incentives and morale which should have a positive impact in the way they do their job which would, in turn, benefit the whole tribe. Management is responsible for business failures or successes and their salaries and benefits should be affected by profits.
Bite the bullet, do the research, set the salaries to state and federal standards, cap where necessary and offer cost of living instead. Make the necessary salary adjustments, set position levels with salary ranges not to exceed a specific amount for ALL positions in order to begin to pay back the Elder fund and to be fair to everyone.
The challenge is there for the board and HR....lets see if they can handle it.
Lynne "Wind Weaver"
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