Adam Goucher has a great idea for a blog post - Reward systems for testers. What metrics do you use to track a tester’s success? I found myself commenting on it and formulating an idea I could post on my own . The methods I describe below can be used to reward any team. I use it with the testers that report to me as well the escalations developers I directly manage and teams that I don’t directly manage like the support team.
Using metrics to reward people
Using metrics to reward people can get you into the slippery slope of people gaming the system. So one tester logged 10 bug and the other 5. Who is the better tester? Need more info right? Thought so. 4 bugs slipped out in one area and 1 in a different area. Who is the better tester? What if it’s the same tester working on both areas? What if one of those areas was not tested because the dev team said it “there were no changes”? Doesn’t seem fair does it? It doesn’t seem reasonable to me.
My approach
I find the best way to reward people is with appreciation right at the time they do something you like!
Here is how I go about this.
I wrote a list of expectations that I have of the team and a list of what they can expect from me as their leader. I reviewed this list with the team on multiple occasions. During the week I watch, listen and observe the teams interactions with their peers on the team and in other departments (development, support, product management, project management etc.) If they do something I like I note it down on a printed list of my expectations.
Sometimes I approach them immediately afterwards and tell them what I liked about the interaction and sometimes I wait until our weekly team meeting. Sometimes I read off the list things I observed that I liked and sometimes I don’t. I read the energy of the room and from myself and decide if it’s the best time to deliver appreciation.
I also randomly give out movie gift cards to go along with my appreciation as well. I also let teams testing a product leave early on Friday or come in late (depending on the circumstances).
When new projects come up I give people who have done good work and met my expectations a chance to run with the new stuff.
Flaws/Drawbacks with this approach
First problem is the random gift card approach. Some people tend to like a specific algorithm to receive a reward. “If I do X I receive Y”. This can lead some people to feel left out because they aren’t receiving monetary recognition for their efforts while others are.
Second sometimes there is a really good interaction that I miss because I’m in a meeting or away from my teams area. Most of the time if it’s a really good interaction multiple people on the team will tell me about it. Sometimes the person involved will tell me directly. I also enjoy hearing these stories as well.
Side note: Wanting to see these interactions is one of the reasons I refuse to sit in an office that is away from my team. I would miss out on all the rich context!
Third - there are times when some people don’t receive appreciation for activities done throughout the week. Why? Well it could be because of the reason stated above, or any other of a multitude of reasons.
Despite the flaws I do it anyway
Why? Because I’ve seen the power of rewarding people with appreciation. On one instance I took an employee aside, looked him in the eyes said “Ron - I appreciate you for helping me run the team while I was away on vacation. It really meant a lot to me and people are telling me you did a great job. I like hearing that” Ron’s eyes started to tear up. I don’t think I could have given him a monetary reward that would have had the same impact as that simple sentence. Was it tough for me to do? No. Did it cost me a lot? No did it have an impact that I wasn’t expecting? YES. Ron’s productivity went through the roof.
Rewards people takes effort
It’s up to me to know what motivates each person individually. I don’t feel there is a reward system you can put in place that blankets every tester on the team. For some people it’s money, for others it is intellectually stimulating work, for others it is camaraderie.
Having a blanket system or method doesn’t seem reasonable to me. It’s easy to do - anyone can pull metrics out of the bug tracking system to reward people. This method is not exactly fair and doesn’t take into consideration the nuances of things that are important to you
Keep in mind
The main thing to remember when rewarding your team is to be reasonable, pay attention to they are doing AND tell them when you notice it. Money helps but it doesn’t always work for everyone. My method is a lot of work but has paid off for me in the support and dedication of my team.
