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IBM scraps rewards program for staff inventions, wipes away cash points | Big Blue staffers aren’t pleased to lose out on potential bonuses (www.theregister.com)

submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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IBM scraps rewards program for staff inventions, wipes away cash points | Big Blue staffers aren’t pleased to lose out on potential bonuses::Big Blue staffers aren't pleased to lose out on potential bonuses

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago (1 children)

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Exclusive IBM has canceled a program that rewarded inventors at Big Blue for patents or publications, leaving some angry that they are missing out on potential bonuses.

By cancelling the scheme, a source told The Register, IBM has eliminated a financial liability by voiding the accrued, unredeemed credits issued to program participants which could have been converted into potential cash awards.

We're told that IBM's invention review process could take months, meaning that employees just didn't have time between the announcement and the program sunset to pursue the next plateau and cash out.

Citing the revised award scheme, one question read, "Do we allow customers to unilaterally cancel the payment schedule after work has been delivered?"

We're told these represented the most upvoted questions submitted to the CEO's recent monthly Office Hours meeting, but the response was evasive.

A former IBMer reports that a colleague still with Big Blue said, "My opinion...the invention award program was buggered a long time [ago].

The original article contains 471 words, the summary contains 161 words. Saved 66%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago

Bigger companies are forced to do such programmes. I was working on a software tool for managing these ideas.

The problem I see here, is the software was boring, the project was boring and the users in charge are bored, too. There is hardly anyone who takes the process serious.

I'm not surprised, by IBM's decision. However, I think they waste a lot of potential by not listening properly to their employers.