Team pay remains at margins of current remuneration practice
Bold predictions were made about the likely growth of team pay in the 1990s, but it remains a minority pursuit among UK organisations. A new study by Industrial Relations Services, an employment research organisation, seeks to find out why.
Team rewards get a good press. According to its supporters, there is mounting evidence that in the new delayered organisation team rewards can help to reinforce teamworking arrangements and encourage more effective team performance.
Stringent conditions
So why does team pay remain at the margins of mainstream reward practice in the UK? For Industrial Relations Services, the low take-up reflects the serious practical difficulties associated with introducing and managing a scheme.
As IRS points out: To work effectively team pay must meet a number of stringent criteria — it should support effective teamwork in team-based organisation teams must be clearly defined and identified and performance measures should genuinely reflect team contribution.
Practical problems
Whilst team rewards may well offer some important advantages, their adoption and use is by no means a simple task. In fact, IRS reckons such a move can be high-risk. The complexities of team-based pay schemes mean that organisations should think carefully before considering its introduction. Experience suggests that team reward works best where it fits with an organisation’ s culture, structure and team-based operations.
What’ s more, organisations looking to introduce team rewards for white-collar workers should tread carefully. Says IRS: In a white-collar setting, team pay may be more problematic, with the worst schemes characterised by ill-defined teams, flabby performance measures and ultimately, a lack of support and commitment from staff.
What you will find in this IRS report
Spread across six pages of the Pay and Benefits Bulletin, the IRS analysis examines the following:
extent of team reward
different types of team reward
a brief summary of practice in 11 named organisations
potential benefits and drawbacks
success criteria.
A final word
In practice, team pay is difficult to design and complex to administer. There is no standard model or approach — schemes vary according to the type of organisation, the nature of teamworking and the goals of the business. — Pay and Benefits Bulletin.
Want to know more?
Title: Whatever happened to team reward , Pay and Benefits Bulletin 524, July 2001.
Availability: Contact the subscriptions department at Industrial Relations Services in London, tel: 020 7354 5858.
For more information about the Pay and Benefits Bulletin visit www.irseclipse.co.uk/publications/pabb.html.