Ad agency rewards interns’ hard work with nicer lodgings

Brussels ad agency Mortierbrigade motivates its visiting creative interns by upgrading their accommodations when they achieve good results, while poor efforts can land them in “the basement.”

Employee incentives can take many forms, but Brussels ad agency Mortierbrigade has come up with a novel way to motivate its visiting creative interns. Specifically, it upgrades their accommodations when they achieve good results, while poor efforts can land them in “the basement.” When international interns arrive, they start off on the ground floor of the Mortierbrigade Hotel, which is essentially a house next door to the company’s Brussels offices that has been converted into housing for visitors. Accommodations on that ground floor — known as the “Tent for Two” — are designed to resemble a sparse camping area complete with “sleeping bags, bugs and a malfunctioning shower”. Those who perform well eventually get moved up to “The Cabin in the Woods,” which features more modern comforts and a full set of wood furnishings. The intern’s dream, meanwhile, is surely to make it to “The Royal Suite,” featuring accommodation “worthy of a creative director from a small startup agency.” If they fail, however, there’s always the threat of the bottom floor: “You might have to fight a few rats for it, but it still beats working in your dad’s insurance agency,” Mortierbrigade cheerfully explains. Bugs and rats aside, there’s something thought-provoking about the notion of using lodgings as an incentive for hard work. One for inspiration! Spotted by: Raymond Neo