Scott was interviewed by the Ventura County Star for an article about the holidays and how different companies treat them. Click here to view the article on the VC Star’s website.
Holiday bonuses, parties and gifts are back this season
More local firms plan a bonus, party
Holiday cheer is up this year among Ventura County employers and employees.
Bonuses, parties and gifts, which many businesses reduced or cut altogether in recent years, are increasing this season as those seeing growth say they are sharing more of it with their employees.
“Bonuses are going up a little this year, about a 50 percent increase,” said Scott Harris, president and co-owner of Mustang Marketing in Thousand Oaks. “Profitability is up, (the number of) employees are up. All things that measure the success of a small agency are up. We are absolutely blessed.”
Such expressions of holiday cheer are also up among small companies nationwide, according to American Express OPEN, the credit card company’s small-business division.
Of the companies surveyed for OPEN’s annual Holiday Monitor, 80 percent said they are doing at least one of those activities this season, up from 67 percent last year.
The number of companies giving bonuses increased to 35 percent, compared to 29 percent last year and 25 percent in 2010, the survey found, though most said they were not raising the amount. About one-third of those said the bonuses would be less than 5 percent.
Such increases imply a sense of comfort among small businesses, said Alice Bredin, a small-business adviser for OPEN.
“You don’t do those kinds of things if you’re feeling strapped for cash or uncomfortable within your organization,” Bredin said.
At Mustang Marketing, the growth-sharing began over Halloween when co-owners Harris and his wife gave each of their 12 employees $100 in gift cards from local eateries.
For Christmas, the advertising and marketing firm is taking staff members and their significant others to dinner in addition to the bonuses, Harris said. The company’s not missed a year doing holiday events in its 27 years in Ventura County, he added.
“It’s earned and deserved,” Harris said. “I want the team to know that. It’s not altruistic on my wife and I’s part. The team is always grateful, which makes it that much easier to do it.”
For the tiny Fox Fine Jewelry in Ventura, “excellent employees are gold,” said co-owner Debbie Fox, and the growing business added two salespeople over the year.
This holiday the store’s owners have taken their five employees to dinner and will give the sales staff the chance to win gifts in a bingolike game that is also an incentive to sell items they might not usually sell, Fox said.
Employees will also receive the piece of jewelry they’ve admired most throughout the year, she said. The pieces can range in value from $150 to up to $1,000, but most fall in the middle and depend on longevity and merit.
“Having committed staff will either make or break your business,” Fox said. “I have wonderful staff and I want them to feel appreciated.”
QualityLogic Inc. in Moorpark, which tests hardware and software and develops testing equipment, plans to spend the same as last year when it takes its employees out for holiday lunches, said President and CEO Dave Jollota. QualityLogic has 10 local employees and 50 in Boise, Idaho.
The company is still considering whether it will give bonuses, Jollota said. It did not give out bonuses last year, he added.
Employees will get to participate in a raffle-type game for gifts the company buys, he said.
“The company feels it is always good to get employees together for morale reasons, especially around the holidays,” Jollota said. “It gives you also the opportunity to meet with folks in a more social setting.”
At Calavo Growers Inc. in Santa Paula, 400 local employees will see more than avocados this holiday season. Staff will receive about a 4 percent increase in bonuses and a party that is “a little nicer,” said President and CEO Lee Cole, because the company is growing and profits are up. Overall, the company employees about 1,200, Cole said.
“None of us would be here without the employees,” Cole said. “It’s important to show appreciation when employees are doing a good job. Morale is much better, and they’re a lot more dedicated and do a much better job.”
Gift-giving to employees is also up 44 percent this season, according to American Express, compared to 37 percent a year ago. Some local companies say they are increasing the dollar amounts of gift cards to employees, funding gift raffles and continuing with holiday parties.
Some companies declined to disclose their holiday plans, saying it could impact stockholder value.
“Every company has its own rules on that,” Bredin said. “It’s personal preference.”
Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas also found holiday parties are up this year among more than 82 percent of businesses the firm interviewed in a recent survey. The number of companies spending more rose to 17 percent from 3 percent last year.
Caterer Jason Collis is seeing that increase translate into more business for his company, Plated Events in Santa Paula.
Collis said corporate and public events are up an average of 20 percent so far this year. He feels companies are feeling more secure because they are adding on “little extras,” such as buying employees drinks before and returning to holiday dinners rather than less-expensive lunches.
“They were cutting back in that way, and now they are doing it again,” Collis said. “They didn’t want to give the perception (before) that they were spending a lot.”
Nationwide, American Express found that holiday party spending dropped slightly to $959 from $1,029 last year.
Sanaa Dugan, owner of Peirano’s restaurant in Ventura, said so far this season businesses have been spending less on parties and taking longer to reserve them. Bookings are up slightly compared to last year at Jonathan’s at Peirano’s, a Ventura restaurant of which she had partial ownership and that closed this year, she said.
“There’s more interest and activity, but the commitment is not there, it’s not 100 percent,” Dugan said.
It’s also too early to tell for sure whether this season will surpass last year at Ventura Rental Center Inc., a party rental business in Ventura, said CEO Heidi Whitcomb, because people are taking longer to book events.
So far holiday business bookings “are on track” with last year, she said, after a definite lull in 2008 to 2010.
“They are certainly not as price conscious as 2008,” Whitcomb said. “There were a few years where the focus was strictly the dollar. Now they want it to look good, they want to project the right image and want people to have a good time, which translates into an entertainment budget.”