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Let's say I have a team of 10 developers, and 1 or 2 of them are extraordinary outstanding in the sense that:

  1. They consistently take the hardest algorithm problems and solve them
  2. Their superb communication skills mean that they can elucidate requirements well
  3. Their understanding on the software design pattern and general architecture means that they are consistently writing clean, good, easy to understand, easy to reuse code.

How can I reward them without devastating the morale of the rest of the team? As we all know, promoting individual achievement over group achievement is going to be harmful for the team as a whole.

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    There are descriptive assumptions in your question, such as you have some reward already in mind, but that somehow would rob team morale. Please elaborate on those assumptions, because in fact the culture that fosters such may need to be addressed. For instance, it is absolutely inappropriate for people to discuss their compensation with others; if this is happening, that needs to be fixed, or the team will always have problems with whiners and poor morale Jun 4, 2012 at 10:45
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    I've updated the question to show why giving out monetary reward to a selected few can hurt the team as a whole. Also, regardless of whether you like it or not, the salary of everyone will eventually, somehow become public for everyone else.
    – Graviton
    Jun 4, 2012 at 13:33
  • If they are doing hardest work, at the highest quality, then, objectively, they are not doing the same job, at the same level as the rest of the team. Many team structures have different levels and different responsibilities among team members - analysts, jr. programmers, programmers, sr. programmers - promote them to a higher level position (not just hand them cash). That is not "favoring" someone. Treating unequals as if there were equal is going to cause as many problems as recognizing achievement, except you'd lose your best workers instead of ones who aren't. Jul 14, 2017 at 14:48
  • Consider asking the outstanding developers what they would like to do. I know one who asked for time off to work on an open source project. Personally I like going to conferences for inspiration. Jul 15, 2017 at 6:47

9 Answers 9

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Give them a raise.

I don't know about your company, but the salary of others isn't usually public information. With that said, giving these developers a raise (in cash ;-) would make them happy (I would think), as well as keep the team's morale as it is now.

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    Regardless of whether you like it or not, the salary of everyone will eventually, somehow become public for everyone else.
    – Graviton
    Jun 4, 2012 at 13:32
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    @Graviton, Really?? In my 20 year career, I have not disclosed my compensation to a single coworker. Salary discussions between coworkers cause problems. If you are participating in them, you are part of the problem. Jun 4, 2012 at 13:59
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    @MikePennington, yes. Even though you don't disclose doesn't mean that others cannot know. Trust me on this.
    – Graviton
    Jun 4, 2012 at 14:01
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    @Graviton: So what if people eventually know? It sounds like these developers earned the raise and if it says so on their annual performance appraisals, you won't have any problem justifying it to anyone who complains. You can say to complainers: "If you want a raise like Bob got, you have to work like Bob". Unless you want to reward them publicly in front of everyone else. In which case, do something a little more light-hearted, like give them an "Awesome Developer's Crown" or a fun t-shirt or something. Keep raises relatively private, the subject of one-on-one in your office. Jun 4, 2012 at 14:14
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    @Graviton: Yes, it can sometimes be hard to figure out who's truly worthy of a raise. But if you don't do something for them, eventually they will figure out that they are not being rewarded for going above and beyond what their peers do, and they will either slack to the minimum amount of work for their job, or they seek out an employer who will compensate them for working harder. And for the ones that don't deserve a raise yet, work with them constructively so they can get there as well. Jun 4, 2012 at 14:25
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What you are looking for is a tailored employee reward / incentive program, rewards could be anything really, from cash, either through target bonuses or raises, to schedule flexibility, cool new toys and promotional items.

Personally I enjoy getting first choice on projects, and a bit more flexibility when it comes to working hours and vacation time but you will have to tailor the program to your team and company culture. It's a bit trial and error, there isn't a one fits all solution and it will fail horribly if you don't have solid performance metrics. If after a while you see that you only reward the same couple of people, just promote them already, and continue the program for the rest of the team.

If you are looking for non monetary awards, you should take a look at this excellent article, from which I think the more feasible rewards for a small company are:

  1. Flex those hours. If there's one free reward that rises above the rest, it's flexible work schedules. Nearly every expert we contacted suggested flex time as a perk that offers the most gain with the least pain.

  2. Give them a free pass. Levine suggests giving out a certain number of free days off to employees to use as they see fit.

  3. Let them phone it in. Telecommuting programs can relieve stress and make workers feel more appreciated, as well as more productive.

  4. Remember the secret words. “The two most underused words in corporate America that get the highest ROI (return on investment) and ROT (return on your time) are the simple words 'thank you,'” noted Michael Guld, president of the Guld Resource Group author of "The Million Dollar Media Rep: How to Become a Television and Radio Sales Superstar ."

But you should read the whole of the article, there's some good advice in there.

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Promote them to senior developer or technical lead status and give them a raise with the promotion.

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  • Additional time off helps too.
    – Neo
    Jul 14, 2017 at 15:06
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I would agree with raise as suggested by others. Because they will have aspirations to grow. However, in my view that is not enough.

There are several other factors that motivate people - specially the tech oriented ones-

  1. Good Resources

  2. Recognition

  3. Freedom

  4. Challenge and Responsibility

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Not into this reward thing. Do nothing. just say well done and thank them for being such an integral and dedicated part of the team. Sounds like you got some good guys there. Money is never what people are asking for. Genuinely tell them how good they are and that you appreciate their hard work and efforts. But never make the appreciation tangible, it will cause resentment. If they are as good as they are, and they are happy with the pay that they are getting, then surely this is the best place to be for all. As soon as you add Reward/Punishment, you only get a bad result.

If they come to you because they are not happy with the money. Then by all means, if you feel they are worth it, give them a pay grade, but remember, all the members of the team will need rewarding. Equally. So when you make the pay rise, take this into account.

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    You got to ask yourself, are your good guys really that good, or are your not so good guys, as good as they should be. maybe you need to hire better programmers to replace the not so good programmers. This makes the company far more aggressive in hiring and firing. The reward becomes, "your that good, we want to keep you." Jun 6, 2012 at 1:09
  • This is likely an unpopular answer, but it makes a good point. Extrinsic rewards like salary adjustments tend to have a very temporary boost on morale. There are times when they are appropriate, but finding ways to make the employee love their job (the actual work) more will be better in the long term.
    – JohnFx
    Jun 6, 2012 at 15:20
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    I really enjoy money actually. Along with more independence at work.
    – Fez Vrasta
    Jul 15, 2017 at 8:47
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Saw this is passing, but will offer some thoughts infrequently expressed.

  • You can say it as much as you like, but people do NOT work solely for the satisfaction of the work itself. Originally trained as a musician, I well understand the concept of, "I'd do this even if it paid nothing." But I can't afford to live that way, and neither can you.

  • Whether you like it or not, the amount of money you pay conveys a sense of the value you put on the person and on his/her work. That is true even if the person is independently wealthy.

  • Some people provide value in almost any situation. Others provide great value by interacting with other members of a team, and can't provide that value without the appropriate interaction.

  • You want a team, not a collection of disjoint individuals. If you want a team to function together, you want to foster an ethos of all-for-one and one-for-all. If the team rises together or falls together, they generally will recognize this as fair, and if a member is a problem, they will know it. If it is serious, and if you make it known that this really is your business too, they will let you know. But the key point is generally to reward all commensurately when the team succeeds. (I might point out here that even your admin may be a key contributor to your team's success. S/he will be if you hire and run things that way. Respect the value of EVERYbody.)

  • The real team is not just your group. That thinking leads to local optimizations. The real team is the whole firm.

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I believe that if you noticed this then probably most of the other developers are aware of this as well - hence there should be no problem giving them a promotion. I do agree that all the promotions & salary details become public in some point - even if it is told as a secret to a mate at work or to brag a little, so you could give the monetary promotion or some bonus or some other reward publicly (I learned that many employees would prefer some free days or flexible hours over cash bonuses, especially employees with kids), explaining why it is given - for the extra effort they make and possibly it would show the other developers they can get the same reward if they work as hard.

It would be a problem only if they would seem working the same as everybody else by the rest of the group and getting some special treatment

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I personally would consider rewarding them with something related to their work - something which would either make their work easier or faster.

That could be a fancy ergonomic chair/ desk/ mousing device/ keyboard/ etc or some kind of a special consultation with a guru in the field or ticket to a special conference, etc. As for a reward helping you get done work faster I would personally appreciate a one month of having a personal assistant or an experienced expert to consult with. A new super-fast computer or more efficient commuting solutions also count.

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  • Shouldn't this perk be available to all ( because doing so will make more economical sense) rather than be handed out to those who perform real well?
    – Graviton
    Jun 7, 2012 at 3:17
  • Generally it should but: a) the resource might not be sufficient to provide it to everyone, especially the perk of extra staff; b) the reward could be a super version of the perk - e.g. while everyone could and should have an ergonomic chair, the rewarded programmer would have the ultimate, cutting edge chair.
    – drabsv
    Jun 7, 2012 at 19:40
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Your question is a bit off. A reward is given for a one time effort that exceeds expectations. You give a reward to someone returning your wallet (with or without the valuables in) because they could have just ignored it and done nothing

It doesn't sound like you want to reward them for staying late, working a month straight or having a brillant insight or any other onetime event.

Instead, you are describing them as more valuable employees -- they do better work more consistently. This should be recognized not with a one time reward, but with higher salary or other permanent benefit. A higher salary isn't a reward, it's a recognition of the value you put on their work, and how hard it would be to get someone else to do the same work.

You may recognize that they were more valuable employees than you previosuly thought over the course of a project, but ultimately it's not the project (or it's success) or even how much they contributed to it that should drive your actions. It's really about how you value their work and how easy it is to get the same quality and quantity of work.

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