In our type of company it is really hard to implement meritocracy fairly. The reasoon for this is not because of the individuals but because each individual works for a di9fferent customer, on a different contract in a different location requiring different skills. I am supporting an agency that has always been backwards in implementing new technology. When my co-workers were building ASP.Net MVC apps for SQL Server 2008 R2, this agency was in the process of converting its Asp.Net 1.1 apps to 2.0 and upgrading from SQL Server 2000 to 2005. In providing support for this customer, innovation and new technology was not as appreciated as competence in the old technologies. In addition, my co-workers had their customers submit semi-annual reviews for each individual's performance, whereas the contract I work under will not allow the government to submit reviews for an individual but only for the company's performance. As those reviews do not count towards the bonus calculations it becomes obvious that those in the first situation will benefit more.

So while the concept is good, it is hard to see how people can be best recognized for the actual value added when people are working in completely different environments.