Promised Bonus

The managers make the same mistake again and again. When they have the issue with the employee, they can easily promise the bonus. Generally, when the manager is a God, he or she can make that promise, when the manager is a typical line manager, he cannot promise any bonus to anyone.

The manager cannot promise to grant a bonus, but the manager can make a promise, that the personal KPIs will be evaluated fairly. And this should not be just a promise, this should be a daily managerial practice.

The role of Human Resources is to help the managers in their difficult managerial decisions and HR should not allow the managers to make the promise. The HR and the manager should discuss and they should find a common solution and they should negotiate with the employee.

As the bonus depends on the overall business results of the organization and the unit, the manager cannot make the promise. The manager cannot be like the average employee, that the bonus will be automatically paid, as in the recession, the top management can easily decide about the cancellation of the bonus scheme and leaving the staff on the base salaries for a limited period of time.

The employee should never ask the promise of the bonus as the bonus rules should be clear to all. The bonus is paid, when the company generates great profits for the shareholders. The bonus is provided by the shareholders as they are satisfied with the results of the organization and they want to say “Thank You” to the members of their organization.