In the ranking of the American Inc. The best employers of 2018 fall to companies with high salaries, good insurance and pension plans, and often a cool atmosphere. Unusual bonuses and non-standard methods of motivating employees can be responsible for the latter.
Here are 15 of the most extraordinary.
Employees who choose the right company receive air tickets to anywhere in the world, a free overnight babysitter and ax throwing lessons.
Testament and disposition of real estate
McLean, Virginia-based consulting firm M2 Strategy has access to probate services, legal assistance, childcare and a 24-hour gym.
Ax throwing lessons
Platform staff business connections Podium in Legia, Utah is entertained with lessons in ax throwing, freestyle skiing, bobsledding, and trips to exciting virtual reality theme parks.
Great views and beer
HireVue's headquarters in South Dakota, Utah overlooks the mountains. The interview platform gives employees office pub parties and TED Talk-style lunches.
Sports betting and reality shows
Legacy Marketing employees in Chicago break into teams and place bets on who will go to new series reality shows (such as The Bachelor). Well, they also bet on the results of sports games.
Discount on hybrid cars
Employees of the consulting company Enterprise Knowledge receive memberships in fitness clubs, corporate mobiles and up to $3,000 when buying hybrid cars.
Glory in the Slack channel
In the New York company Charity: Water, a High Five channel was specially launched in the Slack messenger to praise employees who have achieved success there. At the end of each quarter, the best one receives a gift.
Beauty and skiing
Retailer Jane.com (fashion and home decor) has a beauty salon for employees. They also receive tickets to ski resorts, and young parents can take their babies with them to work.
Free iPhone
Dallas-based financial consulting firm Embank to its plan mobile communications adds employees who have worked for 1 year, and after another year buys them a new iPhone.
Bonuses for parents
At software company Outreach, employees with young children—moms and dads—can work half the time from home. The company pays for a night nurse for a child on weekdays, and twice a week for lunch delivery.
Full access
Infinte Energy has acquired the naming rights to the Atlanta arena, theater and forum it serves, and employees can now attend concerts by Justin Timberlake, U2 and Carrie Underwood at these venues for free.
Flight courses
Would you like to learn how to fly? San Francisco-based health technology company pMD is offering free flight courses to its employees.
Relieve stress
Pro Athlete employees have the opportunity to get rid of the accumulated tension. AT retail company The sports goods store for employees has a spa with a massage therapist and a sauna, as well as free breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Air travel and restaurants
Developer service Lob.com celebrates anniversaries with gifts for employees. Stay with the company for a year - and get tickets to anywhere in the world. Are you in your third year? Eat Michelin-starred food.
Best gift
Buffer, development company software, welcomes new employees with gifts: they receive a Kindle and an unlimited number of e-books.
Housing problem
Boll and Branch (the company makes bedding) gives all new employees a set of sheets, and after six months of work - also a bedroom renovation.
I always had a dream to make HFLabs one of the best Russian companies according to working conditions. I believe that bonuses make employees feel a little entrepreneurial, provided that the company's bonus policy is built correctly. And we, apparently, it is built well. I judge by the fact that for the last year I have not actually taken part in the management of the company - all key decisions are made by the employees themselves.
In total, we have several types of bonuses.
Sales bonuses
Sales is a complex and often unformalized thing, so we are grateful to everyone who brings customers to us and recommends us. Bonuses for employees are 5% of the amount of licenses sold or the cost of work.
Bonuses for projects
Our specificity is the production of software with its implementation. The product implementation team generates profit from projects and participates in its distribution. When planning the bonus system, we wanted to effective work the team received a lot, and in the case of ineffective - little. Therefore, the size of the team bonus depends on the profitability of the project and is currently calculated as follows:
– in case of negative profitability of the project, the bonus amount is -5% (the manager pays out of his own pocket, however, so far there have been no cases of negative profitability);
- if profitability 0–10%, the team receives 5% of sales;
- if 11-40%, then she gets 10%;
- for profitability of 41% and above, everyone gives 15%.
The team bonus is distributed by the project manager at his own discretion.
Annual bonuses from company profits
Now we have an annual team bonus - this is 10% from the profit from sales and support of our projects and products. Thus, employees are, as it were, shareholders of the company. This 10% is distributed as follows:
- 25% in equal parts are distributed among all employees of the company working for a year or more;
- 75% "in fairness" - depending on the contribution to the development. The amount of the contribution is determined by product managers and depends on the number of hours spent on the product and support, work efficiency and other criteria.
In general, our bonus policy has not let us down so far and in five years there have been no cases of employee dissatisfaction or confusion about the size of the bonus. By creating a bonus program, you can either develop a system of rules that employees will successfully hack, or let the project manager determine the amount of the bonus. They usually know who works hard on the project and who doesn't - it's always visible.
Asya SOLNTSEVA
HR Director LAM Russia
To pay a bonus to a person, it is desirable that the company has a bonus provision that regulates all payments in the company. The system for accruing bonuses can be prescribed in the provision on bonuses clearly or in in general terms. The legislation does not oblige us to indicate percentage grids in it.
The bonus clause may also state that the company pays bonuses at the request of department heads. At the same time, the percentage grid is more of a management issue than an accounting one. The accounting department of the enterprise can carry out any bonus and any calculation, with the exception of a negative one, because the legislation of the Russian Federation prohibits any fines and bonus deductions. Thus, percentage grids, where only positive bonus values are indicated, are more of a guideline for managers and their management. They help to decide whom to reward, for what work and in what volume, and also serve as an argument in case of disputes and questions.
Reading time: 5 min
The bonus system of remuneration is most common in organizations whose main staff is made up of production workers or sellers, as well as in the service sector. This form of payment is most effective for employees whose activities directly affect the company's profits.
The vast majority of organizations where the bonus payment system is practiced are private firms, but it is also used in some state-owned enterprises. So, since 2011, this form of payment has been introduced at a number of branches of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Russian Post for employees of the sales and services department.
In the future, statistics showed a steady increase in the income of branches, which indicates the effectiveness of the introduction of bonus payments. It has much in common with, but with the bonus system, the employee's salary consists of accruals according to tariff rate with an increase in a percentage of the profit, and not a fixed one.
In this, it is close to with the difference that under the commission system, the employee's salary does not provide for a fixed part, including only interest.
Thus, the bonus payment system includes two components:
- , calculated on the basis of the tariff scale approved by the organization
- and a percentage of the profit approved by the head and fixed in the employment contract.
In this case, the first component, as a rule, is stable, and the second is “floating”.
For example, trade enterprises practice payment in the form of a daily exit rate and a percentage of general or personal sales.
Pros and cons
The advantage of the bonus payment system is continuous motivation 
employees for productive work. Since the fixed salary in enterprises with a bonus pay system is usually low, the bulk of the employee depends on how he “hurries in advance” in the current month.
This approach to remuneration may be of interest primarily to young, ambitious professionals who seek to constantly increase their income. Conversely, applicants who are accustomed to a stable salary treat the bonus form of payment with coolness. After all, neither the employer nor anyone else can guarantee that if an employee received a good salary in one month, his income will be the same next month.
With this form of remuneration, it is difficult to plan long-term expenses, such as a mortgage.
The main disadvantage of the bonus system is that the company's profit is not always influenced only by the performance of employees. Sales performance or demand for the services provided by the company may be determined by other factors:
- seasonality;
- activity of competing firms;
- nuances of interaction with suppliers, etc.
How to calculate salary?
The calculation of the employee's income under the bonus payment scheme is made according to a very simple formula:
Z = Zt +%,
where Зт - salary according to tariff scale(rate), and % - percentage of profit.
The rate may be , or in the form of a monthly minimum wage. The percentage of profit can also be different: in one case, the total income of the company or its individual division is taken as the basis, in the other, only personal sales figures are taken into account.
Example 1
Citizen Ivanov works as a sales manager for coffee equipment with a monthly salary of 10 thousand rubles and a 3% bonus on the company's total profit. How much did Ivanov earn in the current month if the company's income amounted to 250 thousand rubles?
First, let's calculate the bonus part of his salary. 3% of 250 thousand is 7500 rubles (250000/100 * 3 = 7500).
Such a combined system of remuneration as salary plus bonuses implies that the employee receives one part of the salary in the form of a fixed salary, and the other part in the form of interest. With a bonus system of remuneration, the amount of salary directly depends on the performance of the employee. If a specialist works effectively, then he is given a great opportunity to receive much more than a fixed rate. It should be noted that very often the variable part of wages exceeds the constant part.
The bonus system is an ideal option for remuneration of personnel from the trade sector, for example, sales managers, sales consultants. It is also suitable for real estate workers - realtors, insurance agents.
For this category of workers, the variable component of wages is actually the main income. However, do not forget that the bonus part depends on the specific results: how much you have earned, so much you have received.
For professional specialists(editors, marketers, accountants), as well as for representatives of working specialties, that is, those who work in the 100% employment mode, the bonus program will be less relevant. This is explained by the fact that the workload of these workers is usually fixed, the work schedule is stable and predetermined. That is, first of all, it is important for such employees to maintain a fixed salary, which is not tied to any performance indicators and is guaranteed.
How often should the company's bonus policy be changed?
A company is a single living organism, and each organization has an individual bonus policy. However, in any case, over time, its mechanisms, one way or another, may lose their effectiveness, relevance and competitiveness.
The bonus policy is subject to adjustment or complete revision when its “shelf life” expires, that is, when it ceases to motivate company employees.
And if there are no changes in the bonus policy of the company for a long time, then it is very difficult to keep a specialist on a system that does not work.
The management of the company must always keep abreast: monitor the effectiveness of the bonus system, review its components, periodically conduct research within the company and collect the opinions of their employees on job satisfaction.
Should companies be penalized? What can be fined?
Most Russian companies are law-abiding, but the practice of fining delinquent employees still exists in some organizations. For example, the employee was late for 10 minutes, and the employer fined the negligent subordinate. Is it legal? The answer is no.
The relationship between the employee and the employer is regulated by the labor legislation of the Russian Federation. So, according to Art. 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, for committing a disciplinary offense, the employer has the right to apply three types of penalties: reprimand, reprimand, dismissal. Any other sanctions are illegal, accordingly, it is unlawful to fine an employee.
An exception to the rule is possible only if management tries to encourage employees to comply with the rules of internal work schedule through a reward system. In this case, a delinquent employee may be de-bonded (for example, for being late or for disrupting a project) - cut the bonus or not accrue it at all, which will not contradict labor law RF. Please note that bonus deduction is possible only when bonuses are not a mandatory part of the salary.
Properly motivated staff can significantly increase sales, which in turn leads to increased profits in the business and, consequently, increases the remuneration of these same hardworking employees.
The main thing is to choose the most appropriate motivation program correctly so that you do not reward your staff for their duties that are already included in wages. A program that is too generous can cost you dearly.
At the same time, if the motivation program is poorly planned, then it will not lead to an increase in the profit of a restaurant, cafe or bar, as the staff will very quickly figure out whether the game is worth the candle.
- Personnel must understand the essence of the motivation system well. They must clearly know how to earn additional rewards.
- Bonuses (premiums) should be paid without delay. It is best to make payments once a week or month. The motivation of employees will lose its power if the receipt of remuneration is postponed indefinitely.
- The organization and control of the motivating system, as well as the processing of the results, should be easy. Even better, if the staff will fill out the necessary forms themselves, which still need to be checked periodically, using a random sampling method.
- The system should be based on clear measurable indicators that are easily controlled by the participants in the system, and not a phantom share of profits. It is better to motivate profit sharing by senior management, provided that the calculations are very well organized. But line staff will not be interested in such motivation and will not inspire.
- A new incentive program must be introduced gradually and constantly monitor the results - whether sales are really growing, and whether the staff is working better. It should be remembered that cases of fraud and forced sales are possible, which must be prevented. And innovations can negatively affect the morale of the staff.
Staff motivation: 6 types of incentive systems
simple promotion
With a simple promotion, cash reward for each item sold or UAH received:
- a bonus of 5 hryvnia for each sold dessert;
- 30 hryvnia bonus for each additional bottle of wine;
- 5% for every 50 UAH of sales.
The advantage of this system of motivation is in the close relationship between a certain action and the amount of remuneration. Sell more, earn more.
Cons - staff can use pressure tactics to sell first bonus positions and as many as possible. As well as the inability to pre-calculate the profit and expenses for bonuses.
Reward for achieving a specific goal
The staff receives a specific task, which is expressed in monetary terms. For example, if you sell more than 10 branded desserts, you will receive a reward of 200 hryvnias.
The advantage of this method of motivation is a clearly defined task and a pre-known budget of the bonus program.
This method will only succeed if the targets are well thought out. If you very quickly raise the bar of goals, then you can come across complaints from employees. If more lofty goal put the best employees, you can cause a negative reaction from the rest of the team.
collective competition
The team is divided into groups and the group result is evaluated.
For example, the shift that sells the most desserts will share the 600 hryvnia bonus, or the kitchen workers will share the 1600 hryvnia bonus by completing food cost targets for the week or month.
The advantage of such an incentive system is the ability to calculate its maximum cost in advance. It evokes a spirit of competition that is sometimes even more motivating than the prize money itself. Works well in teams with high morale and well-coordinated teamwork.
The downside is that employees with low productivity or motivation and qualifications can lower the performance of the entire group. And then, employees with high performance and qualifications will be dissatisfied and may leave, as their work is not rewarded at its true worth. If a high qualification individual employee allows him to receive more tips, he is unlikely to want to share them with the group.
Established Performance Levels
Employees will receive monetary rewards when they achieve a clearly defined goal. For example, participants will receive a bonus for the first 10 bottles of wine sold in the amount of UAH 800; for the sale of the next 10 bottles - 1600 hryvnia; for 30 bottles - 3000 hryvnia.
The advantage is that with this method of promotion, you can significantly increase sales and save on bonuses. For example, if the staff sold 19 bottles of wine, then the bonus is paid only for the first 10, because the higher level goal (20 bottles) is not reached. You can offer a really large amount of remuneration - this will only increase productivity. So you can safely say that the one who sells 30 bottles of wine will receive a bonus of 3000 hryvnia.
The downside is that the staff can be disappointed if they don’t reach the next bar just a little, say 1 bottle of wine.
Irregular bonuses
In this reward system, bonuses are paid irregularly for performance in terms of one shift, day or week.
For example, a team will receive a bonus of 1,000 hryvnias if they sell 20 specialty fish dishes in an evening. A Sunday bonus can be a dinner coupon or a ticket to the dolphinarium, which will be received by the employee who sold the most salads.
The upside is that in this way you can revive some long-term programs and make the motivational system more attractive. This method can be combined with 1, 2 3 and 4 programs. You can also purposefully motivate staff to sell positions with a good margin.
Minus - irregular bonuses will entail additional costs and may require additional organizational efforts.
Performance Based Rewards
New goals are formed on the basis of previous indicators. For restaurant business this method is not entirely suitable, since the entertainment industry is very volatile, and it assumes a long-term perspective.
For example, the implementation of the annual budget; receiving a bonus by a manager if the level of salaries does not exceed the established amount; a banquet for the kitchen staff, if the targets for six months are met.
The advantage is that you will have to pay bonuses only if there were additional sales. The amount of remuneration does not depend on the case and the principles of its formation are clear in advance.
Cons will appear under the condition of poorly formed goals. For example, if the goal is easily achievable, then it will not greatly increase productivity. Yes, and the bonus is perceived as part of the salary, and not a reward for really excellent work.
