Employee motivating system

Abstract

Proposed is an employee motivating system (1) that is capable of stably generating a flow in which rewards are earned from customers for services provided by an employee, thereby making it possible to improve the motivation of the employee. A management server (3) distributes a non-cashable coin to a customer in response to a request from an employer. Via an operation by the customer, a customer terminal (7) designates an employee and transmits, to the management server (3), information regarding transfer of the coin. The management server (3) transfers the coin to the designated employee, whereby the employee acquires the coin. With this configuration, customers transfer, to employees, coins that are distributed from the employer, and thus the transfer of coins causes no burden to the customers. As a result, it is possible to encourage the act of transferring coins, and to stably improve the motivation of an employee through acquisition of coins.

Description

Employee Motivation System

[0001] The present invention relates to an employee motivation system that can increase employee motivation.

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a system in which, when a customer sends a tip (money) and a message to a store employee from a personal terminal, the employee receives a reward from the business owner for the tip and also receives evaluation points based on the message, allowing the business owner to evaluate the employee based on the number of tips and evaluation points. This configuration allows employees to receive reward and evaluation based on the tips and messages they receive from customers, which increases employee motivation and allows the business owner to evaluate employees fairly.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2023-56599

[0004] In the conventional system described above, the customer pays the tip (money) to the employee, so in countries where the culture of tipping for service is not well developed (such as Japan), it is extremely difficult for customers to send tips to employees. Furthermore, customers who do not send tips tend not to send messages either. For these reasons, the conventional system described above has the problem of not functioning adequately in countries where the tipping culture is not well developed.

[0005] The present invention can solve the above-mentioned problems by proposing an employee motivation system that can steadily generate a flow of employees receiving rewards from customers for their services and can improve the motivation of employees by receiving such rewards.

[0006] The present invention provides an employee motivation system comprising a management server that is connectable via a network to an employee terminal operated by an employee who provides goods and / or services to customers and a customer terminal operated by the customer, and that performs predetermined operations in accordance with instructions entered by the employer of the employee, the system comprising: an employee information storage means that stores employee identification information for identifying the employee; an employee information providing means that, in response to a request from the customer terminal, the management server transmits the employee identification information selected from the employee information storage means to the customer terminal; a coin distribution means that, in response to instructions entered by the employer, the management server transmits non-redeemable coin information to the customer terminal; and a designated provision means that, upon receipt of the non-redeemable coin information, the customer terminal designates an employee and transmits the coin information addressed to the employee. In the configuration of the present invention, it is preferable that, when a predetermined coin provision condition is met, the employer provides a predetermined reward to the employee based on the coin information addressed to the employee transmitted by the designated provision means. Here, the coin provision conditions can be set as the employee's request being input to the management server, a predetermined unit period (e.g., one week or one month) having passed, or the cumulative number of coins reaching a predetermined number. Furthermore, "allowing a reward to be provided" refers to actions taken to provide a reward to an employee, and includes not only performing the process of providing the reward to an employee but also, for example, issuing instructions or taking steps to provide the reward. Furthermore, the term "reward" refers to money or goods as a thank-you gift or token of appreciation, and also includes education and experiential events.

[0007] In this configuration, the compensation (so-called tips) given by customers to employees is covered by the employer's funds (non-redeemable coin information), so the customer does not incur a financial burden from the compensation. In addition, since the coin information provided to customers is non-redeemable, it has no direct value to the customer other than sending it to employees. As a result, even in countries where the tipping culture is not well developed, it becomes easier for customers to send coin information to employees, and a stable flow of coin information from customers to employees can be created.

[0008] The configuration of the present invention allows rewards based on employee evaluations to be given to employees through customers, rather than directly by employers, dramatically improving the value employees attach to such rewards. Because employees can receive rewards based on coin information as customer evaluations, this not only improves employees' motivation for work but also appropriately raises employees' self-awareness about their lives, including their work. Having customers who evaluate employees also has the advantage of improving employees' autonomy in their work and reducing employee turnover. Furthermore, employers can evaluate employees fairly and stably using the coin information employees obtain through customers.

[0009] In the employee motivation system of the present invention described above, a configuration is proposed in which the management server is equipped with a coin counting means that counts the coin information sent from the customer terminal by the designated provision means for each employee and stores the counted cumulative number of coins in the employee's identification information, and a third party's terminal and the management server are connected via a network, making it possible to view at least the cumulative number of coins in the employee's identification information on the third party's terminal.

[0010] In this configuration, by allowing third parties to view the accumulated coin counts of employees, it is possible to stimulate third parties' interest in employees with large accumulated coin counts, which is expected to attract new customers. It also has the advantage of inspiring third parties to want to work with employees with large accumulated coin counts, which is expected to increase new hiring and make it easier to secure excellent human resources. Meanwhile, it can motivate employees to actively work on days and times when they have more opportunities to come into contact with new customers.

[0011] In the employee motivation system of the present invention described above, a configuration is proposed in which the employee terminal that obtains coin information by the designated provision means is equipped with an employee-to-employee provision means that, when operated by an employee, designates another employee and sends the coin information to that other employee.

[0012] In this configuration, employees can provide coin information acquired from customers to other employees, allowing them to evaluate each other through the provision of coin information. This can improve the motivation of other employees who receive coin information from one employee, thereby more stably achieving the effect of the present invention of improving employee motivation. In addition, employers have the excellent advantage of being able to know each other's evaluations by employees providing coin information to each other.

[0013] Another aspect of the present invention is an employee motivation system comprising: a management server connectable via a network to a plurality of employee terminals operated by a plurality of employees who provide goods and / or services to customers, the management server executing predetermined operations in accordance with instructions entered by the employer of the employees; employee information storage means storing employee identification information for identifying the employees; employee distribution means for the management server transmitting non-convertible coin information to the employee terminals in accordance with the instructions entered by the employer; and employee-to-employee provision means for an employee terminal receiving the non-convertible coin information to specify another employee and transmit the coin information addressed to that employee; wherein the non-convertible coin information transmitted from the employer to the employee is transmitted to the other employee by the employee-to-employee provision means, and is converted into convertible coin information. In this configuration, it is preferable that, when a predetermined coin provision condition is met, the employer provides a predetermined reward to the employee who owns the coin information based on the coin information converted from non-convertible to convertible. Here, the coin providing condition, "to allow a reward to be provided," and the reward are the same as those in the first aspect of the present invention described above.

[0014] In this configuration, employees can send non-redeemable coin information obtained from their employer to other employees, allowing employees to evaluate each other through the exchange of this coin information. Since the coin information sent to other employees is provided by the employer, there is no financial burden on the employee. Furthermore, the non-redeemable coin information has no direct value other than being sent to other employees. This makes it easier to send coin information obtained from the employer to other employees, creating a stable flow of coin information being sent between employees.

[0015] This configuration allows rewards based on employee evaluations to be given to other employees through the employee, rather than directly from the employer, thereby improving the employee's appreciation of the rewards. Furthermore, by having employees exchange coin information, the motivation of the employees who receive the coin information can be improved. Furthermore, the employer can evaluate employees fairly and stably using the coin information exchanged between employees.

[0016] As described above, the employee motivation system of the present invention makes it easy for customers to send coin information to employees, thereby creating a stable flow of sending coin information, and dramatically improving employee motivation by obtaining the reward.

[0017] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an employee motivation system 1 of the present embodiment; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functions of the employee motivation system 1 of the first embodiment; FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow of transmitting and receiving information in the employee motivation system 1 of the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing by the employee motivation system 1 of the first embodiment; FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the functions of the employee motivation system 1 of the second embodiment (and the third embodiment); FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow of transmitting and receiving information in the employee motivation system 1 of the second embodiment;

[0018] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The employee motivation system 1 of this embodiment is used by employers who employ employees of establishments such as restaurants and shops, the employees, and customers of the establishments.

[0019] 1 shows the configuration of an employee motivation system 1 according to this embodiment. The employee motivation system 1 comprises a management server 3, a database 4, an employer terminal 5, an employee terminal 6, and a customer terminal 7, all of which are connectable to the management server 3 via a communication network (such as the Internet) 2. The employer terminal 5, the employee terminal 6, and the customer terminal 7 are personal computers, tablets, smartphones, or the like that have the ability to communicate via the communication network and have application software installed that can access the management server 3.

[0020] The management server 3 is configured with one or more computers equipped with a central control unit (CPU), a storage device (ROM, RAM), and a transmitting / receiving device for communicating with the communication network 2, and the storage device stores programs and data to be executed by the central control unit. The database 4 is configured with a storage device that stores and holds data used by the programs of the management server 3 and data updated by the programs.

[0021] As shown in the functional diagram of FIG. 2 , the database 4 includes an identification information storage unit 11 that stores identification information identifying each of the employer, employee, and customer, and a setting information storage unit 12 that stores coin setting information. The identification information stored in the identification information storage unit 11 includes information for identifying each of the employer, employee, and customer, such as name, ID, and address, as well as information on the coins held by the employee and the cumulative number of coins held, and information on the coins held by the customer and employee information on the recipient of the coins. These pieces of information are stored in association with each employee and customer. The setting information stored in the setting information storage unit 12 includes information such as the number of coins to be distributed and the distribution period, the coin rate (reward amount per coin), and reward payment conditions.

[0022] The management server 3 includes an identification information management means 14, a coin distribution means 15, an information provision means 16, a coin transfer means 17, a coin provision means 18, and an information viewing means 19. The identification information management means 14 registers and updates the identification information of employers, employees, and customers, and stores and manages the identification information in the database 4.

[0023] The coin distribution means 15 distributes coins to customers in response to instructions sent from the employer terminal 5. This distribution process is performed by counting the number of coins held by each customer in the identification information registered in the database 4. That is, in this embodiment, the distribution of coins is executed as an internal process of the management server 3. Then, information indicating that coins have been acquired is sent to the customer terminal 7.

[0024] The information providing means 16 performs processing to transmit identification information of employees and customers to the employer terminal 5, employee terminal 6, and customer terminal 7 in response to requests from the respective terminals 6 and 7. Here, the identification information that can be transmitted to the respective terminals 6 and 7 is predefined according to the employer, employee, and customer.

[0025] The coin transfer means 17 transfers coins to a designated employee in accordance with the coin transfer information transmitted from the customer terminal 7. In this process, coins stored in the customer's identification information are transferred to the designated employee's identification information and stored therein. Information indicating that the coins have been acquired is then transmitted to the employee terminal 6. Furthermore, the coin transfer means 17 counts the cumulative number of coins each time a coin is transferred to the employee's identification information, and performs a process of updating this cumulative number of coins with the employee's identification information.

[0026] When a preset coin provision condition is met, the coin provision means 18 subtracts the coins stored in each employee's identification information and transmits an instruction to the employer terminal 5 requesting payment of the reward allocated to the coins. In this embodiment, the coin provision condition is set to one month having passed since the previous subtraction process (a predetermined date being reached on a monthly basis). Accordingly, the coin provision means 18 executes the coin subtraction process and the payment instruction transmission process on a predetermined date each month (hereinafter referred to as the "condition fulfillment date"). Since these processes are executed by accessing each employee's identification information stored in the database 4, these subtraction and transmission processes are not executed for employees whose identification information does not include coins.

[0027] The information viewing means 19 transmits employee identification information to the third-party terminal 8 in response to a request from the third-party terminal 8. Here, the identification information that can be transmitted to the third-party terminal 8 is predetermined and is more limited than the identification information transmitted by the information providing means 16. The third-party terminal 8 is a terminal such as a smartphone operated by a third party other than the employer, employee, or customer, and can be accessed via the communication network 2 by installing a predetermined application software.

[0028] On the other hand, the employer terminal 5, employee terminal 6, customer terminal 7, and third party terminal 8 have the following processing functions by means of the application software.

[0029] As shown in Fig. 2, the employer terminal 5 includes an identification information updating means 21 and an information management means 22. The identification information updating means 21 executes a process for confirming or updating the employer's identification information by starting the application software and accessing the management server 3. The information management means 22 executes a process for confirming the identification information of employees, customers, and third parties by accessing the management server 3. Furthermore, when the employer terminal 5 receives a remuneration payment instruction from the coin providing means 18 of the management server 3, it can carry out a predetermined procedure for paying remuneration to the employee.

[0030] The employee terminal 6 includes an identification information updating means 23 and a message sending means 24. The identification information updating means 23 can execute a process of confirming or updating the employee's identification information by starting the application software and accessing the management server 3. The identification information updating means 23 has a function of displaying information when it receives information about coins acquired from a customer from the management server 3. The message sending means 24 can execute a process of sending a message to a customer who has transferred coins by accessing the management server 3. The message sending means 24 has a function of creating a message using sentences, fixed phrases, pictograms, etc., arbitrarily determined by the employee, and sending the message via the management server 3.

[0031] The customer terminal 7 includes an identification information update means 25, an employee information confirmation means 26, and a designated transfer means 27. The identification information update means 25 executes a process of confirming or updating a customer's identification information by starting the application software and accessing the management server 3. The employee information confirmation means 26 executes a process of viewing an employee's identification information by accessing the management server 3. The designated transfer means 27 executes a process of transmitting information about the transfer of coins to a designated employee by accessing the management server 3. Here, the designated transfer means 27 has a function of sending a message to the designated employee along with the transfer of coins. Note that this function sends a message created by the customer using sentences, fixed phrases, emoticons, etc., via the management server 3.

[0032] The third-party terminal 8 includes an identification information update means 28 and a viewing means 29. The identification information update means 28 executes a process for confirming or updating the identification information of a third party by starting the application software and accessing the management server 3. The viewing means 29 executes a process for viewing the identification information of an employee by accessing the management server 3.

[0033] Next, the processing flow of the employee motivation system 1 will be described with reference to Figures 3 and 4. As described above, the identification information of the employer, employees, and customers is registered in the database 4 of the employee motivation system 1. Here, the employer's identification information is registered in the database 4 by the employer operating his / her employer terminal 5 to create an account (ID) for accessing the management server 3. Similarly, the employee's identification information is registered in the database 4 by the employee operating his / her employee terminal 6 to create an account (ID) for accessing the management server 3. On the other hand, the customer's identification information is registered in the database 4 by creating an account (ID) when the customer visits the store and accesses the management server 3 from the customer terminal 7 using an optically readable code, and an account (ID) is created.

[0034] When an instruction to distribute coins is input by the employer at the employer terminal 5, the employer terminal 5 transmits the instruction to the management server 3 (coin distribution instruction transmission). When the management server 3 receives this instruction from the employer terminal 5, it executes a process of counting the number of coins held by each customer using the identification information of the customer in the database 4 (coin distribution process). Through this process, coins are distributed and stored in each customer's identification information. Then, after executing the coin distribution process, information indicating that coins have been acquired is transmitted to each customer's customer terminal 7 (coin acquisition information transmission process). In this embodiment, as described above, the timing and validity period of coin distribution, the number of coins to be distributed (e.g., one per customer), the reward amount per coin, etc. are preset and stored in the setting information storage unit 12 of the database 4. The management server 3 executes the coin distribution process in accordance with this information.

[0035] When the customer terminal 7 receives information about the coin acquisition from the management server 3, the customer terminal 7 displays the information to notify the customer. Then, by accessing the management server 3 with the customer terminal 7, the customer can view their own identification information and confirm their possession of the coin. Furthermore, while the customer is holding the coin, they can operate an input process to transfer the coin to an employee (coin transfer input process). In this process, the customer accesses the management server 3 and views the employee's identification information, and determines whether the coin will be transferred to the designated employee. Once the employee is designated and the coin transfer is determined, information about the transfer of the coin to the designated employee is transmitted to the management server 3 (coin transfer instruction transmission process). In this way, by operating the customer terminal 7, the customer can transfer the distributed coin to a designated employee as a tip (gratuity). The coin remains stored in the customer's identification information in the database 4 (counted in the number of coins held), and is not eligible for reward payment, and cannot be exchanged for money, goods, or services. In other words, the coins in this embodiment are stored in the customer's identification information and are not redeemable for cash, so customers can only use them as tips to give to employees.

[0036] In addition, the customer terminal 7 can input a message to the employee along with the transfer of coins through the coin transfer input process. When a message is input, the message is transmitted to the management server 3 together with the coin transfer information through the coin transfer instruction transmission process. Here, the message may be arbitrarily created by the customer, or may be selected from a plurality of predetermined standard phrases, pictograms, etc.

[0037] When the management server 3 receives coin transfer information from the customer terminal 7, it performs a process of subtracting coins from the identification information of the customer who sent the information and a process of adding coins to the identification information of the employee specified in the information (coin transfer process). Each time a coin is added, the accumulated number of coins is counted in the employee's identification information. By adding coins to the employee's identification information, the coins become eligible for remuneration, as described below. That is, when a coin is transferred from the customer's identification information to the employee's identification information, it is converted into cash.

[0038] Furthermore, in conjunction with the coin transfer process, the management server 3 performs a process of transmitting information indicating that the coins have been acquired from the customer and the message acquired from the customer to the employee terminal 6 of the employee specified in the transfer information from the customer terminal 7 (coin acquisition information transmission). The management server 3 also stores the transfer of coins from the customer's identification information to the employee's identification information. This allows the employer to accurately know the flow of coins by accessing the management server 3.

[0039] When the employee terminal 6 receives the coin acquisition information from the management server 3, it displays the acquisition information and notifies the employee. Then, by accessing the management server 3 with the employee terminal 6, the employee can view their own identification information and confirm the acquisition of the coin and the customer information of the person who transferred the coin (the identification information of the customer who transferred the coin). Furthermore, when the employee terminal 6 receives a customer message from the management server 3 along with the coin acquisition information, it notifies the employee of the message. Meanwhile, when the employee operates the employee terminal 6 to input a message addressed to the customer who transferred the coin, it sends the message to the management server 3 (message transmission).

[0040] When the predetermined condition is met (when the coin provision condition is met), the management server 3 checks the identification information of each employee and performs a process of subtracting coins from the identification information of employees who have acquired coins (coin subtraction process). In conjunction with this process, the management server 3 also performs a process of sending a payment instruction for the reward assigned to the coins to the employer terminal 5 and a process of sending information on the execution of the reward payment instruction to the employee terminal 6 (reward payment instruction transmission). When the employer terminal 5 receives a reward payment instruction from the management server 3, it notifies the employer of the instruction. The employer then carries out the reward payment procedure, and the reward is paid to the employee. Meanwhile, when the employee terminal 6 receives the reward payment instruction information, it notifies the employee of the information. This allows the employee to know that the reward will be paid and that the acquired coins have been consumed.

[0041] Furthermore, when the management server 3 receives the message addressed to a customer from the employee terminal 6, it performs a process of transmitting the message to the customer terminal 7 of the customer (message transmission process). When the customer terminal 7 receives the message, it notifies the customer of the message. In this way, messages can be exchanged between the customer terminal 7 and the employee terminal 6 via the management server 3 in conjunction with the transfer of coins from a customer to an employee.

[0042] Meanwhile, the third-party terminal 8 can access the management server 3 and register the third-party's identification information to view employee information ( FIG. 3 ). More specifically, a registered third-party terminal 8 accesses the management server 3 to request viewing of employee information. Upon receiving a viewing request from the third-party terminal 8, the management server 3 makes predetermined employee information viewable on the third-party terminal 8. This allows the third party to view employee information on the third-party terminal 8. In this embodiment, the employee information viewable on the third-party terminal 8 is limited to basic profile information such as the employee's name (or nickname) and photo (or portrait), as well as the aforementioned information on the accumulated coin count. In this manner, in this embodiment, a third party can view employees and the accumulated coin count corresponding to the employee's evaluation by operating the third-party terminal 8.

[0043] As described above, the employee motivation system 1 of this embodiment allows employees to receive rewards assigned to non-cash coins distributed by employers to customers, which are then transferred from the customers to employees. The coins correspond to tips given by customers to employees. In this manner, the configuration of this embodiment allows the coin rewards paid by the employer to be derived from the coins given by customers, so employees can receive the coin rewards as customer evaluations. This improves employees' perceptions of the value they place on coin rewards, effectively increasing their motivation for their work. Furthermore, such customer evaluations can improve employees' work autonomy and contribute to reducing employee turnover. In particular, if coins are transferred from multiple customers or multiple times by the same customer, this can significantly improve employee motivation and reduce turnover. Meanwhile, employers can evaluate employees through customers using the distributed coins, which provides the advantage of fair employee evaluations.

[0044] In the configuration of this embodiment, the coins (tips) are funded by the employer's funds and, since they are not convertible into cash, have no direct value to customers other than giving them to employees. This makes it easier for customers to give coins (tips) to employees, which can stimulate the flow of customers giving coins to employees, and the effects of this embodiment described above can be more stably achieved.

[0045] Furthermore, this embodiment allows customers to send messages along with the transfer of coins, and employees who receive coins can also send messages to customers. This allows customers to express their gratitude and affection to employees, and by receiving messages from employees, they feel a personal connection with the employees, which can easily lead to a sense of happiness. This can also have the excellent advantage of stimulating customers' desire to visit the store in search of further happiness, and making it easier for them to transfer coins to employees again. Meanwhile, employees can feel a sense of being noticed and supported by the customers through the coins and messages they receive from customers. By experiencing such a close and real relationship with customers, employees' desire for recognition is stimulated, making them more likely to experience a sense of happiness and fulfillment. The exchange of messages in addition to the transfer of coins contributes to further improving the aforementioned effects of the present invention.

[0046] Furthermore, the configuration of this embodiment allows employee information to be viewed by third parties, ensuring transparency in the process of transferring coins from customers to employees. Furthermore, by allowing third parties to view each employee's accumulated coin count, it is possible to stimulate third parties' interest in employees and potentially attract new customers. Furthermore, it is expected that this will inspire a desire to work with employees with a large accumulated coin count, which has the excellent advantage of contributing to an increase in new employment and the securing of excellent human resources. On the other hand, since employees are motivated to actively work on days and times when they have more opportunities to contact new customers, it also has the advantage of making it easier for employers to arrange employee work shifts.

[0047] In the configuration of this embodiment described above, the communication network 2 corresponds to the network according to the present invention, and the database 4 corresponds to the employee information storage means according to the present invention. The information providing means 16 of the management server 3 corresponds to the employee information providing means according to the present invention. The coin transfer means 17 of the management server 3 corresponds to the coin counting means according to the present invention. The employee information confirmation means 26 and designated transfer means 27 of the customer terminal 7 correspond to the designated providing means according to the present invention. Furthermore, the coin acquisition information (information indicating that coins have been acquired) sent from the management server 3 to the customer terminal 7 corresponds to the non-cash coin information according to the present invention. The coin transfer information (information to transfer coins to employees) sent from the customer terminal 7 corresponds to the coin information addressed to employees according to the present invention.

[0048] The employee motivation system 1 of Example 2 has a function that allows an employee who has acquired coins from a customer to transfer the coins to another employee. Note that the configuration of Example 2 is the same as that of Example 1 described above, except for the function that allows employees to transfer coins to each other, so the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and their explanations are omitted as appropriate.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 5 , the employee terminal 6 of the second embodiment is equipped with an employee-to-employee provision means 31 that transmits information about the transfer of coins by specifying another employee. The employee terminal 6 can then send and receive messages between employees using the message sending means 24. This allows a message to be sent to the employee receiving the coins when transferring them, and also allows a message to be sent to the employee from whom the coins are transferred when they are transferred. Here, the message sending means 24 has the function of allowing employees to create messages between employees using sentences, standard phrases, emoticons, etc., of their own choosing, just like in the first embodiment, and to send the messages via the management server 3.

[0050] The coin transfer means 17 of the management server 3 also has a function of transferring coins to an employee designated by the coin transfer information sent from the employee terminal 6. This function transfers the coins stored in the identification information of the employee who sent the coin transfer information to the identification information of the designated employee and stores them there. Information indicating that the coins have been acquired is then sent to the employee terminal 6 of the designated employee.

[0051] The following describes the process of transferring coins between employees in the employee motivation system 1 of Example 2. As in Example 1, when the management server 3 receives coin transfer information from the customer terminal 7, it subtracts coins from the customer's identification information and adds coins to the identification information of the employee to whom the coins are being transferred, and then transmits coin acquisition information to the employee terminal 6 of that employee. The coin acquisition information is then displayed on the employee terminal 6.

[0052] In this way, an employee who holds a coin can transfer the coin to another employee. As shown in Figure 6, the employee accesses the management server 3 and operates the employee terminal 6 to designate another employee based on the employee's identification information viewed, and to decide to transfer the coin to the designated employee. Information indicating the employee designation and the transfer of the coin is then sent to the management server 3. Note that if an employee holds multiple coins, the employee can arbitrarily set the number of coins to be transferred, and can also designate multiple employees to transfer the coins to.

[0053] When the management server 3 receives coin transfer information from the employee terminal 6, it subtracts coins from the identification information of the employee who sent the information and adds coins to the identification information of the employee specified in the information. Then, it transmits information indicating that the coins have been acquired from the employee and the message obtained from the employee to the employee terminal 6 of the employee specified in the transfer information. The management server 3 also stores this transfer of coins between employees. This allows the employer to accurately know the flow of coins between employees by accessing the management server 3.

[0054] The employee terminal 6, which receives the coin acquisition information from the management server 3, displays the acquisition information. This allows the employee to know the acquisition of the coin and the employee information of the employee who transferred the coin. This information can also be confirmed by accessing the management server 3 with the employee terminal 6. Furthermore, when the employee terminal 6 receives a message from the transferring employee along with the coin acquisition information, it notifies the employee of the message. Meanwhile, when the employee operates the employee terminal 6 to input a message addressed to the employee who transferred the coin, it sends the message to the management server 3. This message is then sent to the transferring employee terminal 6 via the management server 3.

[0055] In this embodiment, coins transferred from one employee to another can be transferred, and coins can be transferred between employees multiple times. This transfer process is also performed in the same way as the transfer of coins acquired from a customer to another employee.

[0056] Furthermore, even for coins transferred between employees in this way, when the condition is met, the reward allocated to the coin will be paid to the employee who owns the coin. This payment process is the same as the process for paying rewards for coins transferred from customers (coin subtraction process and reward payment instruction process).

[0057] As described above, the employee motivation system 1 of Example 2 allows employees to transfer coins acquired from customers to other employees, thereby improving the motivation of employees to whom coins are transferred. In particular, if coins are transferred from an employee who acquires coins from many customers (a so-called charismatic employee), the motivation of the employee to whom the coins are transferred can be dramatically improved. Furthermore, by transferring coins between employees, the bonds between employees can be strengthened, thereby improving the effect of reducing employee turnover. Meanwhile, by checking the flow of coins, employers can learn how employees evaluate each other, allowing for more fair evaluations of employees.

[0058] Furthermore, the configuration of the second embodiment, like the first embodiment, transfers coins from customers to employees, and therefore provides the same effects as the first embodiment.

[0059] The employee motivation system 1 of Example 3 has a function of distributing non-cash temporary coins from an employer to an employee and enabling the temporary coins to be transferred to another employee. Note that the configuration of Example 3 is the same as that of Example 1 described above, except for the function of distributing temporary coins from an employer to an employee and the function of enabling the temporary coins to be transferred between employees. Therefore, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted.

[0060] In this third embodiment, the coin distribution means 15 of the management server 3 is equipped with a process for distributing temporary coins to employees in response to instructions transmitted from the employer terminal 5. This distribution process is performed by counting the number of temporary coins held by each employee in the database 4 in addition to the identification information of all employees to whom temporary coins have been distributed. Here, the temporary coins in this embodiment refer to non-cash coins and are processed separately from coins that are the subject of rewards (cash coins). Furthermore, the coin distribution means 15 transmits information indicating that the temporary coins have been acquired to the employee terminal 6 of each employee to whom the temporary coins have been distributed. Note that the distribution of these temporary coins is also performed as an internal process of the management server 3, similar to the process for distributing coins described above.

[0061] The coin transfer means 17 of the management server 3 has a function of converting temporary coins into coins and transferring them to an employee designated by the temporary coin transfer information transmitted from the employee terminal 6. This transfer and conversion function is performed by subtracting the number of temporary coins held by the employee stored in the identification information of the employee who transmitted the temporary coin transfer information, and counting the number of coins held by the designated employee stored in the identification information. Information indicating that the designated employee has acquired coins from another employee is then transmitted to the employee terminal 6 of the designated employee.

[0062] As shown in FIG. 5, the employee terminal 6 of Example 3 is equipped with an employee-to-employee providing means 31. The employee-to-employee providing means 31 of Example 3 executes a process of transmitting information for transferring temporary coins to another designated employee. The employee terminal 6 can then send and receive messages between employees using the message sending means 24. This allows a message to be sent to the employee receiving the temporary coin when transferring it, and also allows a message to be sent to the employee from whom the coin is transferred when it is transferred. Here, the message sending means 24 can be created by an employee using sentences, standard phrases, emoticons, or the like, as in Examples 1 and 2 described above.

[0063] The flow of transferring temporary coins distributed to employees among employees in the employee motivation system 1 of Example 3 will be described. As shown in Figure 7, when an instruction to distribute temporary coins (non-redeemable coins) to employees is input by the employer at the employer terminal 5, the instruction is transmitted to the management server 3. Here, when specifying an employee to whom the temporary coins are to be distributed, the employee information of the recipient of the temporary coins is included in the transmission of the distribution instruction. Note that the employer terminal 5 can also transmit an instruction to distribute coins to customers, as in Example 1 described above.

[0064] When the management server 3 receives an instruction to distribute the temporary coins from the employer terminal 5, it executes a process to count the number of temporary coins held by each employee using the identification information of the employee in the database 4. Through this process, temporary coins are distributed and stored in the identification information of each employee. Accordingly, information indicating that the temporary coins have been acquired is sent to the employee terminal 6 of each employee. Here, if an employee to whom the temporary coins are to be distributed is specified, the temporary coins are distributed only to the specified employee. Note that even for these temporary coins, the distribution time, validity period, number of distributions, etc. are preset.

[0065] When the employee terminal 6 receives information about the acquisition of the temporary coin from the management server 3, it displays the information about the acquisition of the temporary coin to notify the customer. Then, by accessing the management server 3 with the employee terminal 6, the employee can view the employee's own identification information and confirm the possession of the temporary coin. Here, the employee terminal 6 notifies the possession of the temporary coin separately from the coins that can be acquired from the customer terminal 7 described above. This allows the employee to correctly distinguish between non-cash temporary coins and cashable coins.

[0066] In this state, while possessing a temporary coin, an employee can operate the employee terminal 6 to execute an input process to transfer the temporary coin to another employee. In this process, the employee accesses the management server 3 and views the identification information of the other employee, and designates the other employee, and determines whether the temporary coin will be transferred to the designated employee. Once the designation of the other employee and the transfer of the temporary coin are determined, information on the transfer of the coin to the designated employee is transmitted to the management server 3. An employee who has received a temporary coin in this manner can designate another employee to transfer the temporary coin by operating the employee terminal 6. Note that, as described above, the temporary coin is not convertible into cash and is therefore not eligible for payment of a reward. Therefore, an employee who has received a temporary coin can only use the temporary coin to transfer it to another employee.

[0067] Furthermore, when a temporary coin is transferred, the employee terminal 6 can send a message to the employee to whom the temporary coin is transferred. This message is sent to the management server 3 together with the temporary coin transfer information.

[0068] When the management server 3 receives temporary coin transfer information from the employee terminal 6, it performs a process of subtracting the number of temporary coins held from the identification information of the employee who sent the information, and a process of adding coins to the identification information of the other employee specified in the information. These processes of subtracting and adding temporary coins convert the non-redeemable temporary coins into redeemable coins. In addition, in conjunction with these processes, the management server 3 also performs a process of sending, to the employee terminal 6 of the other employee specified in the temporary coin transfer information, information indicating that the coins have been acquired from the employee, along with the message obtained from the employee. Furthermore, the management server 3 stores this movement of coins between employees. This allows the employer to accurately know the flow of coins between employees by accessing the management server 3.

[0069] The employee terminal 6, which receives the coin acquisition information from the management server 3, displays the acquisition information. This allows the employee to know the acquisition of the coin and the employee information of the employee who transferred the coin. This information can also be confirmed by accessing the management server 3 with the employee terminal 6. Furthermore, when the employee terminal 6 receives a message from the transferring employee along with the coin acquisition information, it notifies the employee of the message. Meanwhile, when the employee operates the employee terminal 6 to input a message addressed to the employee who transferred the coin, it sends the message to the management server 3. This message is then sent to the transferring employee terminal 6 via the management server 3.

[0070] Even if a temporary coin is converted into a coin in this way, the reward allocated to that coin will be paid to the employee who owns that coin when the aforementioned condition is met. This payment process is the same as the process for paying the reward for coins transferred from customers (coin subtraction process and reward payment instruction process).

[0071] As described above, the employee motivation system 1 of Example 3 allows temporary coins (non-redeemable) distributed by an employer to an employee to be transferred from that employee to another employee, converting the temporary coins into cashable coins and allowing the other employee to receive the coins as a reward. This configuration can improve the work motivation of employees who receive coins. In particular, if coins are transferred from an employee who is popular with many customers and other employees (a so-called charismatic employee) or a workplace leader, the employee's motivation can be dramatically improved. Furthermore, transferring coins between employees strengthens connections between employees, thereby reducing employee turnover. Meanwhile, by checking the flow of coins, employers can learn how employees evaluate each other, allowing for more fair evaluations of employees.

[0072] Furthermore, the configuration of the third embodiment, like the first embodiment, transfers coins from customers to employees, and therefore provides the same effects as the first embodiment.

[0073] In the configuration of the third embodiment described above, the coin distribution means 15 of the management server 3 corresponds to the employee distribution means of the present invention. The temporary coin acquisition information (information indicating that the temporary coin has been acquired) transmitted from the management server 3 to the employee terminal 6 corresponds to the non-cash coin information of the present invention.

[0074] The present invention is not limited to the above-described Examples 1 to 3, and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the present invention. For example, although Examples 1 to 3 are intended for use in restaurants and shops, the present invention is not limited to these, and can also be used in accommodation facilities such as hotels, transportation facilities such as railways and airplanes, entertainment facilities such as theaters and sports facilities, professional facilities such as lawyers' facilities, corporate offices, and the like.

[0075] In the first to third embodiments, a coin payment instruction is issued every month (coin payment condition), but the coin payment condition for issuing a payment instruction can be changed as needed. For example, it can be set to every week or every three months, or when a predetermined number of unpaid coins (e.g., three or five) have accumulated. Furthermore, a payment instruction can be issued in response to a request from an employee.

[0076] In the first to third embodiments, the information on the acquired coins is transmitted and received between the management server, the employee terminal, and the customer terminal, but this is not limiting and the coin (data) may be transmitted and received. In this case, the coin (data) corresponds to the coin information of the present invention. Similarly, in the third embodiment, the virtual coin (data) may be transmitted and received between the management server and the employee terminal.

[0077] In Example 1, the coin stored in the customer's identification information is non-redeemable, and the coin stored in the employee's identification information is redeemable, but this is not limited to this. As in Example 3, a temporary coin may be stored in the customer's identification information, and when stored in the employee's identification information, the temporary coin may be converted into a redeemable coin.

[0078] In the second embodiment, coins can be transferred between employees multiple times, but this is not limiting and an upper limit on the number of times that coins can be transferred between employees may be set. For example, it may be possible to allow only coins acquired from customers to be transferred to other employees, and to prevent coins acquired from one employee from being transferred to another employee.

[0079] In Example 2, the coins transferred from the customer are transferred to other employees, but this is not limited to this. Example 2 may also be supplemented with a configuration (Example 3) in which temporary coins are distributed by the employer to employees and can be transferred to other employees.

[0080] In the third embodiment, temporary coins distributed by an employer are transferred to other employees, but the transferred coins can also be made transferable to other employees. In this case, it is possible to set a maximum number of times the coins can be transferred, or to make them non-returnable to the original employee.

[0081] In the first to third embodiments, non-cash coins distributed to customers by employers are transferred from the customers to employees, but in addition, a configuration may be adopted in which customers can purchase the coins themselves. In this configuration, customers can transfer not only coins distributed by their employers but also coins they have purchased themselves to employees.

[0082] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Employee motivation system 2 Communication network (network) 3 Management server 4 Database (employee information storage means) 5 Employer terminal 6 Employee terminal 7 Customer terminal 8 Third party terminal 15 Coin distribution means 16 Information provision means (employee information provision means) 17 Coin transfer means (coin counting means) 26 Employee information individual means (designated provision means) 27 Designated transfer means (designated provision means) 31 Inter-employee provision means

Claims

1. An employee motivation system comprising: a management server that is connectable via a network to an employee terminal operated by an employee who provides goods and / or services to customers and to a customer terminal operated by the customer, and that performs specified operations in accordance with instructions entered by the employer who employs the employee, comprising: an employee information storage means in which employee identification information for identifying the employee is stored; an employee information providing means whereby the management server transmits the employee identification information selected from the employee information storage means to the customer terminal in response to a request from the customer terminal; a coin distribution means whereby the management server transmits non-cashable coin information to the customer terminal in accordance with instructions entered by the employer; and a designation providing means whereby the customer terminal that has received the non-cashable coin information designates an employee and transmits the coin information addressed to that employee, in response to operation by the customer.

2. The employee motivation system described in claim 1, characterized in that the management server is equipped with a coin counting means for counting coin information transmitted from a customer terminal by a designated provision means for each employee and storing the counted cumulative coin number in the employee's identification information, and a third party's terminal and the management server are connected via a network, making it possible to view at least the cumulative coin number of the employee's identification information on the third party's terminal.

3. An employee motivation system as described in claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the employee terminal which obtains the coin information by the designated provision means is equipped with an employee-to-employee provision means which, when operated by an employee, designates another employee and transmits the coin information to that other employee.

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