In the midst of a recession, with
downsizing, pay freezes and pay cuts taking place regularly, with outlooks
for 2002 not yet indicating a big turnaround, how are you going to attract
someone to your company? What may be the final card you can play in attracting
that key individual to take your offer for the open position, be it executive
officer or administrative assistant?
WorldatWork has just completed
the annual 2001 Sign-on Bonus Survey that shows that there is still a need
to sweeten the compensation package to enticing candidates to your company.
With the reduction of the use of stock as a sign-on tool, many participants
stated that they needed to increase use of a cash bonus as a bargaining tool.
For purposes of this survey, it
is important to clarify that companies with a program do not necessarily use
the cash bonus in all cases, but all categories are eligible for the program.
The following are some the highlights from the survey:
62% of the surveyed
companies had a sign-on bonus, with 17% of those having a program that included
all positions
A majority of
participants have had no changes to their use of sign-on bonuses in the
past 12 months (average of 62%)
For the executive
rank, 86% of the companies have the bonus and this remains to be the norm,
increasing from 83% in 2000.
29% of the respondents
have reduced the use of or need for bonuses among IT staff, 8% reducing
the amount of the bonus and 4% of the respondents saying they no longer
need the incentive
Question 1. Does your company have
a sign-on bonus program?
Yes
62%
No
38%
Question 2. Are you considering
implementing a sign-on bonus?
Yes
5%
No
95%
Question 3. To which of the following
positions does your company award sign-on bonuses? Check all that apply
All Positions
17%
Executive
69%
Upper Mgmt.
70%
Middle Mgmt.
60%
Supervisors
38%
Prof. Staff
63%
Sales
39%
IT Staff
58%
Technical
Staff
45%
Clerical Staff
0%
Question 4. What changes have been
made to your sign-on bonuses in the last 12 months? Check all that apply
No Change
Reduced use/need
Increased use of
No longer needed
Decreased $ amount
Increased $ amount
Executive
69%
15%
9%
4%
3%
4%
Upper Mgmt.
65%
20%
10%
5%
3%
3%
Middle Mgmt.
57%
24%
12%
4%
6%
3%
Supervisors
56%
25%
9%
5%
10%
1%
Prof. Staff
47%
28%
17%
5%
8%
6%
Sales
57%
26%
10%
7%
9%
1%
IT Staff
55%
29%
8%
4%
8%
3%
Technical Staff
48%
20%
17%
9%
10%
12%
Clerical Staff*
100%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
*only one respondent.
Question 5. The sign-on bonus is
awarded as which of the following?
Flat dollar
Amount
Combination
% of base
pay
% Average
% Median
Executive
85%
12%
4%
19%
25%
Upper Mgmt.
86%
10%
3%
18%
18%
Middle Mgmt.
86%
11%
3%
12%
12%
Supervisors
86%
10%
4%
13%
13%
Prof. Staff
90%
8%
2%
14%
15%
Sales
84%
13%
3%
13%
13%
IT Staff
89%
9%
2%
13%
13%
Technical Staff
86%
10%
4%
14%
15%
Clerical Staff
0%
100%
0%
0%
0%
Question 6. In general, do you
split the pay-out so part of the award is given upon hire and remainder after
a set period of time?
Yes
34%
No
66%
Question 7. When does the employee
forfeit or payback the bonus if they voluntarily leave?
No forfeit/payback
First 3
months
First 6
months
First year
Other
Executive
30%
3%
7%
52%
8%
Upper Mgmt.
29%
3%
9%
51%
8%
Middle Mgmt.
30%
2%
10%
50%
8%
Supervisors
34%
3%
8%
47%
9%
Prof. Staff
32%
3%
9%
49%
6%
Sales
34%
5%
6%
49%
6%
IT Staff
35%
3%
10%
45%
8%
Technical Staff
27%
3%
9%
52%
9%
Clerical Staff
0%
0%
0%
100
0%
Question 8. On average, what
is the amount paid in a sign-on bonus for the following positions: (If you
do not have one for a category, leave blank.
< $1,000
$1,000-$4,999
$5,000-$9,999
$10,000-$24,999
25,000-49,000
$50,000+
Executive
2%
4%
12%
34%
42%
7%
< $1,000
$1,000-$4,999
$5,000-$9,999
$10,000-$24,999
25,000-49,000
Upper Mgmt.
1%
8%
36%
50%
5%
Middle Mgmt.
1%
27%
51%
21%
0%
Supervisors
3%
56%
36%
5%
0%
Prof. Staff
2%
59%
32%
7%
0%
Sales
5%
47%
29%
18%
2%
IT Staff
1%
55%
38%
6%
0%
Technical Staff
1%
55%
33%
11%
0%
Clerical Staff
42%
58%
0%
0%
0%
Question 9. Do you feel that your
sign-on bonus program is helping attract employees to your company?
