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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?"
How about, divide profit by 2, then divide that by the # of people to get a bonus?
I think that $500/person would be quite acceptable...
Will you hire me? ;-)
Take that $1500 per employee, give them a $500 or so christmas bonus, then save the rest for further bonuses.
One thing I really like about my employer is we get a christmas bonus, a back to school bonus, a summer bonus, etc. They are all in the couple hundred dollar range, but they alwas seem to come at the right times, and everyone appricates it.
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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've never received larger than 2% of my salary during bonus time. I suspect $500 is 'enough', but if you can afford to give $1,500, then why not? There is no such thing as 'too much' unless it means you'll have to skimp on other business needs next year.
You might also consider giving gifts in addition to a bonus. The percieved value of a gift is often greater than it's actual cost - spend $400 on an IPOD for each employee and give them a $500 bonus.
Just don't give them gifts that are directly related to their daily work - it'll seem cheap (ie, never give your wife a vacuum cleaner as a 'gift', under pain of death)
-Adam
Last Christmas everyone at our small (50 person) company got fairly nice bonuses. Right after the new year, several business deals fell through, and many had to be laid off. The lay-offs may have been avoided if the bonuses weren't so high. The smaller you are, and the fewer clients you have, the more likely you are to find yourself in a similar situation. So, yes, give bonuses, but don't go overboard--you and your employees may end up regretting it.
Bonuses are great, but the have a habit of becomming an institution at many small companies that owners use to "beat-up" people with rather than simply a "gift". Example: I work at a company that used to [from older employees] give out good bonuses. Well, they use it as a "recruiting" tool [blah, blah] to get you to work there, but last year in particular, they beat everyone up all year about it. "You won't get bonus unless..." That lead to all sorts of stupid statements from management about "lazy" and "stupid" [but working 60 hrs./week!] employees. It was a nightmare...It was abusive. If they didn't want to do them, then just say so...execpt they were "promising" them with all sorts of "strings". Promise yourself right now NEVER to do that! it leads to a good thing for the employees just turning you into a tightwad arse. If you're going to do it, make it no-strings-attached, this-time-only. Don't promise it if you can't expect to do it again, and don't hold it out there if you don't intend to deliver...
in short, keep it simple.
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
"You can afford"?
That's the big thing. Does the company have a decent cash reserve to deal with any possible problems, as well as a stable cash flow? I'm sure that in the end, they'd prefer having a job for the long term than the cash now.
Anything in the range of one pay period should be considered a rather reasonable bonus IMO.
$500 or so as a bonus, an extra day or 2 vacation at christmas time, a $100 - $200 gift for each employee, maybe throw a small holiday party for your employees and their families at a nice local hotel(where you could present their gifts and bonus checks as well as announce extra vacation time for employees). And make sure to put some away for the future.
You would know better what your employees would appreciate. 5 employees are easy to please...try pleasing 200+ employees...
By making sure to spend a little in a few different ways, each of your employees will find some benefit in the way you have spent the money. This also requires you to do a bit more work than a gift or bonus alone, but it will likely not go unnoticed.
That is an amount that they have to declare as income, which means that after taxes they get about 800 or 900. I'd go for something smaller. Throw a party or take them to a really, really expensive and nice restaurant. Then give them about $50 to $200 gift cards. There is an american express card that can be used like a gift card in several places. Basically 'mall money' that can be used at many mall stores. This way they get some kind of bonus but it is more of a gift that they don't have to declare on their taxes.
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Whores!
Lots and lots of whores!
You run a tech company, right?
Just imagine the loyalty they'll feel toward you, once they can honestly tell their Dungeons & Dragons buddies that they finally lost their virginity in real life.
Opinions on the Twiddler2 hand-held keyboard?
I would recommend the following:
* have an awesome Christmas party for employee's and their significant others (~$150-$250 per couple)
* upgrade employee's computers/software where they desire (~$600)
* give them the rest in $cash.
Let your employees know how much you value their contributions and friendship. Give each a Christmas card with a meaningful message.
With luck, every employee will be with you next year. Make sure they know that "this year has been good for the company." If you do this, you will not set up expectations for following years, especially if your company does not do as well.
PS: You don't have an office in Melbourne, Australia do you?
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!
I hope you are able to ignore all of the silly suggestions to donote to charities, upgrade workstations, and give non-cash gifts.
Donating to a charity in someone's behalf is one of those anti-gifts. It's a gift that isn't a gift. It says, "Here's some cash but you can't have it." And if you chose the charity, you're saying "And I won't even let you pick where it goes." Lovely sentiment.
Upgrading a workstation is, as someone else pointed out, like buying your wife a vacuum cleaner. Keeping workstations fast and efficient is in *your* best interest, and I'll bet you get to write-off the depreciation. It's another anti-gift.
I believe those who say they really appreciate non-cash gifts, but not everyone does. Do you really want to roll the dice? I've sure received a lot of stuff that just missed the mark. Let your employees get something they want, not something the boss wants. Besides, I have a suspicion that a gift large enough to be a decent bonus is probably taxable anyhow. A gift that costs cash to receive would be a huge anti-gift.
Cash is king. It says, "Thanks for all the hard work, and sorry about the chunk the tax man takes (can't help that), and I know you'll make good use of this."
i'd also attach a form for the Human Fund.
this is just a placeholder till i send back my real sig from the future.
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)
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
So what good is that to those of us who have a life outside the office? For most of us, work is a means to an end. What you're suggesting isn't what I would consider a bonus. Sure, it would make some aspect of my job better...but for most of us happiness in our life away from work is far more important than happiness at work.
For most of us, work is a means to an end. What you're suggesting isn't what I would consider a bonus.
I don't know whether your claim of "most of us" above is accurate or not, but it sure doesn't apply to me.
The hours of my life matter a lot to me. I spend too many hours at work to NOT treat it as part of my "real life". I look for work that I want to do as an integral part of living my life, not as a "means to an end".
If I can't find such work, that's a hardship that I work to try to overcome if I can. Sometimes I can't for a while, but I don't shrug it off as "work is just a means to an end".
Most of the time, I care how it goes, and I value being given authority and resources that give me more leverage over this important portion of my life.
An employer who provided a bonus of this sort to me would be giving me some resources for improving things in an area of my life that I care about, and this would matter to me.
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