Many tourism operators offer season-end bonuses to their employees — but the trick is to make the program work for both the business and the staff.
Both Capilano Suspension Bridge and Landsea Tours have found a way to make this happen. Landsea Tours is a Vancouver-based tour operator that hires up to 30 seasonal employees each year. Operations Manager Jeff Teicher emphasizes the importance of seasonal staff being available to work as late into the season as necessary (usually mid October). The bonus is paid to all employees who work over 520 hours in the calendar year and essentially increases the hourly rate by about $0.40. In an effort to ensure quantity does not replace quality, any damage to the company buses by a driver/guide is deducted from the bonus. Jeff indicates that there has been some issues with the guides over the fact that non-driving staff are not subject to this deduction. "But", says Jeff, "we feel the guides are eligible for gratuities that the other staff are not, so we just have to keep reminding them of that".
Capilano Suspension Bridge, a popular North Vancouver attraction, recruits approximately 90 seasonal staff each year and have taken the implementation of the bonus a step further. Their bonus also increases an employee's hourly rate by $.40 based on the total number of hours they work during the season. In 2003, they reviewed the whole bonus structure to analyze if the concept was working, not only for the employees, but also for the organization.
Some managers identified that the biggest headache for them was scheduling around employees who decide to take long breaks during the busy summer season. So they implemented a policy that an employee who takes more than three days time off (outside their scheduled days off) automatically loses their bonus. To ensure that this was not a surprise to employees, they all sign a statement when they start work that acknowledges they understand and agree to this policy. To be fair, management has been lenient with new employees who tell them at the time of hire that they have a vacation planned during the season.
Managers at The Bridge state that the new policy helped them immeasurably when scheduling for the 2003 season. The number of employees suddenly deciding to take a week or more off during the season reduced dramatically. Employees still have a choice - they can weigh up the pros and cons of taking the additional time off and make their own decision - but it could result in them not only losing pay for the period they are off but also their entire seasonal bonus (which could be in excess of $500).
The bonus structure is serving its purpose for both organizations, however Landsea is now taking the next step and working on a program to tie the bonuses into their performance management system.
