Team Based Incentive Pay Plans

I read an article on The Advantages of Team-Based Incentive Pay Plans. While I agree with some of the comments made in this article I feel that it lacks the realistic disadvantages. Obviously this article is to promote this practice. I feel that one of the big disadvantages includes the slackers within groups. There are always the dead weights that are able to get by on everyone else. I admit that many people are guilty of doing this at different points but let’s face it. Everyone knows that one person in the group that just loves to do absolutely nothing to help the group. The balance to this is to make sure that the group confronts this person early on. Unfortunately I feel like it is better to many times to just let them get away with it. My mentality is that they will eventually find themselves in a position that they must do the work. If they can't do it then they will be fired. If they are able to never reach this point than they deserve it to some degree.

I do agree with the last comment which talks about loyalty to the company when the employee is receiving a perceived acceptable incentive pay. If an employee is being compensated fairly then there is less of a reason to leave. However, this cannot be the only thing to keep an employee. Money, after all, is not the only thing to keep people at their jobs.