MANILA, Philippines – Employees in the utilities and banking/finance industries get the most bonuses, according to the Jobstreet.com 2015 Bonuses Report.

The results of the survey, released on October 27, Tuesday said that these are the top industries that provide guaranteed bonuses to employees, on top of the mandatory 13th month pay:

• Utilities
• Banking/Finance
• Government
• Oil and Gas
• Telecommunications

Those in utilities say they get at least one month of guaranteed bonuses, while those in banking/finance get at least two or 3 months. Not a lot of companies in the sciences industry give guaranteed bonuses, but when they do, they can ensure up to 4 months or more.

None of the industries that made it to last year’s list made it to this year’s, with the exception of Banking/Finance. Last year though, that industry ranked first. (READ: 5 industries with biggest employee bonuses)

On the other hand, the hospitality/tourism industry tops the list of industries that gives the most non-guaranteed bonuses. These are are the top industries whose companies give out bonuses based on performance:

• Hospitality/Tourism
• Utilities
• BPO/Call Center
• Information Technology
• Agribusiness

Meanwhile, publishing tops the list of industries that are “most prudent” with their guaranteed bonuses, followed by professional services/consultancy and BPO/call centers. For non-guaranteed bonuses, the human resources, publishing, and professional services/consultancy industries are most prudent with their bonuses. 

Attracting fresh graduates

According to Jobstreet.com’s report, just because you’re new to a company doesn’t mean you’ll get a smaller bonus.

The report also shows results categorized according to status within a company. 

Junior executives and supervisors get the most guaranteed bonuses regardless of the industry, followed by managers, fresh graduates and directors. The same goes for non-guaranteed bonuses.

The report explains that a lot of fresh graduates are given bonuses on top of their 13th month pay, because a lot of new hires consider salary, incentives, and benefits important when it comes to job satisfaction. Companies may be using bonuses not only for employee retention, according to Jobstreet.com, but also to draw in more new hires. 

Philip Gioca, Jobstreet.com Philippines’ country manager, says that as more companies want to hire more fresh graduates – a generation of millenials – they have to use the right incentives to draw them in.

“What attracts them (millennials) is mostly that they are able to pay, through their salaries, something that they can get for themselves. So cellphones, and all of these gadgetries, are important to them. And the tool to make them go to you as an employee, you would need to give them much more money,” he said. 

Philip adds that there’s a growing trend of giving new hires a bonus up front, and then spreading this bonus out over the first few months of employment.

This trend may have started out, he said, as a way to hook new employees in. “What we are more familiar with are the time-based [bonuses], which are [given] every May, every June, and every December, but right now, there is a growin gscheme outside that it’s (the bonus) a lump – you think it’s an upfront, but the release is actually stagnated.”

Many companies break up their bonuses over a year, instead of giving it all in one month, as a way to keep employees from quitting as soon as they get their yearly bonus.

This may also be a decision based on how employees use their bonuses: Jobstreet.com’s report found that most employees use their bonuses for their savings, to buy new things for their loved ones, to pay off loans, to invest, and for their children’s tuition.

The Bonuses Report survey was conducted by Jobstreet.com Philippines from September to October 15, 2015. They surveyed 3,170 candidates from various industries and position levels. They also surveyed 179 companies from different industries. – Rappler.com