Thread regarding Wells Fargo & Co. layoffs

Bonus Targets, Thing of the past?

I know bonus targets aren’t supposed to be used anymore; even so does anyone know if this year’s bonuses will be relative to what they were in the past? I know bonus was a factor for many of us when we accepted our roles.

by
| 2449 views | | 11 replies (last January 11, 2023) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+1kBRemBM

11 replies (most recent on top)

I would love to be in a position to be complaining that i want to know if i am 11k -200k or 144k to 300k. If you have that type of problem maybe you should just be happy and stay off this board since you make so much money and add value which doesnt include complaining if i am making 144k. sometimes people lose sight of what normal is

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @2vrl+1kBRemBM

@1qcy+1kBRemBM

So, at least back when there were hard bonus targets, my understanding was that the typical approach to a mid-year promotion would be to have your bonus be a prorated combination of your targets before and after, based on the proportion of the year spent in each role. At least if you were promoted within the same business. So say hypothetically your promotion went into effect exactly 75% of the way through the year, and before you were making 80k with a 12% target, and after you were making 100k with a 15% target. If the determination is made based on your performance rating and your team’s budget that you should receive exactly your target bonus for the year, you would get 0.75 x 0.12 x 80k + 0.25 x 0.15 x 100k = $10,950 bonus. My guess would be that the underlying principle for for most managers is still intended to be based on this ideal, but the current lack of transparency gives teams more wiggle room to alter that number based on whatever mitigating considerations they have come bonus time. Maybe if they have the budget and your boss is worried you might get poached, they give you more. Maybe if they got less budget or they need to free up some money to give extra to somebody else they’re worried about getting poached, they give you less.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @2hrn+1kBRemBM

Some things to keep in mind;

To answer your questions, I would recommend requesting your current comp grade and job pay grade. I would then research that title and compare. If you are being promoted or excepting a new job, be sure to have the recruiter state in writing the bonus amount target, the base salary, comp code, job grade, and the bonus amount (since we no longer have target bonus percentages). Ensure that this information is provided in writing by the recruiter and save that information. I have found it best to approach the comp conversation discussion with recruiters/hiring managers by simply stating “ what did you say was the midpoint for this role again?”. This way you at least have an idea of what the middle of the salary ranges and you can base your comp discussions/negotiations with that starting point.

Also, very important to people who are being promoted between October 30, 2022 through January 30, 2023. If you are promoted or change jobs during this date range, you will not be entitled to a merit increase. On the other hand, you are entitled to your bonus for that year. I would suggest after requesting the midpoint to do some math that includes what your merit increase would be versus the new job/promotion you receive, and start there.

I hope this helps, and good luck to all!

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @2zaa+1kBRemBM

What I don’t understand is what happens if you are promoted to a more senior position which previously would have carried a higher bonus target %. Is your bonus going forward still going to be based on what it was in your previous junior position, or is it going to be adjusted upward?

If the former, seems like there will be a lot of unfair disparity between people “grandfathered in” with a higher bonus vs. those newly promoted… but maybe that is the point of removing any transparency from the compensation structure.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @1qcy+1kBRemBM

I was actually given a bonus target with a new position I received this year. I’m not sure it’s anything official, nor did the targets mean all that much even when they were standard. It was also a $ amount instead of a %, and rounded down bout 0.5k from what I knew the old target % would have equated to with my new salary. It may have just been a ballpark the hiring manager gave me as an idea of roughly what I could expect, as always I’m sure it will be lower or higher based on whatever my rating is and what they have a budget for in a given cycle.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @1nwe+1kBRemBM

Be glad you get a bonus at all. 90% of the company doesn’t.

A little perspective from you entitled types would be welcome, especially with layoffs hanging over those people’s heads. But you like the politics of fear I am sure.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @1qvy+1kBRemBM

I'm spending my entire bonus at the strip club.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @1eaj+1kBRemBM

I think the goal must be to eventually whittle down the bonuses. So if a job title originally had a 20% target bonus, over the years, they are going to try to get that down to an average of, say, 10% across the 100s of people who have that same job title. For now, they seem to be grandfathering people in at their higher %, but I am not sure how long that can last. Otherwise, what's the point of getting rid of target bonuses? And I totally agree, this pay transparency nonsense seems to be backfiring big time, with these huge ranges. All the companies are doing it. Unintended consequences!!

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @1asb+1kBRemBM

What jobs pay 40%? Or is that only managerial jobs?

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @rro+1kBRemBM

They are suppose to base soff the previous year dollar amount, but we all need to see it to believe it. Word is bonus should be near last year levels.

As for all the changes, I think technically those were all decided before Bei Ling if I'm not mistaken. Still silly none the less. I don't know how you can hire someone without telling them a bonus range. For me it's almost 40% of my total comp, so very important to know

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @xfa+1kBRemBM

Who knows. Bei Ling came in and had to make her mark on doing something and ----- wow----we got Workday and alignment of job titles (that suck, by the way) and less transparency about what jobs pay than we've ever had.

Workday sucks. Job titles suck. I want to know a realistic range and I want to know generally what bonus a job may offer before I apply. Not stupid ranges like $111-200k or $144-300k. When someone doesn't know if they should expect $140k or $240k for a job, that's a problem.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @prn+1kBRemBM

Post a reply

: