Bonus plans 'not just offered for financial performance'

News Article - 09 June 2009
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Fewer firms are now offering annual bonus plans to workers based solely on financial measures, a survey has shown.

According to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the number of companies offering such plans has fallen by half over the past year; but there has been growth in plans offered on a combination of financial and non-financial measures.

The study highlights a trend away from "hard financial targets" to include a broader range of factors such as employee engagement and customer satisfaction.

In addition, the average maximum bonus opportunities available to 123 per cent of their salary - up 20 per cent on last year's figures.

Duncan Brown of PricewaterhouseCoopers said: "Some of the most popular new measures are operational performance and customer-related ones, which mean that if customer service levels fall then so could executive bonuses."

The Guardian states that because many companies have experienced problems with with-profits funds, a number of firms have chosen to reduce or scrap their annual bonuses.

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