𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟮 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿. 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁. 𝗔𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝘄𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗹𝗲. 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗥 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗸𝗲𝘀. 𝗧𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀—𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁. I’ve seen it happen. One incident in January, and motivation evaporates by February. After ten years designing and running plant bonus systems, I’ve learned: 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺—𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀. Playable systems balance what matters, reward what’s controllable, and keep momentum alive all year. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗴𝗼 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴: ⚡ Production, Quality, Maintenance, Shipping —each chasing different KPIs. The plant loses together. ⚡ Lagging metrics like TRIR punish the unlucky; once it’s blown, you can’t recover. ⚡ Group plans feel unfair. Behavioural research is clear: perceived fairness drives engagement more than payout size. ⚡ KPI overload dilutes focus. When everyone has seven targets, no one knows which one truly counts. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀: 1️⃣ 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄 – Align KPIs so functions win together (Output + Yield + Maintenance Compliance + Loads Shipped on Time). 2️⃣ 𝗥𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝘂𝗰𝗸 – Pair lagging outcomes with leading actions (Toolbox Talks, Safety Timeouts, Kaizen Events). 3️⃣ 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀 – Frequent feedback sustains motivation better than an annual all-or-nothing scheme. 4️⃣ 𝗦𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲, 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 – Keep KPIs stable year to year; consistency builds mastery. 5️⃣ 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 (≈ 𝟱–𝟭𝟬 %) – Small discretionary pools help leaders handle shocks fairly. 6️⃣ 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 – One cross-functional KPI like 𝘖𝘯-𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 shows how everyone contributes. 𝗔 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆: When we mapped “on-time loads,” ten loaders turned into an entire plant team. Packaging, scheduling, maintenance—everyone saw their fingerprint on the truck. Everyone had to contribute to make it happen. The KPI stopped measuring people and started 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 them. 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆: Perfect is a myth. 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 wins seasons. 🧐 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘒𝘗𝘐 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳? Comment “𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗧-𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗘𝗧” for the Plant-Incentive Design checklist. `#ManufacturingLeadership #EmployeeEngagement #OperationalExcellence #ContinuousImprovement #IncentiveDesign`