Incentive programs can be very powerful ways to motivate people to get the results you want. But they can also bring out the worst in people as they start to think only about themselves, and not the company or customer or their “internal customers” (other departments). (Some) people will always figure out how to game the system.
When you create an incentive program, consider its effects on behavior carefully and try to design it to bring out the best in people only. When you launch it, and other times afterwards, remind your team that in order for you to offer this incentive program (commission, bonus, etc.) to them, it must work for all stakeholders inside and outside the company. Tell them it’s not permanent unless it solves problems and doesn’t create any new ones.
This is a great thought. If you look around you will find plenty of programs that set out to solve an issue but created much larger ones instead. We have to be careful to not incentivize the wrong behaviors.
Good reminder. Sometimes easy to get caught up in building a program and you don’t look at all sides.
LARRY,
Great post …. tha will likely fall on deaf ears for the most part. Most sales managers are still in 1960’s … when it comes to MOTIVATION.