ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995 TAG: 9512150034
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: G-4 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Workplace
DATELINE: CHICAGO
SOURCE: CAROL KLEIMAN CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Being paid for individual effort is something most of us believe is part of the American way.
But that was before working in teams became an important management tool: It's estimated that in 1994 one-third of U.S. employees worked in teams; this year, the percentage is expected to rise to 50 percent.
Teamwork is prevalent in manufacturing, where people with a variety of skills work together to complete a project.
And, as teams proliferate, so does team pay, in which individual compensation is tied to project success. For some, that change is a nightmare.
``I'm a member of a team in a midsize manufacturing company,'' a reader from Arizona said. ``I don't feel I'm being paid properly. I've met all my individual goals, but other team members and the team overall did not.
``That means I take a hit in my paycheck, and I don't like it.''
Employees aren't the only ones concerned about this change: Managers also have to figure out how to pay team members fairly and keep them motivated.
``Now that people are working closely together to produce a product jointly, how do you pay them in a way that encourages collaboration and spurs the team to produce its utmost, but does not ignore the individual's innate desire for personal recognition?'' writes Beverly Geber in Training Magazine. ``It's a wobbly balancing act ... a scary leap for employees and employers.''
Eighty percent of U.S. managers are satisfied with teams, particularly with the positive effect on customer service, but only 40 percent like team pay, said Steven E. Gross, a compensation expert and vice president and managing director of The Hay Group, a Philadelphia-based international consulting firm.
Team pay began in the 1980s and is going full steam ahead, said Gross.
``The output of goods and services is a group effort,'' said Gross. ``The real question employees on a team must ask is what's expected of them and what role they play on the team.''
Team members have to understand the difference between team and individual success, says Gross. ``All-stars don't necessarily make a winning team. The best people who can't work well together won't accomplish anything.''
Whether you're on a full-time team, a part-time one, a project or a partnership with other companies, Gross says most of any individual success ``is part of the systems you're a piece of.''
The main difference between team pay and individual achievement, Gross says, is ``what was accomplished as opposed to how you did it.''
If you think you've done more than your share and weren't compensated for it, Gross says you may be missing the point. ``You also have to be supportive of the group's activities.''
The conflict between the individual and the team is ``a natural tension,'' he said. ``Even in team pay, there needs to be some evaluation of what you did and some of what was accomplished by the group.''
Among the firms using team pay are Ameritech in Chicago; American Express Financial Advisors Inc., Minneapolis; Trigon Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Richmond, Va.; Hallmark Cards Inc., Kansas City, Mo.; and Keystone Foods Corp., Philadelphia.
Hallmark's team pay is embryonic, said compensation and performance management director Jeff Blair. ``Working as a team is a different culture. A group comes together with common goals, common objectives, and team pay is the reward.''
But, Blair adds, ``we also retain our merit pay systems to reward individual achievement.''
LENGTH: Medium: 70 linesby CNB