Performance Contingent Reward System: A Field Study of Effects on Worker Productivity.

摘要

An incentive program designed to improve individual productivity was developed and implemented in the data entry section of a data processing center at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard. The employees participating in the study were Navy civilian key entry operators. Production standards were developed based upon keying speed and the amount of time spent working. A Performance Contingent Reward System (PCRS) was designed in accordance with sound behavioral principles and federal guidelines such that a monetary bonus was awarded for high individual productivity. The amount of the reward was directly proportional to the amount of work exceeding a production standard. Production for the 12-month trial period improved substantially, both in keying speed and in the time spent working. Excessive overtime and a heretofore perpetual backlog were virtually eliminated. The work force decreased in size but not in productivity as a few employees left the organization through natural attrition and were not replaced. A rigorous cost-effectiveness analysis showed that the set-up costs of the program were recovered in the first 3 months of operation. The report describes work measurement and standards development; details of the PCRS, including performance-reward contingencies and the payment system; and suggestions for successful program implementation. (Author)