Re: Bonus Structures

This year, my employer started a new merit pay system, that applies to all 
the salaried & salary exempt workers ... the hourly factory people are under 
a different system, but share in most everything else like 401k & all kinds 
of HMO benefits.

We had a questionairre to fill out to describe the kinds of work that we do & 
what qualifications are needed for someone to replace us ... among other 
things I said that a high school drop out could do my job, because academia 
is irrelvant to our world, provided that person had 3-5 years experience or 
PHD equivalent with relevant ERP on relevant AS/400 programming structures of 
which I listed a dozen languages & tools in which proficiency is a must, but 
a Certified Data Processor could probably do my job with only 1 year 
background in the right stuff.  From this, Management derived a description 
of my job that had very little in common with what I put on their survey. 

Then they matched up my job description with that of other professional 
co-workers, like engineers & accountants, and I have no idea if their input 
was as disregarded as my effort, to come up with a comparable worth ... a 
theory that people who do comparable work should get comparable pay ... and 
also came up with some scheme regarding what they think people in the 
industry at large are being paid to do whatever it is they ended up on paper 
that we are supposedly doing.

By this logic, they concluded that I am being over paid with an annual salary 
around $ 40 k.  However, my annual review was such that they felt that I was 
doing such a superlative job, that I should be over paid, so they gave me a 
raise.

The whole system is so complicated I can't even explain it without a computer.

My dislike with the approach is that it is being administered by people who 
do not comprehend the work being done by the people who get the pay & they 
are playing guessing games with the relative importance to the job function 
of the various pieces of their rules.   If I was to leave the company & they 
used the re-written deal as the requirements for my replacement, then my 
replacement would not be able to do my job, but in some areas would be over 
qualified.

I get some project done that I sweated blood to achieve & it is ho hum what 
have you done for us lately because they do not comprehend what I am doing.  
Some other program I get done in a few days & they are excstatic with praise 
because they think it was difficult for me & therefore I did a very good job. 
 It is like the stock market ... some company says they are making a 10% 
profit this quarter & their stock price nose dives because the know-nothings 
on Wall Street estimated the company should make 20%, while some other 
company that has yet to make a profit has its stock skyrocketing like there 
is no tomorrow.

We have zero tolerance for unplanned down time & various other mishaps ... it 
has been eons since we had any serious problems, that could not be fixed in a 
few days ... should I get the credit for this, or whoever persuaded the 
company to get an AS/400 a few years ago?  I asked for a bonus for saving the 
company, and civilization, from Y2K, and did not get one.  I said I would 
trade 1% less raise for an official parking space & they treated it like I 
was making a joke.  I was serious about indicators that I am important to the 
company.

> From: pshrader@wkep.com (Shrader, Patrick)
>  
>  I am trying to formulate a bonus package for my small staff: 1 programmer, 
> 1 network administrator, and 1 operator. What type of bonus structures is 
your
>  company participating in? What would you do to change it? What are your
>  dislikes of your system, and what would be your dream bonus situation?
>  
>  Aside, of course, from showing up to work once a month and getting a 110%
>  bonus.
>  
>  What is a typical bonus level -- % of salary or straight flat rate? 
>  
>  Do you achieve levels, or get "all or nothing"?
>  
>  Guys -- give me some great ideas and input so my proposals can be approved
>  by management yet also make the employees very happy.
>  
>  Thanks!
>  
>  Patrick Shrader

Al Macintyre  ©¿©
http://www.cen-elec.com MIS Manager Programmer & Computer Janitor
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