Company Bonus Scheme

Background

Over the last year we have been approached by a number of firms looking at how they can maximise the output of their people. They were all considering how they reward their people can influence performance.

What was the issue?

The firms were all keen to reward their people but were concerned about the impact the structure of the reward could have on the culture and staff of the firm.

Why the firms sought to work with us?

The firms were really impressed by the knowledge, experience and awareness of the specialist legal sector team at Armstrong Watson.

What we did for the client

In one such recent engagement, we first held a meeting with the firm which allowed us to fact find on the practice as a whole and to further understand their business objectives, so that the reward scheme could incentivise appropriate behaviours. This included understanding the current position with regard to targets, the monitoring process and KPIs, as well as finding out what information is available. The meeting also included sharing thoughts on how targets and bonuses tend to work best, and a discussion on potential targets to consider.

The next phase of the project was the preparation of a report to management on the observations on the implementation of a bonus scheme.

The process included:

• A detailed information request
• Remote analysis of information, including KPIs
• Analysis to establish trends of work types and individual roles within the practice
• Preparation of a draft report

The report included:

• Results of the analysis set out above
• Options and methods of what may work best, and a suggested scheme for implementation
• Design of the scheme including suggested targets
• Consideration of the impact of the scheme on the culture of the practice
• Analysis of financial impact of suggested scheme on the practice

Following the provision of the draft report, a video conference meeting was held to discuss the findings of the report.

Once the report was finalised and the scheme was decided upon, the scheme rules were drafted for issuing to all members of the scheme.

The implementation of any bonus scheme works best in conjunction with training, that training educates and aids the staff in understanding the effect their individual behaviours can have on the practice as a whole. We therefore presented the scheme alongside a three hour awareness course, The course made it much easier for staff to understand the reasons for the proposed changes and therefore assisted with achieving the firm’s objectives.

What the result for the client was

An engaged workforce, all striving to achieve the firm’s objectives.