Trace the incentive through the metric

The idea

An incentive changes the consequences associated with behavior. When a reward follows a narrow measured outcome, people may improve that measure without improving the broader objective. Designing incentives requires asking what valuable but unmeasured work could be displaced.

Worked example

A help desk rewards staff for closing the most tickets. Workers begin splitting simple requests into several records and closing difficult cases prematurely. The dashboard improves while users become frustrated. Managers add sampled quality reviews, reopened-case tracking, and space for complex work. They also interview staff about bottlenecks. The lesson is not to abandon measurement, but to make the metric answerable to the actual service purpose.

Use it carefully

Behavioral responses depend on professional norms, available alternatives, and the size of the reward. A measure can also change because reporting improves rather than because people manipulate it. Avoid inferring bad intent from an unexpected pattern alone. Use multiple evidence streams, inspect edge cases, and periodically revise the arrangement. An incentive should support judgment rather than reward compliance with a number detached from outcomes.

RETRIEVE. REASON. REMEMBER.

Knowledge check.

Choose one answer for each question, then check your reasoning.