Developing a Team-Based Reward and Recognition System

This project explores the development and implementation of a team-based reward and recognition system for a virtual project team. The assignment requires analyzing criteria for determining team effectiveness, structuring the reward system, and determining who should administer the system (team, project manager, sponsor, or governance board). It also considers the implications of team member dissent, the frequency and method of system review, and how to incorporate short-term subject matter experts. The project also addresses potential problems that could influence the development and implementation of the system, providing a comprehensive overview of the challenges and opportunities involved in motivating and rewarding a distributed project team. The assignment aims to understand how to balance team motivation, fairness, and project success.

Assume you are managing a virtual team for the first time in your career. Your project is the fifth
highest priority in the organizations portfolio management system, which has 55 different
programs and projects, so it is receiving extensive attention from management. The project is
launched to develop and deliver a new product within two years, and the schedule is urgent
because management wants to ensure that the product makes it into the marketplace before the
company’s competitors release a similar product of their own.
To help ensure your project success, management has appointed a senior-level governance board
to oversee its progress. This board meets with you monthly, and you are expected to consult with
its members between meetings if any significant issues or risks arise. Unfortunately, economic
conditions prevent you from having direct interaction with your project team, which is made up
of 25 members located on three different continents. Your company does not have a video
conferencing system, and most communications will be asynchronous except for occasional
conference calls held at pre-arranged times.
You want to ensure that your project is a success and that your team members are pleased and
motivated by their work on the project. Therefore, you meet with your governance board to ask if
you can implement a team-based reward and recognition system for the project. The board
members agree that although other programs and projects in the organization do not have similar
systems in place, implementing a reward and recognition system might be a good idea. If the
system is ultimately deemed beneficial, it could then be applied to other programs and projects in
the organization as well.
You are pleased the governance board is supportive of your idea, and you decide to conduct a
teleconference with your team to explain the concept to them. During the teleconference, you use
a nominal group technique by giving each team member an opportunity to respond with ideas
about the reward and recognition system. You then ask your team to formulate a draft plan for
the system. One team member volunteers to lead this effort.
Questions:
1. What criteria should be used to determine team effectiveness?
2. How should this team-based reward and recognition system be structured?
3. Who should determine how to administer the system—e.g., the team itself, the project
manager, the project sponsor, the governance board? What are the advantages and
disadvantages of involving each of groups listed?
4. If a team member disagrees with the approach, can he or she opt out of the system
without fear of reprisal, or does everyone need to participate for the system to be
effective?
5. How often would a review of the system be conducted to ensure it’s effective? Who
would conduct this review, and how would the review be done?

6. How would a subject matter expert who is part of the project for only two or three
months be compensated by the reward and recognition system?
7. What other problems could influence the development and implementation of this
system?