INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE IN A TEAM

Individual Performance in a Team

Individual Performance in a Team

Team members' psychological evaluations of equity also take account of size of team rewards. Experts have varying opinions on the magnitude of rewards needed for a significant boost in motivation. Some say 10%, others say 20% or more. Participation by team members is critical to the effectiveness of team rewards. Managers also need to take account of financial variables such as revenue generated by teams in meeting performance targets.

Teams typically must satisfy certain minimum standards to become eligible for team rewards. For example, many team-based organizations delegate responsibility for scheduling people for certain jobs that can easily be rotated, such as occupying a nursing station, for certain time periods. To be eligible for team rewards, a team may have to achieve 100% coverage by at least one person during all its shifts in a given month. Such standards might exist for attendance, safety, security, waste disposal, and other factors.

Maintaining a clear line of sight between individual effort and team rewards calls for the rewards to arrive promptly after requisite performance. Ideally the schedule of team bonuses matches that of paychecks. If recordkeeping requires delays, quarterly or even annual bonuses may prove motivating.

Providing recognition is key to reinforcing an employee's (such as an engineer in this case) successes, accomplishments, and efforts to improve. In some organizations monetary rewards are tied directly to the performance management system. For example, an annual “Successful” rating may provide a 4% pay increase, whereas an “Outstanding” rating may provide a 7% raise. Practice and research indicate that monetary awards only go so far in motivating employees, so some companies have expanded their formal rewards to include extra days off, stock options for management, dinner vouchers, or gift certificates to company (Bernardin, 2007). Organizations with limited ...