It's a very worthwhile read, and I think that we're ahead of her recommendations in a some areas. A few things stand out, though:
- It takes a lot of courage to change the compensation process. It also takes a lot of influence - if most of the company thinks that the process is the best/most fair way to allocate the raise budget, you're not likely to change it.
- It takes a lot of work to improve performance evaluation. One thing I know firsthand is that if you don't talk about goals and performance at least monthly, people will lose focus.
- Training is a better place to spend money than merit raises. I don't have any objective data to support this statement, but I am sure that the best developers enjoy going to conferences and being exposed to different perspectives.
- I have seen some firsthand evidence that fairness in promotions is as important as merit raises. Very few things kill team spirit as quickly as feeling that someone less skilled is valued more than they are.
