COMP NEWS – Organizations are increasingly turning to incidental bonuses and other variable-pay compensation in order to reward long-term employees.

The use of referral, sign-on, spot and retention bonus programs continues to rise as organizations seek forms of cash compensation beyond base pay to reward employees. Sometimes called incidental or supplemental bonuses, these discretionary or incident-based rewards differ from variable-pay incentive bonus programs(opens in a new tab) with periodic payouts that are typically paid annually or quarterly.

 

Other types of so-called alternative rewards, including greater career development opportunities, are also becoming more prevalent, new research shows.

90% of organizations surveyed were using multiple methods of rewarding employees with alternative compensation and benefits.

Employers also are turning to other ways of rewarding employees above and beyond base salaries, according to new research by Korn Ferry Hay Group.

 

The pay consultancy’s Alternative Employee Rewards study analyzed data from 242 U.S. medium- to large-size organizations, primarily from the HR function. Data was gathered in February.

 

Nine in 10 organizations (90 percent) use four or more alternative methods of rewarding employees, such as spot cash bonuses, access to career development or training programs, additional paid time off, and other perks.

 

Over the next year, the vast majority of organizations (71 percent) plan to increase their use of these alternative rewards, the survey found.

To read more about incidental bonuses, click here.

For more Comp News, see our recent posts.