HR Bonus?

HR Sedona · December 2004

Our HR department consists of 2 people; the Human Resources Manager (my boss) and the Human Resources Assistant Manager (me). We both process most payroll for 3 properties and see a lot of incentives and bonuses go through for basically every single (managerial) position in our company. Most of those bonuses are based on either revenue or budgets (and staying under or in line with those). We don't have a formal budget for our department and obviously do not directly influence revenue.

Does anyone have any information on bonus or incentive programs for HR professionals? We have considered retention, but since our department managers are responsible for training, our control and influence is not substantial enough to hold us accountable for turnover.

With so many bonuses paid out to practically all departments, we are convinced that we're missing the monetary boat somewhere...
Any ideas, suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated!!

HRing · December 2004

I have worked with an agency that bonuses the recruiting staff based on time to hire. Recently, since this is the end of the year and goals are being set, I have examined the concept of HR bonuses based on cost savings / cost reductions. HR does have direct influence over potentially costly areas such as unemployment tax, workers compensation premiums, training programs, medical insurance, dental insurance and so on. Creating a bonus based on a % of cost savings might be possible. One problem with this activity is that reducing cost may lead to reducing the value of medical insurance for instance.

HR Sedona · December 2004

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 12-21-04 AT 10:43AM (CST)[/font][br][br]Although I agree most HR departments do, unfortunately our HR department does not have a great influence on most of the subjects you mentioned. Unemployment tax, medical/dental are all determined and implemented through our corporate (HR) office; we have little to nothing to say in this. We do deal with Worker's Comp issues, but both my boss and I feel that only a certain percentage of accidents can be completely prevented through training and strict safety regulation enforcement. People will slip and fall or trip over their own feet (most of our WC cases). To base our bonus on worker's comp solely does not seem to make sense either.

How did your 'time to hire' bonus work exactly? Since a large part of our jobs here is to feed our department heads suitable candidates, this might be something we can work with....

HRing · December 2004

All of the items I mentioned are difficult to influence in a large environment. The recruiting bonus occurred in a call center environment with a high attrition rate. The recruiting department had a goal of hiring 10% of the total call center workforce per month. Yeah per month. Every time the goal was met, they received x amount of $'s for each employee hired. Not a pretty environment but the goal was reachable.

Since that may not be applicable to your situation how about considering bonuses based on HR's ability to fill positions in x amount of time for x amount of $'s? Set a goal for HR, if they achieve the goal the bonus will be a % of the savings for recruiting.

marc · December 2004

You have access to confidential payroll information. It is a constant temptation to compare yourselves to others just because you have the information, but that does not make it right for you to use that information in the manner you suggest. If you worked in a different support department, you would be none the wizer.

That said, there are lots of support departments/positions that do not have direct operating statistics to rely on for measurement. Take your largest responsibility and think of the ways your department excels. Then talk with those above you about ways to measure your performance and to share in the company's success.

Hunter1 · January 2005

Not to be too flip here, but: Gee, you have an HR job in Sedona, AZ. What kind of bonus do you want out of life??? This, coming from someone who had 1/2" of ice on my driveway Saturday night, and below zero temps half of last week. Hang in there. : )

HR Sedona · January 2005

Ohh, I know I can't complain. Many people fall very deeply in love with Sedona and dream to be able to live in a place as beautiful as this. For me it is pure necessity though...

And salaries are definitely not in line with standards of living here in Red Rock Country, so unfortunately a bonus program is something we most definitely need to explore...

pork1 · January 2005

HRING, SEDONA: Turnover, UI hearings won and lost. This is my favorite. Our attorney charges $175.00 per hour spent on defending HR cases. He has only been given one case in the 5 years, which he lost. I have prepared and presented every other case and have lost only 1, but under appeal the case was reversed and the benefit denied. Your cost for UI is directly related to won and lost. Find out what your current rate of cost is and set a goal to reduce your cost. Then make sure your bosses know of every case won and lost to include the initial inquiry by the claims handling agent. Your time spent is less but none the less it is quality time required of the HR office. It is alot of fun to take an affirmitive case into the boss and let him know how much time I and my assiatant spent on preparation and presentation at $175.00 $ollars per hour, which is a direct savings because the attorney did not handle the case.

I am proud, that I was awarded again this year the largest subjective bonus amongst the non production bonus leaders. My assistant also got a nice subjective bonus. The owner and the General Manager understands the value each of us brings to the table daily. It is our job to toot our horn loud and clear inoder to make an impression. It has paid off for the last 6 bonus years. Look for those areas where you shine and polish that baby to the Nth degree and be proud of it. I don't produce the PORK, but we certainly make sure, we have the best possible team members on board and producing or we are weeding them out in a constant and fair process.

PORK

stilldazed · January 2005

I like Pork's approach and generally agree that if you want your superiors to take notice of your accomplishments, you'll be responsible for getting the message to them.

Does your office also handle benefits (enrollments, cancellations)? How about reconciling invoices with payroll deductions? Mistakes in that area are costly. How about initial orientation (attendance, presentation)? You mentioned payroll. How about payroll recalcs? Errors are costly. Look for a way to quantify your activities and improve. Focus on the tasks that keep you busy everyday. Think of the downstream effects of your tasks not getting done properly or efficiently, or of them being done by someone else at a per-hour cost.

I also agree with the prior post that having access to other folks' salaries feeds the temptation to compare--a hazard of the job. If you didn't handle the payroll process, you wouldn't know about the bonsuses and probably be 'happy as could be in A Z.'

HR Sedona · January 2005

I don't know about the 'happy as could be' part, but you are right, it is leaning towards unethical to use classified information to negotiate a better financial situation for myself. That's why I haven't (have been tempted, but haven't) done so. Our GM, however, has indicated that he is open to suggestions for a bonus program within our department, so I'm merely exploring the possibilities, as a result-oriented bonus would push my income a bit more in the range it should be considering education, experience and current position.

We do offer a new hire orientation program, which is fairly extensive. Every new hire is asked to complete a survey after 90 days of employment, which includes a section on their orientation experience. I believe this might give us an opportunity to look at feedback and improve, to which we can obviously tie a bonus.

In addition, we might look at worker's comp and accident reduction related bonuses after all, even though both my manager and I feel we do not have complete control over this, as 'slip, trip and fall' accidents will never seize to occur.

I thank you all for your feedback, it has been very helpfull! If anyone has any other suggestions, comments, threats or accusations, I'd be honored to hear all about it!

stilldazed · January 2005

Go back to what you spend your day doing. Is it paperwork, customer service, training, information mgmt, . . .? Though costs may be difficult to quantify, there are costs associated with all of your tasks. And if there are costs associated, then there are wise ways to spend the money and not so wise ways to spend the money. It's all about efficiency and results. It may take you some time, but take the time to put together a good, sound argument for your GM that you can back up with credible information. The quality of your presentation will have a direct impact on the chances of a favorable decision.

HR Bonus?

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