Merit bonuses presentation maria shvets

1. Merit Bonuses
Moving towards self-organizing teams

2. I am Mariia Shvets
PMO Expert, SoftServe
You can find me at: shvetsmari90@gmail.com
Hello!

3. A story comes first

4. Foundation for Merit Bonuses
◉ Peer feedback
◉ Virtual points
◉ Unpredictability
◉ Fun and creative thinking:)

5. Rules

6. 1 month = 5 points
Each of you will be assigned 5 points each month to give it to
your peers, not to oneself
1

7. Again, points
cannot be assigned
to oneself!
You can spread it among anybody you want to. You can give all
of them to 1 person, or to multiple. But the amount of points
should be the whole number
2

8. When to convert
points
Every quarter there will be a meeting where everybody will have
a chance to convert gained points into some value.
3

9. The Game
We will need 2 dice. Those, who managed to strike a double with
them (everyone has 3 tries) - will have a chance to convert their
points. Or to save them for later.
Also, when anybody reaches 50+ points he or she will have a
chance to convert own points ahead of schedule immediately.
4

10. Points conversion
1 point = 1$ in case of converting them to money
1 point = 1,5$ in case of converting them for entertainment to cope with
the stress:) (games, city tours, hotels outside the city etc.)
1 point = 2$ in case of spending them on cultural events or sports
1 point = 3$ in case of spending them on professional development
(conferences, books, courses) or devices/accessories for the work place
1 point = 4$ in case of spending on charity
5

11. Points for
achievements v.1
● 15 points to the team (spread equally between team
members) for Formal written gratitude for achievements
from Scrum Masters or Formal written/verbal gratitude
from Customer Upper Management
● 10 points to the specific team member in case of the same
form of personal gratitude
6

12. Points for
achievements v.2
● 5 points to each team member from the team for Formal
written gratitude for achievements from Scrum Masters or
Formal written/verbal gratitude from Customer Upper
Management
● 10 points to the specific team member in case of the same
form of personal gratitude
6

13. Outstanding cases
Points also may be converted in case of:
- Person is leaving our project
- There is a high need, e.g. in conference tickets etc.
But these cases will be discussed individually with the manager!
7

14. Questions to discuss with the
team before you start

15. Are you O.K. in general with
this system?

16. How will we name these
points?

17. Do you like the idea with
striking doubles?

18. Do you find the quarterly
frequency of releases
acceptable?

19. Which level of transparency do
you prefer?

20. Which level of transparency do
you prefer?
Only PM see who gives his/her Points to
whom. The team sees only summarized
result

21. Possible options for converting
points to value
English
classes
E-book
Entertainment
Sports
Conferences
Headphones
Certification

22. First feedback from the team

23. NPS: 60 (9,07)
Would you recommend to start similar bonus system on the other projects?
75%response rate

24. NPS: 60 (8,53)
Do you like to have a chance to say "Thank You" to your team mates with Merit Bonuses?

25. So, what’s the drawbacks?

26. Potential drawbacks and cases
when not applicable
◉ There might be collusion between some team mates
◉ Might demotivate too reserved but ambitious teammates
◉ People sometimes don’t know for what exactly they are
recognized by the team
◉ Not applicable for:
○ Team of less than 5 persons
○ Team at storming phase

27. Let’s discuss?
Thanks!