What Motivated programmers?

December 31st, 2007 • Related • Filed Under

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I will start with a question, if you have a spare £400 in your development budget do you A) Reward your star programmer with a £400 bonus or B) Buy him/her a 24 Inch 1920×1200 LCD screen?

I previously asked this question and since then all my programmers now have either 24 inch screens or two 20+ inch monitors (it’s their choice). What proved my point (for what its worth) was several weeks before Christmas one of our student programmers (a big wave to the Melon, don’t ask.) was in and was particularly upset that they had been relegated from using two 20inch Monitors to a (temporary) single 19inch monitor. This is a rough version of what was said.

Me) Am afraid you have to use that machine for today (points at machine)
Them) (look of horror) But it’s only a single screen!
Me) Yes, but is higher resolution.
Them) Its SQUARE!!!
Me) Yes, but being 4:3 means you actually can fit more code on screen.
Them) (look of disbelief)

Now the original article to date has had in excess of 200,000 hits and it still keeps going pulling in on average 200+ uniques per day! Obviously people are interested in learning what actually motivates their ‘oh so difficult to understand’ programmers. The process of keeping your programmers happy is about understanding them and if you are a pointy haired manager then this all probably going straight over your head, in fact your almost certainly on a golf course anyway. I digress, the simple fact is if you don’t know what they need, a) do a different job, b) ask another programmer or c) ASK THEM!! - then do not a) say there is not the budget b) ignore them or c) buy a bigger monitor/cpu/gadget and give it to yourself

We have been doing some pretty cool work at fav.or.it and I wanted to reward people for their hard work. One of our programmers who has been with us from nearly the start has been designer/coder/htmlizer/anythingIneededhimtodo-er and has performed minor miracles. I thought about what I had been given before by previous companies as rewards and they had mainly been a % of wage or some other randomly thought up scheme that results in (n) extra cash and wondered if it had actually motivated me to do any extra work the next year, and looking back the simple answer was NO. I did the work I did because I enjoyed it, the extra money was always nice but it never made me think ‘my employer really appreciates me’.

So what did I do? I got him a LEGO Mindstorms NXT because A) he’s gadget mad B) he’s into cybernetics C) he’s a programmer of course hes going to like LEGO + something that is programmable.

I am sure some of you will disagree with this and go on and on about how much more important cash is too you, well that’s fine by me but you would never get a job with me. I have from hard learnt experience found those who are doing it for the passion are the best in the world and the cash is just an after thought.

As always I would be interested in hearing what you think, especially on if this would have motivated you or not?

There Are 39 Responses So Far. »

Comment by Ben on 31 December 2007:

Cash is only an afterthought when you have more than enough. I live in a high cost-of-living area and I have certain plans that require a fair amount of savings. I watch every check I get come in, stick to a strict financial plan, and I have trouble doing this as strictly as I’d like. I make more than fair market value. I’m passionate and fairly skilled (subjective opinion).

I also recently got a bonus of sorts of that natureand I would have much preferred cash. Being aware of financial needs and having goals there doesn’t make you have poor motivation. That’s just insanity and people need to stop thinking like this. With money I can buy the LEGO mindstorm or put money away for that masters I’m saving up for so I can learn even more or buy that bundle of geek books, etc.

Don’t confuse financial planning, which betrays a good trait in developers, with someone working ‘for the wrong reasons.’
Comment by Josh on 31 December 2007:

Oddly enough, I’ve been in both boats.

My previous position, my employer would give me more cash if he felt I was distressed or un-appreciated. Honestly, I couldn’t wait to get away from the gentleman as it was apparent from the 3 years of working for him that he just didn’t get programmers.

I’ve been at my new position for about 6 months. I work very closely with the IT manager, and he and the other manager I work with a lot actually asked permission to get me a gift for my work that they have apparently been really impressed with. They could have given me a bonus (don’t think anyone gets one, it’s a small company), they could have given me vacation time, etc. Instead, they gave me an iPhone.

I haven’t felt this appreciated in what feels like forever. And I would take the iPhone over cash anyday. Period. The fact that I was given something I can’t regularly afford that has no strings attached and is something I’ll use to pieces, speaks worlds to me over money that I’ll forget about in a month’s time.
Comment by Justin George on 31 December 2007:

I’m with the money crowd too. Right now I can’t afford to do X, Y, and Z, it’s pick one.

If I could afford to do more of the things I’d like to do, I’d be happier.
Comment by raveman on 31 December 2007:

i dont know nothing about that lego thing, but i will check it out. Great idea, but i think you should also get something for the rest of the team (something less than that), but if they get nothing it might dismotivate them.
Comment by bob on 1 January 2008:

My perspective on this is, if you are going to reward me with cash, make it part of a raise. A one time small amount of money to “reward” me is usually going to piss me off, because it seems more like, “Hey you are doing a good job, but not good enough that I would make this part of your salary.” (This is especially true when it comes just after a raise cycle and the disappointment with the raise was noticeable to the boss.)

I would agree that I would rather get a hardware upgrade to my work machine than other token rewards.
Comment by Josh Volz on 1 January 2008:

It’s important to know your target. A single, well heeled programmer might like a toy that shows you understand him. A married or financially distressed programmer is just going to be upset you didn’t give him money, because he either has to (A) explain to his wife why you didn’t give him money or (B) continue to be financially distressed, but with a new toy.
Comment by Carlos López on 1 January 2008:

I think that even though I would prefer cash, a selected gift would be more important.
First of all, any economy, a cash bonus is a bonus, that’s it, if I’m financially distressed then it wouldn’t solve things (maybe even make them worse if I’m stupid) unless is was quite a lot more.
A raise I think is too much for it, a raise means you’ve been doing a good job constantly, this is because you got a one-shot good job, you where especially good in a certain project or was able to pull the company through a tight-one. It’s worthy of praise, but a raise needs that you give proof that it was more than luck.
The thing with cash is that it works for anything, think of it like a birthday present. What do you remember the most? That awesome bicicle you got when you where 6 or the 50 bucks your grandma gave you? I mean maybe with those 50 bucks you got yourself that awesome RC car, which is still your fav toy, but you remember the toy not the present, I bet you even take note of the horrible sweater your grandma gave you the year before! Giving a gift means that you care, giving money means that you don’t know the reciever, so you don’t care, so the gift is superficial, doesn’t mean a thing.
Think of the ultimate objective, it’s not to give you what you want, pampering doesn’t make you a better worker, it’s making you think “man this job is awesome!” that the manager wants. Now if you got something like 500 bucks and got yourself a lego robotics kit (saying that would be the most awesome ever for you) you’ll remember the kit, but not where you got the cash from. If you instead get the kit from your job as a way of saying congrats for a good job, you’ll remember how awesome it was to work there whenever you see the kit, even if it wasn’t that cool. I’d feel more appreciated and it’d be nice.
BUT it must be used carefully, you have to know the person really well to know what kinda thing they might like, or else you’ll give them something they don’t like, which makes it worse than cash, it’s not just a “meh” it’s “how could he think that!?”
Comment by Xyronet on 1 January 2008:

Being in various IT jobs, I am sorry to say that most of the managers sound like this, if you are after cash only this job is not for you. And I always think that either they haven’t gone through the stage of development or just ignore ground realties. Though I myself mostly switch job for area of interest but being financially rewarded is more motivating than any thing else. Coz most of the times it solves many other financial issues thus giving a relief and motivation for future projects.
Comment by Chris Farnborough on 1 January 2008:

Oh dear, oh dear.
Firstly, you preselect a bunch of engineers who are not predisposed to financial bonuses (as you say they wouldn’t get a job with you if that motivated them) and then you lecture us that , hey wow, big surprise, they prefer cool toys to bonuses. How about trying a more balanced group?

Secondly, I assume by the amount you work in the UK where engineers are in a certain category of wage earning. Do not assume that applies globally: programmers in other parts of the world are nowhere near as well paid and your management advice would crash and burn.

Thirdly, 400 pounds? My experience tells me a bonus is significant when it is about 1 salary, less and its not worth it so much, and eventually its an insult. So assuming your engineers earn significantly more than 400 pound a month, I’m not surprised that they prefer some cool toys.

Lastly I’ll go out on a limb and guess that 70-80% of your engineers are not married with children right?

Sorry Nick but your management ideas are presently limited in view and will get you into trouble in the long term. Everyone loves a doughnut but you cant live off them.
Comment by mccoyn on 1 January 2008:

My stock options motivate me. My employer believes that it is, in fact, immoral to not share the potential growth of the company with all of the employees. Everyone is well motivated around here.

At my last job, I was not motivated by the cash bonuses. Especially when things went bad for the whole company. The bonuses dried up when I was working the hardest, most stressful year of my life. That company lost several key employees when they needed it most.

Bonuses are a scam. If you want to make your employees happy give them raises or stock options. That is how you compensate them normally and that is probably the only reason they do anything for you in the first place.
Comment by PR on 1 January 2008:

It’s quite obvious you wouldn’t select someone that was money motivated because you might find that lego shoved where the sun doesn’t shine.
Comment by PR on 1 January 2008:

Having two monitors and bigger monitors has nothing to do with my screens bigger than yours, is to do with more work space and efficiency. If you haven’t realised that then you do not understand the roles of jobs you manage. It shouldn’t be a perk it should be a given.

I do like the share options idea this way when the company is doing well and you see the directors buying their second home in the sun it doesn’t matter because you also have more money in your pocket.
Comment by BlogReader on 1 January 2008:

What kind of screwed up place do you work at that rewards people by giving them better tools? This is like giving a ditchdigger a backhoe if he digs a mile of ditches in a day. Just give it to him and see the productivity increase. Why are you holding this out as some kind of reward?
What’s next on your list? Stopping weekly beatings?
Comment by Smith on 2 January 2008:

If you give employee money you rely on him to reward himself. Some people know how to do it. They may buy something for themselves, something for their kid and watch as the kid is having fun, or they may invest it and enjoy watching it as it grows. But some people are gone spend it on mundane things, give it to their wives, or put it in savings they don’t really care about. They will never buy themselves toy because they see it as immature. Even though they would really enjoy playing with that toy. So no joy and no additional motivation, money wasted. I that case you should buy them the toy yourself (might be lego, might be trip if they like trips) because then you allow them to be immature and they can enjoy themselves without feeling guilt.
Comment by Buford Twain on 2 January 2008:

A bonus in the form of a significant amount of cash or a significant amount of extra vacation time (a week at least) would work best for me.
Comment by Derek on 2 January 2008:

I, too, have been in both boats, and in multiple telecom industries, including some IT.
I empathize with the Professionals With Family, but I would have to say that if I have a choice between a one time cash bonus that will be gobbled up by my personal/family economy, or some kind of hardware or learning upgrade that makes my job easier/more fun/or me more smarter, I will go with what’s behind door number two. If I am smarter because I could learn something by *playing*, then I will learn very fast (humans learn best through experience, and *fun* experience, even more so), and if I know more, my job is easier, *and*, I am more emplolyable elsewhere, if things turn sour. A one time cash bonus doesn’t do any of those things.
Comment by road_rider on 2 January 2008:

Combine the ideas here, and you have my company. I have been with them for 18 months. In that time I have been recognized and thanked in multiple ways. First, my annual raise was significant and recognized my hard work. Second, we get project bonuses for each project that we work on - depending on the success of the project, client satisfaction, profitability, etc., we get a check each quarter for every project we work on. Additionally, as a company, we receive annual bonuses for meeting various financial targets. Finally, my work stood out in several areas. I love to ride bikes (bicycle, not motorcycle), and could not afford to get a custom bike. On top of everything else, I got a bonus to cover the cost of a custom bike - a thank you for what I had done. I assure you, nothing could have motivated me quite like that perk. It was validation of my work, and something very personal that I can use to decompress (and indeed commute) that I simply would not have been able to get for myself. Without the financial incentives, it would have seemed strange, but combined with them it was an amazing motivator. I can’t imagine working for another company.
Comment by Fortis Bonitas on 2 January 2008:

First to answer the question, I’d rather have the gift than the 400 pounds. Money gets deposited in the bank, intermixes with everything else and is forgotten; and 400 pounds isn’t enough to make a difference one way or the other. The gift is thoughtful, and I’ll assume I already make the market rate for my experience level, otherwise I wouldn’t be working hard and getting gifts, I’d be out looking for another job.

For you other complainers, come on, this fellow is taking the time to think what his workers would like most, given the limited funds for this gift; even writing a blog post about it to get opinions, and you give him nothing but grief; all “managers” should be so thoughtful.
Comment by Joshua Drake on 3 January 2008:

I certainly would have enjoyed an appropriate gift, such as the Mindstorms kit. Any manger who cares enough to figure out what I’d personally like is worth much more than most.

The best bonus I ever received was a $200 Amazon gift certificate. I guess you could say that is the same as cash, but it felt cooler.

Maybe the fact that we had pulled off a minor miracle, and only the key team members received them combine with my borderline obsession with Amazon made it more meaningful to me, or the fact that they came directly from the head business steak holder.
Comment by Marty McFly on 3 January 2008:

I see the majority of commenters disagree with you about the money thing.

I have to ask why you have your own business, for what purpose? Because its a passion or you want to make a lot of money from what your good at?

People with families/mortgages/commiments can also be passionate about what they do but the money always helps. If it didn’t we would just say at the interview “Oh don’t worry about a salary, just make sure there is plenty of work for me to do, evenings too if possible!”
Comment by Fernando on 3 January 2008:

The fact that you found something your programmer likes for three different reasons makes you a good boss who cares about his team.
Of course, money is important too, but if I´m well paid, work on something I´m passionate about, and spend a month of extra-time hard work, I will most probably remember my boss for giving me two flat screen monitors so it feels like I´m an evil genius in a secret lair or a LEGO Mindstorms NXT, or a Nintendo Wii in my case
Any boss can give you an x% raise, but not every boss can give you something that makes you realize he made an effort to motivate you.
Whatever, that´s what I think right now.
Comment by Ryan on 4 January 2008:

Cash will keep people around. It will never make them happy. Programmers (and everyone) who don’t make enough know it, and resent it. And if they are also unhappy, then extra cash is only a band-aid on the pain.

And I say this as a guy who wants a huge raise for what I do, because what I do is way beyond my job description. But I’m going to hold off because I’m in that rare position of loving my job. And that is a lot more important.
Comment by Johan Fuddrucker on 5 January 2008:

Okay this is weird. I am commenting on this blog and I rarely do that. I read this piece and got interested in the question.. I am a programmer and a systems engineer, etc… I also am disabled, and so am limited in my ability to move jobs.

So I did a little research. There are obviously no hard and fast rules but a good rule of thumb is the 15% margin.
There is no such thing as someone who works for free. Experience is as much a coin as money, thus you have the intern, lab assistant in a university, teaching assistant.
Bennies are figured in, either actually or intuitively as part of the salary.
Bonuses are nice, but neither affect commitment or professionalism. Toys are nice, but unless presented in a thoughtful way, as you did, affect neither.
A raise is nice too, but unless it is 15% will not change someones standard in any way, and pretty much goes down in the good thing but whatever category. NOT giving any raise, or a less than COLA raise is an insult and goes down in the reasons to look for employment category, but nothing will generally be done about that unless a 15% move offered
The question it seems like your asking: Do professionals appreciate thoughtful rewards as opposed to cash in an envelope… the answer is yes. We do. Just don’t think that those rewards subsitute for salary. You are obviously a kind, professional, thoughtful manager, with sense. Very rare.
I have 5 kids and love my job and am as broke as anyone else.
But I sure as hell wouldn’t mind a lego mindstorm or a wii. Shoot, that’s the only way I would ever get something like that. And two 20 in monitors at work wouldn’t hurt either. As a matter of fact, I had to bring in one of my own, and my own trackball, and mouse, and switch, and laptop, and kvm switch, and cables…
If you are interested in this subject take a look at Tom DeMarco’s books, Deadline and the rest…
Management Recruiters, a professional headhunting company has done tons of research in these areas, and has a lot of references.
the really big myth in the world today is that management is a discipline all of its own and any manager can manage anything. Bunk. The costs from that myth are huge. You understand and can talk to the people who work for you, and that is worth more money than you can ever pay.
Comment by Arasoi on 5 January 2008:

I would so work for anyone that would put enough thought into how to reward someone. None of this just give them a $50 gift card or a $500 bonus. to sit there and think what would this person like and then give them that has a much bigger effect. Not only does the person get the satisfaction of getting something they enjoy, but the pleasure of knowing there boss really does know who they are and cares about them enough to know what they like.
Comment by bp on 6 January 2008:

“What would be more fulfilling, cash or things, hmm?”
Comment by Jess on 7 January 2008:

I agree that you did the right thing. That is awesome that you sat down and thought, “What would this guy like to have more than cash that would motivate him?” It puts you at a more personal level with your employees than just to give him a bonus.

Although I’m a college student and need money, I still would go for a cool toy than a cash reward.

And don’t think that a toy is for children. As a geek I love cool gadgets and would use them everyday. It would totally motivate me.
Comment by Nate on 7 January 2008:

“I am sure some of you will disagree with this and go on and on about how much more important cash is too you, well that’s fine by me but you would never get a job with me. I have from hard learnt experience found those who are doing it for the passion are the best in the world and the cash is just an after thought.”

You’re right. I would never get a job with you.

Man I wish my employer had given me a Lego Mindstorm instead of almost 4 months salary. I would be so much more motivated, and my wife would have been so much more impressed with that.

Seriously, if your special compensation budget is so lean that the best you can do for a star developer is a $300 present, you’ve hired too many people, or done something wrong.

Being motivated by cash doesn’t make a developer evil or mercenary or lazy or anything of the sort. Cash does two big things:

1) It provides financial stability and freedom. That means that when I’m sitting at my desk at work, or even driving home, or sitting in a hotel room after a day at a conference, I’m not thinking about how I’m going to pay the bills. I’m thinking about problems I have to solve or how to do my job better. And I would rather think about those things than how to pay the bills, but you’d better believe that without cash, I’ll be thinking about the bills. I have a family, and no interesting problem comes before them.

2) It says “we as a company think you are valuable enough to pay for”. That makes me feel pretty good. Better than the iPod they gave me. Better than the Ruth’s Chris certificate they gave me. I like those things, but I really feel good (so good I’m motivated) when they say “you’re worth paying for”. It makes me want to prove them right.

Now, of course, when I’m talking about a bonus or raise, I’m talking about serious cash. $300 would not really motivate me, whether it comes as a bonus or a toy. I’m not going to be insulted by an extra $300, but it’s also not going to have much of a positive effect, if any. And it doesn’t matter how you give it to me.

So what really, really motivates programmers? Cash. Lots of it. My company values me, and they pay me a lot. And they get a much better deal than my last employer.

Only hire top-notch people, give them a strong base salary, and then reward performance with really large bonuses. That’ll motivate them. I can attest to it.
Comment by Mauricio Otta on 8 January 2008:

I’d like to point that if I’m a good programmer/anythingIneededhimtodo-er for a long time in a company… I should be earning a fair salary….
so I’d go for gifts like LEGO NXT for rewards….
Of course, I’m going for LEGO NXT because it costs about the same as a LCD monitor…
choosing a $250,00 gift over $4000,00 would be stupid anytime….
Comment by Izkata on 9 January 2008:

I’m with Jess; a college student that wants money. At the same time, I’d probably go for the neat gadgets - assuming the bonus and the gadgets’ cost are approximately the same amount.

Oh, and as to why you keep getting unique hits? This post, for example, is only 9 days old and I just found it with StumbleUpon. I found the previous one through StumbleUpon, as well.
Comment by klaue on 9 January 2008:

In my company, we only have 17” screens. And we’re a software house. It’s a shame, really.
If I even could use Ubuntu+Compiz fusion with its nice multidesktop, I would be happier. But no, we have to use Win XP. Why? Outlook. The funny part is: 90% of the people actually work on a linux server using PuTTy.
I really wish our boss would give us larger/more screens..
Comment by Mike on 10 January 2008:

In my past I have given out both cash and gifts. Giving gifts to a group of is often easiest by giving cash. With small denominations, nothing beats the thought that is put into a non-cash gift. Most likely, it is something that will stick around much longer than $500 cash and will not be forgotten.
Comment by SilentJoe on 11 January 2008:

While cash is king, getting this LEGO would of been uber cool. Yes i can buy other stuff with cash but how is that going to help me take over the world.. like this lego. muwhahahaha!!!

-SJ
Comment by SilentJoe on 11 January 2008:

oh and want to add, giving cash is lazy. learn what your guys like and there desires and then get them something really cool.

After all, once a computer geek, always a computer geek.

- SJ
Comment by Justin on 12 January 2008:

I’d have to say that I’m with the crowd above that thinks the multiple-monitors example is flawed. I can understand why your junior guy was upset with having to use a single monitor. As a programmer, I need more than one monitor. It’s not a luxury, it’s not a perk; it’s an absolute, must-have. The more monitor space I have, the more efficient my programming will be.

One of the things that frustrated me the most about my first programming job was the fact that I was using a 5 year old computer with a 17-inch CRT monitor. At home, I have a 17-inch laptop with two extra 19-inch flat-panels. Whenever your programmers can reasonably say “I have better development tools at home than at work,” you have major problems.

I probably would have been happy with the LEGO kit, though. Just thinking of the office warfare potential for that thing makes me grin. Then again I’m single and don’t have to worry about providing for a family.
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Comment by J Lane on 18 January 2008:

The monitor example is terrible. My last employer did this. The problem is, when I left, the monitors stayed with them. We were making well below market value, but can’t give you a raise, here use this computer to do your job. Bleh.

The lego example is not bad. I like that you took the time to think about what your staff would like. Pens, clocks, coffee mugs (especially with the company logo) are not good “tools of recognition”.

I have to agree with the comments above. Money isn’t that big a deal for those who have lots. For folks who are just making ends meet, an extra few hundred can mean a lot. An extra few hundred raise (ongoing) really shows how much someone counts, especially if they don’t have to beg it out of you.
Pingback by What really motivates programmers « nPost Startup Blog on 18 January 2008:

[…] really motivates programmers To motivate your development team, would it be a $800 bonus or two 20″ flat screen monitors? Lessons about building and motivating a […]
Comment by andrew cooke on 19 January 2008:

i’d prefer the money because i’m an ornery old bastard who wants to choose his own toys. it’s not that i don’t want to play with whatever the latest thing is, but i’d rather have the control what i have - perhaps skip a screen and a mindstorm so that i can put the money towards a really sweet camera, for example.
Comment by Knighty Night's Talk on 19 January 2008:

Nice posts. Actually stumbled upon here. I like gadgets, programming, web developement, but couldn’t get myself to do it on my own for free. It feels great to get paid more than $30/hr to do something you enjoy. When i’m doing something for free like creating my own website I can’t make it perfect or fancy when I don’t make any money and it takes long time to finish.

I like all these programming and making something cool out of it, but for some reason for me. For me money is like fuel to me. I could spent endless hours doing coding, designing, learning new stuffs if I get paid for it. When I don’t get paid, I still want to do those stuff too, but feel unproductive.

Its great to get a PS3 or a big screen monitor as a sign of appreciation but the manager gotta know what they want. If you get something they don’t like its pretty pointless. I wouldn’t mine getting a lego mindstorm. Want to make prototype products with it.

Nick Halstead, What is this Tech?

What Motivated programmers?

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