Bonus Program Kills Cooperation

Jan worked in a large food sales organization. All the sales people had independent territories but were grouped within regions, and often shared ideas and suggestions with each other about what was working well. New management implemented a significant new bonus program, with a reward trip for the top performer and cash prizes for the most improved sales people in each region. Jan reported that she completely stopped sharing ideas with colleagues, since she wanted to win the bonus rewards. For two years, all cooperation amongst sales people in the region essentially stopped. A quick analysis showed that overall sales had not shown any real improvement.