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?"

Comments

Regional Economy

[_iris]

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.

The more bonuses, the better

[msuzio]

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.

Give em $1 bills

[crisco]

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...

Bonuses are good, but be careful...

[kaszeta]

Bonuses in general are a very good idea, since they really help everyone feel like they are a valued member of the team, and that their hard work is being rewarded. But there are some caveats:

1. Give money, not gifts. Gifts may or may not be appropriate, while money is universal
2. If you give a bonus once, your workers will often expect the bonus every year. Make sure that they know what is expected of them for a bonus, and also make sure that they understand that bonuses depend on economic conditions, and that they might not always be there.
3. If you make giving out bonuses a habit, make sure that if you find out that there might not be a bonus in a given year, let your people know then. Telling people that they might not get a bonus isn't the greatest morale booster, but it is *way* better than having someone think a check is coming that isn't. Bigger checks are a pleasant surprise. Smaller checks are a slap in the face.
4. It's best if you come up with your own hard rules about determining bonuses (amount and who gets them) and stick with them, so it doesn't appear arbitrary.

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)

It is Christmas, give them what they REALLY want

[Glonoinha]

Invest the $7,500 back into the company but let them decide how to invest it.

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 ... 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.

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 ... 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.

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.