One of the biggest difficulties entrepreneurs face is keeping employees motivated. To solve this problem, one alternative is to adopt employee bonus methods, where the company gives the employee the opportunity to increase their salary if they achieve a predefined goal. But do you really know how employee bonuses work, what their pros and cons are and how to draw up such a plan correctly? Read on and find out.
What is an employee bonus?
First of all, you need to understand what employee bonuses are. A method of variable remuneration, bonuses can be given in the form of various rewards in the form of products, trips and even extra income. This strategy is offered to employees when they perform well and contribute to the company's positive results.
Since 2017, due to the Labor Reform, bonuses are no longer part of the salary. FGTS and INSS are also not levied on the extra reward amounts. In other words, the bonus can be applied as the employer prefers: once a year, every semester or quarter, or monthly.
Payment varies according to the company's goals and the rules already defined by managers or the HR team. Because each company is subjective, rewards can be offered for individual or collective objectives. In addition, the choice of reward depends on the company's final budget, the company's objectives or the profile of the employees.
In general, the main bonuses vary into three types: material prizes in the form of backpacks, smartphones, gift vouchers, among others; trips on cruises, international trips or stays in resorts, and finally, cash bonuses.
To draw up a bonus plan for employees, you need to define a transparent program with clear rules. This way, employees will be aware of how the reward will work and everyone will have the chance to receive the bonus and stay more motivated in the company.
Why are employee bonuses a good strategy?
With the idea that the motivation and well-being of employees is directly linked to increased productivity at work, large companies such as Google and Ifood have adopted bonus models for results. As a result, employee productivity has improved and the results have been very satisfactory.
In addition, it is believed that one of the advantages of applying employee bonuses is attracting the best talent and retaining excellent professionals. It is estimated that redundancy costs can be as much as 15 times the value of a salary, and that the adjustment time for a new employee is around three to six months. That's why it's essential to provide a pleasant working environment that aims to guarantee good, quality service.
A good strategy for managers is to invest in continuous training, as well as replacing some repetitive human tasks with technological devices that will help with the execution of tasks. After all, giving employees the chance to improve their performance helps motivate the team and creates a healthier and more pleasant environment.
What are the main mistakes when it comes to applying bonuses to employees?
As you can see so far, employee bonuses are a strategy that needs to be aligned with the manager's planning and attention. In this way, it is possible to develop staff motivation and promote all the benefits necessary for the organization's results. However, some companies don't apply the right strategies and end up hindering the development of their sectors.
The main mistakes revolve around a lack of planning. Without taking care when implementing bonuses, the company is susceptible to negative impacts during the process, since it is difficult to understand the objectives they want to achieve and to draw up medium- to long-term goals. The company's finances are also at risk of being negatively affected by stipulating a bonus that is out of touch with reality.
Not identifying the profiles of the team is another very common mistake among employees who are trying to incentivize their staff. Since each individual in the company has different ways of communicating, the benefits need to be aligned with the expectations and reality of each employee. When this doesn't happen, the choice of bonus becomes ineffective.
Feedback is an indispensable tool when it comes to creating a healthy relationship between employer and employee. Failing to do so, therefore, affects a number of other issues, in addition to employee bonuses.
Failures are quite common when it comes to implementing bonuses and they damage the institution's reputation. That's why relying on the help of a software program that can help reduce these failures is a good alternative.
With Actio it's easy to draw up a bonus plan for employees
Actio has developed software designed exclusively to boost your company's results and performance. With Actio Bonus Management you can access individual results by area and by employee in real time. What's more, with Actio Bonus Management you guarantee more transparency by disclosing the targets already met at work and the extra bonus each employee will receive, and you prevent your company from making application mistakes.
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