This type of pay system would also allow reduce staffing. With more employees able to perform other tasks, they wouldn’t need extra people on staff to cover days off or peak seasons for those with specific skill sets. It would also allow for better quality, job performance and job variety.
In my opinion, one big advantage would be eliminating the decreased productivity they currently experience when specifically skilled employees are absent. It would assumedly also create a greater feeling of self-worth in the employees and more motivation
An additional advantage specific to the employees could come about based on their current pay structure. They currently get a team based bonus for completing each computer without defect. Better skills among all employees would likely increase that rate of production, increasing the pay for each employee. This could also be seen as a disadvantage to the payroll for the company. This may be something the company may need to review and discontinue.
I read several websites that discussed pay-for-knowledge systems and the consensus seems to be that it will increase productivity as well as provide motivation for employees to perform at a higher level, increasing company profit in the long run (Anderson).
Anderson, Arnold. "What Are Some Advantages of Using Pay-for-Performance to Motivate Employee Performance?" EHow. Demand Media, 19 Apr. 2011. Web. 14 July 2012.