Incentive ideas for developers

for every line of code they get a dollar!

J/k. I recommend establishing a goal that requires real effort, over a not too long, not too short period (maybe a quarter?) Collaborate with them so they feel they are involved in the process. And then come up with a reward that they will all enjoy. Group rewards work well because you can also build a sense of team unity while having fun. I would say a vacation to a nice place (Mexico maybe?) would be a good incentive.

So for example, you would sit down with the 4 guys, talk about where you want to be by the end of next quarter, push the envelope, and then say if they can get everything accomplished by then, they will get the week off to spend with their significant others at a spot that the team chooses. This was a common sales incentive that my company offered back when I went door to door. It encourages the team to help those that are having a rough time, and motivates everyone to put out their best effort. It doesn't work if the goal is too high (they will feel like there's no hope), or if the goal is too easy (they won't bother to try harder), it has to be slight to moderately more challenging then what they would accomplish working normally.

studies seem to indicate that "cash" is a bad incentive, though I certainly wouldn't mind it.

Things like stock or stock options are the traditional approach, though if the company's small that may not be desirable (and it makes the employees owners of the company, which your bosses may not go for either).

To be honest, rather than 'incentivizing' people by promising them some reward when it's all done - and thereby requiring them to stick around for the duration of the project to see any of it - I'd be more inclined to put the money into benefits instead. Can you improve the office and make it a nicer and more productive place to work? Could you cover insurance for them (e.g. medical, car, etc)? Can you partner with local businesses to get them things like gym memberships or cinema tickets?

While it might seem like this doesn't motivate people to do better, it does make them want to continue working for you, and it will - once word gets around - increase the number of people who come to you asking for jobs. Your existing employees will find themselves willing (and needing) to demonstrate why they should keep their cushy, high-benefit jobs, and not be replaced with applicants who could be more productive.

I believe that an organized trip to another country (maybe to participate to a conference, with room left to visit the country) is a good idea. For coders that never see the light of the sun, it can make them really happy :P

I would go against cash - there is nothing particular in cash, nothing they will remember.

If you work in the game development field, why don't you send them all to next year's GDC? If you don't work in the game industry, I'm pretty sure you'll find another cool conference/expo that might be interesting :)

Plus, you'll also send you CEO, meaning that you'll have to power to do everything you want during a whole week [smile]

Incentive Pay Considered Harmful

Quote:

Treating your rocket scientist employees as if they were still in kindergarten is not an isolated phenomenon. Almost every company has some kind of incentive program that is insulting and demeaning.

I second the 'improve the office' suggestion. When you are ready to hand out the bonus, ask them what they want in the office.

Free drinks/coffee ? Foosball tables ? Lava lamps ? New top-end workstations ?

Casual prostitute fridays.

These suggestions and links are fantastic. I like the trip idea alot....never thought of that one. Thanks for all the responses. Hopefully more come in!

Sincerely,
Dan

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Original post by superpig To be honest, rather than 'incentivizing' people by promising them some reward when it's all done - and thereby requiring them to stick around for the duration of the project to see any of it - I'd be more inclined to put the money into benefits instead. Can you improve the office and make it a nicer and more productive place to work? Could you cover insurance for them (e.g. medical, car, etc)? Can you partner with local businesses to get them things like gym memberships or cinema tickets?

Pigster beat me to this, and I absolutely agree with increasing benefits and overall work aesthetics.

A good incentive is typically something that boost's morale. I third workspace improvement. A previous employer remodelled our "office" with new contemporary tables and lamps just before a month and a half of crunch-time. He said "the flow in this room will merge nicely with your code". I don't know about feng shui, but I really wouldn't mind cash either. Still, the gesture was greatly appreciated.

Of course, you could have a jeans and t-shirt day. o_O

The thing about a trip is that when I'm on vacation my coworkers are the last thing in the world I want to see. This goes double extra plus for the boss. Otherwise it is just like being at work, mentally.

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Original post by Ghhetto These suggestions and links are fantastic. I like the trip idea alot....never thought of that one. Thanks for all the responses. Hopefully more come in! Sincerely, Dan

I can't give any advice from the position you are in, but I can give advice from the other side.

The company I work for is GREAT in this fashion. My job is amazing. I turned down an offer that was a 50% raise, because overal the 'benefit' of the extra $$$ wasn't worth leaving this place. The guy in charge here is an engineer, with little to no training in business. Thus, what he does for us is just things he comes up with that he thinks we'd benefit from. He doesn't open the "Motivating Your Employees Reference Manual" and pick an item from the index. He just thinks about what he would want if he was in our position, then makes it happen.

If they are high dollar nerds, than chances are they don't really need a lot more money. Give them stuff that they can't already get. A vacation would be nice, but chances are they could pay for one and take one if they really wanted it. Plus, depending on the level of nerdyness, it could be hard to take a group vacation. A lot of developers wouldn't really enjoy sitting on the beach as much as others would. Everyone can find ways to spend extra money, but there is probably simple things that can be done that end up costing the company less and providing more of a benefit.

For instance, where I work, the company treats everyone to lunch every Friday. I know that's fairly common (ie Google doing it every day) but it can be really nice depending how it's done. Especially because our lunches are sometimes several hours long and spent at Hooters, a bar or the bowling alley (alcohol included and encouraged). We've also been known to play a round of golf or see a movie, or set up the office minigolf course or something else afterwards, all on the companys tab. That is an amazing bonus. It really creates a sense of 'the company cares' type of thing. We are even looking at purchasing a Golden Tee machine for the office (since we all are somewhat addicted to it). I am allowed to set up a PC here so I can raid with my World of Warcraft guild if I happen to be here too late to get home on time to do so. The fridge is also fully stocked with everything from Mtn Dew, to Bawls, to Guiness, to bottled water, all payed for by the company and free for anyone to drink during the work day.

Something else you can try is letting them have some free time during the day to read news sites online, catch up on forums, or maybe work on their own side project google style.

One issue with the above, is that they all cost time. A lot of big companys have rules and business people you have to go through to squeeze every bit of time you can. Too a lot of buisiness people, seeing people take time off work to do other non work related things throws up the red flag of lost profit. However, nothing gets more work done than employees who enjoy what they are doing and like being at their job. Also, if you take the above advice and do it on a quarter by quarter basis, you can build off of that. If you set goals for them that are fairly high, and they accomplish them all, than they are obviously capible of doing what is required in the given amount of time. Giving them some time off shouldn't really slow down the project much.

I think for a lot of people, a lot of small things that kind of change the atmosphere of the office would be a lot more effective than a single large reward like a bonus check or vacation. Those things are nice, but don't last long. They will spend much much much more time in the office than they would on a vacation or doing whatever they do with their bonus check. Giving people a reason to come to work other than getting their paycheck can be the best reward of all.

[Edited by - DrjonesDW3d on April 26, 2006 1:30:03 PM]

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Original post by DrjonesDW3d ...Something else you can try is letting them have some free time during the day to read news sites online, catch up on forums, or maybe work on their own side project google style...

you mean you don't do that anyway?

I like the logic of investing in the office since they spend much of there day there.

So, what are some good ideas?

Pinball machine?
Links golf
Fully stocked, free soda machine
Better monitors?
Thinking....thinking...

Anyone have some ideas...I know someone can think of something out of the box.

Thanks again for the replies...

Dan

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Original post by ChurchSkiz for every line of code they get a dollar!

for(   int   i      =      0      ;   i      <      num      ;   i      =      i         +         1;){} 

I also love the idea of a techy conference or show we could attend together

CES
E3



anyone know of some good techy conferences worthwhile attending?

Thanks,
Dan

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Original post by Ghhetto I like the logic of investing in the office since they spend much of there day there. So, what are some good ideas? Pinball machine? Links golf Fully stocked, free soda machine Better monitors? Thinking....thinking... Anyone have some ideas...I know someone can think of something out of the box. Thanks again for the replies... Dan

A comfortable work environment can be a huge plus for someone who spends all their time on PCs. Maybe a dual monitor setup with a comfy chair and ergonomic mouse/keyboard would be a good investment. It'd make the developers a lot happier (if they aren't already comfortable) and improve productivity.

As for the Pinball/golf type stuff, it kind of depends on the people. If they don't like pinball, then it's almost worthless.

You might try maybe getting a PS2 or xbox 360 set up in the break room (or similiar area depending on the office). There are lots of fun and fast competitive games to play. It'd be cool to set up a Madden '06 tournament with a bracket on the wall and people going head to head a day or two each week during lunch.

Maybe get everyone an ipod with a nice set of headphones so they can listen to their choice of tunes while they code.

If you aren't sure as to the type of thing they would find entertaining, then it might be good to pick a friday afternoon and reserve a room somewhere fun (like Dave & Busters) and get everyone togeather for some drinks and things in a casual environment where it might be easier to figure out what they would benefit from.

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Original post by DrjonesDW3d Quote: Original post by Ghhetto These suggestions and links are fantastic. I like the trip idea alot....never thought of that one. Thanks for all the responses. Hopefully more come in! Sincerely, Dan I can't give any advice from the position you are in, but I can give advice from the other side. The company I work for is GREAT in this fashion. My job is amazing. I turned down an offer that was a 50% raise, because overal the 'benefit' of the extra $$$ wasn't worth leaving this place. The guy in charge here is an engineer, with little to no training in business. Thus, what he does for us is just things he comes up with that he thinks we'd benefit from. He doesn't open the "Motivating Your Employees Reference Manual" and pick an item from the index. He just thinks about what he would want if he was in our position, then makes it happen. If they are high dollar nerds, than chances are they don't really need a lot more money. Give them stuff that they can't already get. A vacation would be nice, but chances are they could pay for one and take one if they really wanted it. Plus, depending on the level of nerdyness, it could be hard to take a group vacation. A lot of developers wouldn't really enjoy sitting on the beach as much as others would. Everyone can find ways to spend extra money, but there is probably simple things that can be done that end up costing the company less and providing more of a benefit. For instance, where I work, the company treats everyone to lunch every Friday. I know that's fairly common (ie Google doing it every day) but it can be really nice depending how it's done. Especially because our lunches are sometimes several hours long and spent at Hooters, a bar or the bowling alley (alcohol included and encouraged). We've also been known to play a round of golf or see a movie, or set up the office minigolf course or something else afterwards, all on the companys tab. That is an amazing bonus. It really creates a sense of 'the company cares' type of thing. We are even looking at purchasing a Golden Tee machine for the office (since we all are somewhat addicted to it). I am allowed to set up a PC here so I can raid with my World of Warcraft guild if I happen to be here too late to get home on time to do so. The fridge is also fully stocked with everything from Mtn Dew, to Bawls, to Guiness, to bottled water, all payed for by the company and free for anyone to drink during the work day. Something else you can try is letting them have some free time during the day to read news sites online, catch up on forums, or maybe work on their own side project google style. One issue with the above, is that they all cost time. A lot of big companys have rules and business people you have to go through to squeeze every bit of time you can. Too a lot of buisiness people, seeing people take time off work to do other non work related things throws up the red flag of lost profit. However, nothing gets more work done than employees who enjoy what they are doing and like being at their job. Also, if you take the above advice and do it on a quarter by quarter basis, you can build off of that. If you set goals for them that are fairly high, and they accomplish them all, than they are obviously capible of doing what is required in the given amount of time. Giving them some time off shouldn't really slow down the project much. I think for a lot of people, a lot of small things that kind of change the atmosphere of the office would be a lot more effective than a single large reward like a bonus check or vacation. Those things are nice, but don't last long. They will spend much much much more time in the office than they would on a vacation or doing whatever they do with their bonus check. Giving people a reason to come to work other than getting their paycheck can be the best reward of all.

What company do you work for and are they hiring? Seriously.

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Original post by JBourrie Quote: Original post by ChurchSkiz for every line of code they get a dollar! for( int i = 0 ; i < num ; i = i + 1;){}

Imagine the possibilities if num is a large constant !

//Increment i by 2 billions !

++i;
++i;
++i;
++i;
++i;
++i;
++i;
...
i-=250000;
//Just kidding.
++i;
...