RE: Bonus Structures

[Buck Calabro <buck.calabro@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Patrik Shrader wrote:

> I am trying to formulate a bonus package for my 
> small staff: 1 programmer, 1 network administrator, 
> and 1 operator. What type of bonus structures is
> your company participating in? 

None.

> What would you do to change it? 

I would use some variant of Chris Bipes' suggestion (reward programmer for
no errors, etc.)  The key thing is to measure (and reward) what you want to
improve.  If you have a programmer who is meticulous about double checking
for level checks (CPF4131) before she deploys changes to production and you
really like that, then be sure she gets a reward for maintaining that
quality.  If she rarely checks for divide by zero errors, then ding her for
those errors.  Be sure to measure what you want to improve!

Also, ask the staff how they want to be rewarded.  Are they keen on having
their performance measured and rewarded appropriately?    If not, why?  I
wish I could get a realistic evaluation of my performance here.  The problem
_seems_ to be that the folks who give me my "performance evaluation" think
about performance once a year and use those goofy forms as a crutch to sort
of justify a completely subjective opinion.  I'd like a weekly synopsis of:
functions deployed vs functions with errors, number of customer contact
calls (EVERY programmer has a customer!) vs scheduled calls, billable hours
vs scheduled, number of times I'm interrupted to give other people help vs
number of times they consulted the manuals (OK, that's a fantasy, but you
get the idea!)  Did I mention that you should measure the things you want to
improve?

In this case, if I got MY way, I'd look pretty good compared to most
everybody here because I rarely get error messages in production code
(quality first.)  But if management is focussed on revenue first and
foremost, then my billable hours should count for more in the final
equation.  If I as a programmer decide to maintain my quality focus at the
probable expense of revenue, then management has every right to ding me
because I didn't meet their performance target.

Measure what you want to improve/maintain;
Make the goals public.

Buck Calabro
Aptis; Albany, NY


Billing Concepts Corp., a NASDAQ Listed Company, Symbol: BILL
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