The key to preventing new year staff departures

bonus payment

According to a new survey bosses who give out bonuses in December are less likely to see staff being poached or looking elsewhere.

Almost half of all workers surveyed said having received a bonus or gift from their boss recently would prevent them from looking for a new job.

And almost the same number would be less likely to accept a new job if offered one, if the same had happened.

And with workers being more likely to look for a new job in January than any other month of the year, December bonuses couldn’t be timed better for staff retention purposes.What’s more, happily, the research revealed that workers welcome receiving a  bonus from their employer more in December than at any other time of the year.

Alan Smith, UK managing director at One4all Rewards, that commissioned the research said: “It’s interesting to see just how far a token bonus can impact on workers’ loyalty to their employer. 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.

“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.”