Companies dip deeper into the bonus bag

Santa was in full jolly mode in late 2012, at least in terms of companies that gave out year-end bonuses.

Indeed, 72% of employers polled by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a global outplacement firm, planned to give some type of bonus to staff in 2012. That's up from 53% in 2011, the Chicago-based firm says.

The survey, of 100 human resources executives, also found 28% of employers base bonus checks on the company's annual performance, while 17% award bonuses on individual performance. Less than one-fourth of the respondents, 21%, say their company won't have any bonuses in 2012. That's a drop from 43% in 2011.

“Many companies enjoyed increased profits this year, along with increased productivity,” Challenger, Gray & Christmas CEO John Challenger says in a release. “The fact that they achieved that without a rapid acceleration in hiring or capital investment means that existing employees were asked to deliver better results with fewer resources. Even with many companies still not enjoying pre-recession business levels, it is clear, at least among our small sampling of employers, that they are duly recognizing the hard work and achievements of their work force.”

One more sign of goodwill toward employees: Exactly 25% of employers plan to increase the amount of the year-end bonus for 2012, compared to less than 17% in 2011.