Pay for Performance and Merit Pay Issues

By Catherine M. Meek - Most compensation systems are boring. Most compensation systems do not pay for performance. Few systems encourage commitment to the organization. And while they can send powerful messages to employees about the kind of organization they work for and the skills and behaviors it values, most of those messages -- and systems -- are uninspiring. In fact, they often inhibit organizations and employees from achieving their highest levels of performance. (Added: 27-Feb-2006 Hits: 450 )

By Fay Hansen - Compensation and Salary Forecast—Where's the Merit-Pay Payoff? It doesn’t exist, several recognized experts say. The issue for companies is not whether they should be paying more for performance compensation programs, but whether they should be paying less. (Added: 30-Dec-2008 Hits: 391 )

By Alfie Kohn - To this day, enthusiasm for pay-for-performance runs far ahead of any data supporting its effectiveness%u2014even as measured by standardized-test scores, much less by meaningful indicators of learning. But then that, too, echoes the results in other workplaces. To the best of my knowledge, no controlled scientific study has ever found a long-term enhancement of the quality of work as a result of any incentive system. In fact, numerous studies have confirmed that performance on tasks, particularly complex tasks, is generally lower when people are promised a reward for doing them, or for doing them well. As a rule, the more prominent or enticing the reward, the more destructive its effects. So why are pay-for-performance plans so reliably unsuccessful, if not counterproductive? (Added: 13-Aug-2005 Hits: 237 )

By Dan Heath - Incentives are often the first resort of most managers, perhaps because they all think they're smart enough to create the perfect carrot. Think again. (Added: 23-Jan-2009 Hits: 295 )

By Martin Sipkoff - Paying incentives to physicians to practice evidence-based medicine appears to be an idea whose time has come. Such programs -- even if successful -- may create a new set of problems. (Added: 19-Dec-2005 Hits: 188 )