Employee Tournaments: One Size Does Not Fit All
11 Pages Posted: 3 Jul 2019
Date Written: February 1, 2019
Abstract
Suppose a manager wants to increase employee productivity by holding a tournament. Should there be a single long tournament or a series of short and repeated tournaments? Well, it depends. It’s important to first assess whether employees are of similar ability levels or varied ability levels. If employees have relatively similar ability, it is less important whether a manager holds a single long tournament or a series of short and repeated tournaments than if employees have relatively varied abilities. If employees have relatively different ability levels, employee productivity is generally greater with a series of short and repeated tournaments. If the manager is unsure about the similarity of ability levels, it is better to have short and more frequent tournaments than a single long tournament. This article discusses the tournament design issues managers should consider when planning a tournament to optimize the results.
Keywords: tournaments, incentives, design
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