Karlene Meister

Christmas has come and gone. And some people got their Christmas bonuses. Holiday bonuses have been a tradition for many companies, and I used to pay out bonuses myself when I was an employer. But is paying out holiday bonuses a good idea?

Why give a bonus for activities performed way back in April? Why not appreciate employees year round?

According to exit-interview statistics, the number one reason that people leave a company is due to lack of appreciation for great work.

Achievers, a Toronto-based employment rewards company, believes that rewarding employees on a more frequent basis can increase retention. The company has developed a system that allows employees to reward their peers points for displaying an attribute that's important to the company's culture. These workers can then redeem these points for gift cards, iPhones, vacations, and the like.

So instead of paying out holiday bonuses, why not create your own rewards program? This would involve creating a budget, among other things, and considering what attributes are important to the company and how you would like to reward these traits.

What do you think? Do you like this idea, or would you prefer to have a Merry Christmas once a year?