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Christmas Bonuses?
An anonymous reader asks: "I run a small startup company who was able to turn a buck during this past year. To say 'Thank you' to the employees who put in so much time and effort to get us financially stable I would like to give them a Christmas bonus. However, I've never received one before, so what is appropriate? I have 5 employees and I want to give them all the same bonus, but while I can afford about $1500 a person, is that too much? Would gifts be more appropriate then money? What are some bonuses the Slashdot crowd has received in the past?"
Obviously how exorbant a $1,500 bonus is depends on the regional economy. $1,500 would be a dream come true for me, here in Wisconsin. If you're in California, I'd say $1,000 would be a good bonus.
Of course, this assumes they don't have some form of profit sharing. If they do, cut it in half.
I agree with those advocating about a $500 bonus, and keeping some of that money back for future "incentives". $500 is a great bonus for a small business to be able to manage, so the employees will appreciate it. Then, with the rest of the money, you'll be able to save up and plan for future bonuses. Being able to give a bonus every 3 or 6 months is a great way to motivate people!
I've gotten $100 bonuses in the past, and although they represented maybe $1 per hour of uncompensated overtime put in, it meant something to me to at least be recognized, and to have some "mad" money to spend.
Holding back money and being able to *regularly* give bonuses helps a lot too -- once people get bonuses, especially around a certain time of the year, they get to like them... being able to make this a regular thing (given that the company has good performance) will go a long way towards retaining good employees.
It's a strange world -- let's keep it that way
Considering that a poor American is much better off than like 3/4 of the world, that extra money would make a huge difference in other peoples lives who are much less fortunate. Not to mention there might be a tax benefit in there. I guess consider it an alternative to putting an extra grand in people's pockets who are already "rich" by any standard in the world.
The sending of this message pretty much inconveniences everyone involved.
The cash just get's poured into giant drain of life, buy a cool gift that will clutter up their house. I would much rather have something I wouldn't buy for myself, some sort of laptop for instance. Crappy cheque's just get taxed.
Tax me I'm Canadian
Whatever the bonus, go to the bank and get a bunch of $1 bills. If the volume is big enough, go down to Office Max and get a bunch of attache cases and fill it with the dollar bills. If you really want to screw with people layer $20s on the top... Or have some fun and find $2 bills...
Bleh!
My suggestion would be to give them each a 40G iPod and take them out to a nice lunch to show your appreciation.
Seriously, once the cash is gone - it's forgotten. The iPod will be there all year round.
I've worked for a number of years at a small company where we do annual profit-sharing bonuses, and it works well as a motivational tool, and everyone likes the extra money at the end of the fiscal year. But we also are reminded that they *are* bonuses, and if business gets tight, the bonus can and has been $0 in the past (thankfully, this is rarely the case)
First, remember that you will be setting a precedent. Too generous now may make you look cheap next year.
Second, Cash is king. It allows the recipient to best decide what's good for them, and meet their own needs, not eat a ridiculously overpriced meal on an inconvenient night.
That being said, keep in mind the tax ramifications of large cash gifts. Maybe giving everyone a $1500 raise would be a more efficient way to convey the money.
Third, what else can you give to improve your workers' lot in life? Do you provide a company match towards insurance coverage? Retirement contributions? If you're a small startup, you probably don't have insurance offerings for them -- add that as a benefit, and pitch in $1500 or so per employee towards the cost. That will make many people very happy.
Finally, Give them time off. Shut down between Christmas and New Years Day, or maybe just for a couple of days. Startups are notorious for working people to death, sometimes for good reason, and while you seem to care enough about your employees not to do that more than necessary, it would benefit them and you to give them some more time off to rest, recharge, and tend to their homelives. Maybe add a day to their annual allotment as well!
And Merry Christmas. Please remain in this employee-centric frame of mind as you grow your business and become a captain of industry.
Invest the $7,500 back into the company but let them decide how to invest it.
... in short they have the power to override any purchase veto they didn't particularly agree with. Better now they can go get that toy they have been wanting SOOO badly without convincing anybody that they need it - I really want a SMP box but there is no way I could convince my boss that I need one.
... but a twin 18" LCD display says 'I am special' for a very long time and serves as a daily reminder that what is good for the company is good for the employee.
Just a thought : every employee secretly wishes he had some power to do something a little bit different, has something that drives him at work. Give them power, and money is power.
Five $1,500 Amex gift cards to be used 'for business expenses' (that part means you get to write it off on your taxes if you get some supporting paperwork, and they don't have to pay $600 of it to the IRS) empower them mightily (money = power). A case of the good coffee, ten cases of soda that they like for the fridge, a nice twin 18" LCD monitor setup or Bose noise cancelling headset, a DVD burner for their individual workstation, more RAM for the server or their machine, one of those nifty HyperThreading new P4 machines, a session of training, 7 MCSE exams, a new 100 megabit switch to replace the hub, wifi gear, iPod, handheld iPaq, work related hardware for their home office, reference materials
This borders on the 'new vacuum cleaner for the wife' but remember that if they are hardcore techies they LIKE new toys even if they are work related toys. After regular ol' cash is spent (once it hits the bank and mixes with all the other cash it isn't the same anymore) it is forgotten
Because it is something they are spending to improve their quality of life issues at work (and the IRS doesn't steal 40% of it, and their wife doesn't get to steal the rest) they are justified (guilt free!) to spend it on toys that they really, really want.
Finally because it doesn't actually affect their bottom line at home they can't become dependant on the bonus money in their annual budget and if this 'benefit' is only half the size next year (or zero if biz is bad) they are not going to be nearly bent out of shape.
Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer
I know that everyone else would disagree with me but seriously consider not giving out bonuses.
Throw a small party/give a small gift but keep the money and use it to grow the business. Give them the gift of hopefully better job security.
The surprise isn't how often we make bad choices; the surprise is how seldom they defeat us.
Give them a couple of floating use anytime days off + as much cash as you can.
This allows the employee to schedule his own time off without fixing a particular week such as Christmas in which the office is closed.
Skip the Xmas party since techies equate those things to cheerleading sessions by management and sales types.
Money is always the best present, because people can use it. Though it doesn't evoke the most appreciation. Appreciation usually comes from presents, because the person is tied to the present.
If you have 5 employees and can afford $1500, that's $7500. It can be split up three ways, money (for a token gift), a gift (to show appreciation), and a better workplace.
That said, each person could receive $300. (It's a nice token that'll give them a night on the town, plus help then buy their personal latest toy, or make another car payment). Then you could spend another $200 each on gifts, such as tickets to a concert, better computer monitors, or some gadget. That'll leave about $5000. With that, buy a coke machine (from Coke, $750 startup fee, plus $75/mo) plumbing will cost about $3000. Syrup costs about $40 a box, and CO2 (after the outlay for the canister of about $100) will cost about $20 to refill. That'll leave about $1000. Use that to buy a refrigerator/freezer, and put ice cream and treats in it weekly.
If you do that, or something like it, you will show appreciation, they will get money and gifts, and their entire working experience (which is exactly what you re showing appreciation for) will be enhanced, greatly. Free food is the cheapest, and probably most successful, way to make employees happy. The Coke machine is something i once had, and there is nothing like filling up a coke from your own personal fountain.
Have you read my journal today?
I've worked at a graphic design print shop for about a year and a half now. Last year we had a great year because some of our competitors left town and we were able to produce some really nice, public work on a few projects. So our boss gave us two days off before Christmas but wante dus to have an office party with our wives, girlfriends, friends, and ex-coworkers (that we're on good terms with). So me and the guys got a few days off and came back for the Christmas party on a Friday night. When we came in we noticed that all of our workstations had been supremely upgraded. Gone were our old macs. We got brand new G4s with hi def monitors, ipods, huge Wacom tablets (special ordered from Wacom with our company logo on them), 5.1 speaker systems, great personal headphones, new office phones, new high back leather chairs. The works. On top of that he gave us each $500 bonuses and $200 business check cards so we could buy more stuff for our workstations. Needless to say we were raelly happy and not one of us has quit in the last year. Sure, we know we're not getting new G5s this Christmas and we already have all of our great goodies, but we know our boss respects us and wants us to be happy at work. He could have given us bigger bonuses and gotten us the computers later, but he wanted us to be really happy and motivated for the next year. Plus, I would have spent all that money on a bunch of crap anyways, but now I have the work area possible, a personal ipod, and happy worokers to deal with everyday. Wouldn't give it up for anything.
It's not stupid. It's advanced.