The bonus rule
People do what a rule rewards, not what you hoped for. Before you set one, ask what is the cheapest way to score on it.
5 minutes · trains Think ahead · points only, never money
You set the bonus for a support team of four bots. They do not care what you meant, only what the rule pays for. Four weeks to find a rule that gets you what you want.
- Week
- 1 of 4
- Customers helped
- 0
- Waiting
- 0
You run a support desk with four bots, 40 hours a week each. About 48 customers bring a problem each week. A proper fix takes 4 hours, so the team can fix 40 a week at most.
What you want is customers' problems solved. Each week you choose the bots' bonus rule, and they do whatever earns the most under it. Four weeks; you can change the rule each week.
Try it yourself
A help line pays its staff a bonus for each call they answer. What is most likely to happen?
3 questions, a minute or two. Nothing to finish first.
Want more? Practise Think ahead.
Read more
- Ask what the rule rewards A rule or target changes what everyone does. Before you set one, ask what is the cheapest way to score on it, because that is what you will get.
- Their next move After every move by the other side, ask what it wants to do next.
- The Think ahead course Lessons and practice for the skill this lab trains.