Executives Expecting Higher Bonuses This Year

Bonus checks may be a little bigger this year, a Robert Half www.roberthalf.us survey suggests. Thirty percent of executives whose companies awarded bonuses last year said they plan to give higher bonuses this time around. Human resources managers were most optimistic about increasing bonus levels in 2011 (42 percent), followed by technology executives, at 25 percent. Only 14 percent of those interviewed expected smaller bonuses than last year.

The survey was developed by Robert Half International and conducted by an independent research firm. It is based on telephone interviews with more than 1,250 senior executives throughout the United States who indicated their firms offered employee bonuses last year. The respondents included chief financial officers, chief information officers, senior HR managers, lawyers, and advertising and marketing executives.

Executives whose companies gave bonuses last year were asked, Do you anticipate that year-end employee bonuses this year will be higher, lower or unchanged from those awarded last year? Their responses:

Higher                            Lower     No Change   Don't Know/ No Answer   
Total                                 30%           14%          53%           3%   
Human Resources              42%           10%          43%           5%   
Technology                        25%           18%          53%           4%   
Accounting & Finance         21%           17%          60%           2%   
Advertising & Marketing     19%           13%           53%         15%   
Legal                                12%            4%           73%          11%  

For many companies, higher bonuses are in recognition of work by employees who put in extra effort this year, often with fewer resources, said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International and author of Motivating Employees for Dummies (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). Bonuses also are tied to staff retention -- professionals with high-demand skill sets may have other employment opportunities in the current job market.

Note:  For additional information on employee compensation, including starting salary projections for the coming year, visit www.rhi.com/SalaryGuides.