Giving Christmas bonuses to your employees is a great way to boost morale, loyalty, and productivity. But you should also know that this isn’t an easy thing to do as you can’t just get this money out of nowhere. That’s why you should start planning for Christmas bonuses when you set up the budget for a year, or at least the quarter.
If you haven’t’ done that, I’m sorry to say, but the chance of you actually giving out decent bonuses is slim. So, think about this now and plan it into your budget for the next year.
And this is what you should do in order to make sure that your employees will get a good bonus come next Christmas.
Tie Bonuses to Profit in Your Budget Planning
Bonuses should always be taken based on profit instead of revenue. In essence, you are reinvesting this money in your company, like an improvement scheme. That’s the part of the budget you should include the bonus program into.
The easiest way to manage bonus money is to set aside a percentage of the profit regularly so by the time that the holiday season comes, you have a decent pool.
This kind of planning will force you to reevaluate your pricing policy because while the amount for the bonus program might be small, for a small business any change in the profit margin can mean the difference between survival and failure.
Find out What Kind of Bonuses Your Employees Want
Getting the money for Christmas bonuses is only one part of the issue. You also need to make sure that you offer the right kind of incentives. A cash bonus might seem like the best solution, but the fact is that today many people prefer other options.
Launch a survey among your employees so you can learn exactly what kind of bonus would motivate them best. Then, set up your budget based on this information. And by the time Christmas comes, you are sure to have a team of happy employees who are motivated to do even better next year.
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