CMPO Briefing 1 Team-based incentives in the NHS?

Individual-based incentive pay or team-based incentive pay? There is a prior question whether it is appropriate to have any form of incentive pay as opposed to straight salary. If it has been decided that the former is desirable, the next question is the form of the incentive pay. The standard argument in favour of individual-based incentive scheme (IBIS) is the following: if I am rewarded as an individual for my output, I get the full value for staying late at work; if I am paid as part of a team reward, I only get part of the reward, so I may choose not to put in the extra hours. As a recent HMT report puts it, it is said that a team-based incentive scheme (TBIS) “penalises performers and rewards passengers”. This is known as the ‘free-rider’ problem. Thus the organisation choosing to institute an IBIS provides stronger incentives for its employees.