A new calendar year often brings resignations as employees seek a change in career, but new research has shown that a festive bonus could improve staff retention.
Rewards and incentives specialists - One4allRewards - recently surveyed a total of 1,096 UK employees. It was found that 46% of the respondents admitted that a December bonus or gift from their HR bosses had persuaded them to remain loyal to their employer by not searching for a new job, or allowing themselves to be poached. Additionally, 45% stated that they would be less likely to accept a new job even if offered one.
According to the research, December is the ideal time to thank the top performers as employees appreciated bonuses more during this month - leading up to the festive season - than any other.
Workers are more likely to look for a new job in January than any other month of the year, so December bonuses could not be timed better for staff retention purposes.
UK managing director at One4all Rewards - Alan Smith - said:
“It’s interesting to see just how far a token bonus can impact on the loyalty of those in the HR industry. Even if you just consider the amount of money that can be lost through recruitment costs when a member of staff resigns – never mind the softer negative impacts and knock-on effects that employees leaving can have, in terms of morale in the workplace – it is clearly something that is worth investing in.”
He added:
“And thanks to HM Revenue and Customs’ recent introduction of tax exemptions on trivial benefits of £50 per employee or less, it has never been more affordable for businesses to gift staff a little something to make sure they feel valued, ahead of the busiest time of the year for staff departures.”
The Chartered Management Institute - in their research - found that the average bonus payment to directors has slumped by 16% since last year, from an average of £53,504 to £44,987. This decline in rewards has happened in spite of the stressful working culture experienced by many managers.
Although the cost of December staff bonuses may seem high to some, it is dwarfed by the cost of replacing staff - not to mention negative impact and knock-on effects that employees leaving can have in terms of morale in the workplace.
