Breaking Down Your Business | Small Business | Business Owners | Entrepreneurship | Leadership

What do you do for bonuses?

11.06.2018 - By Jill Salzman and Brad FarrisPlay

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What’s In This Episode: What do you do for bonuses in your business? It's the time of year when year-end bonuses become a focal point. Jill and Brad talk about that, and a listener question involves asking if you canbuy loyalty. (We're never going to escape this loyalty debate.) "It's so exciting from an employee perspective but it's so burdening for a boss." - Jill There's so much anxiety surrounding bonuses, especially when employee and employer expectations don't match. But Brad believes there's no reason to start giving bonuses. Gifts are good when warranted, but he thinks that some employers think they are buying loyalty by giving out bonuses. "A bonus means you're giving something unexpected." - Brad But bonuses can be given for performance. A general bonus rewards the lowest paid employee more than the highest paid employee. A lot of employers fall into the trap of treating everyone equally like you'd want to treat your own family, and Brad wholeheartedly disagrees with that. But introducing that doesn't allow for any accountability. When bonuses are given for performance, however, it bridges the gap for an employee who works for a small business and shares the risk of getting (or not getting) that extra perk. If you're going to give out a surprise bonus, Brad advises that you don't do it in December because there's more expectation that time of year. Make the bonuses proportional.

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