The Christmas bonus. It garners a love-hate relationship among employers. Give a bonus one year, it becomes expected the next. But don't give one, and worry your employees are disappointed. According to this U.S. News & World Report article published just a few weeks ago, a whopping 80 percent of respondents in a recent survey planned to offer some kinds of year-end gift or bonus to their employees this year. That's up from just 53 percent last year! However, notice I highlighted a key word is that statistic.
If you’re sitting here reading this, feeling bad about not giving your employees a bonus, fear not! There are other creative options that don’t have to threaten your bottom line if business is tight. In fact, there are some statistics out there suggesting if you do give bonuses, you should do them at a different time of year and tie it to performance – and not just reward equally across the board when some people may not be as worthy as others. After all, accountability is the name of the game these days, right?
Anyway, back on track here. In my three jobs since college graduation, I’ve experienced three very different types of bonuses/holiday gifts from my bosses and employers. I can safely say two caused me anxiety, and one caused nothing but happiness. Here are my experiences in no particular order:
- Handwritten Christmas card thanking me for my hard work, and two small gourmet chocolate treats. This was my favorite one!!
- Cash bonus – which was a different amount for everyone in the office, regardless of position, work ethic, etc. There was no rhyme or reason to this, and seemed more based on favoritism. Giving some employees two or three times the amount you give others is never a good idea. This was my least favorite, but we would be here all day if I tried to explain why.
- Small cash bonus + bottle of wine. The cash bonus came directly from the company itself, and varied from year to year. It was equal across the board, and a very nice gesture I always appreciated. However, my boss gave out bottles of wine from a local wine shop – and was not consistent about giving them to the entire team. Again, just favorites (or so it appeared since some people would get bottles one year, but not the next). Just keep your wine, thanks.
Please understand, whatever you do choose to do for your employees – even if it’s as small as a handwritten card with a personal note from you, they will appreciate it! Especially if you work in a fast-paced environment where thank you’s aren’t common, this goes a long way!
Want to do something a little more? Try these on for size:
- Holiday Party: Have a holiday potluck day. Perhaps you can provide the main course, and encourage employees to sign up to bring sides and desserts. Since the restoration business means people are in and out of the office a lot, think about doing a breakfast potluck one day (or even something as simple as bringing in bagels and cream cheese!) and a luncheon on a different day to allow more people to participate. Want to add in a little more fun? Try a white elephant gift exchange or secret Santa exchange.
- Late Starts/Early “Releases”: Let everyone choose a day to get their Christmas shopping done {without the kids} – by coming in late, or leaving early. A signup sheet with slots for every day could help you avoid too many people choosing the same day.
- Get Families Involved: Do a dinner potluck! Or -- create small gift baskets with a family movie, popcorn and other fun snacks and treats to send home with employees. Give out movie passes, passes to the zoo, tickets to a holiday show in town (Hello, Rockettes!), etc. The possibilities here are endless.
If you’d like to do a cash or monetary bonus for your employees at some point, but don’t have the cash flow right now, you can always do it another time of year.
Another idea that’s gaining steam: a vacation bonus. Some companies not only encourage employees to use their vacation time now, they require it. To make vacation time even sweeter, they give cash vacation bonuses for employees to use while they’re off. While listening to the radio recently, I heard about a company that offers up to $7,500 a year in vacation bonuses – but requires employees to turn in receipts to prove the money was used for a real vacation, not just home repairs.
Think outside the box, and rock your employee’s socks off this holiday season (and all year long)!
