Bonus issues

[matthewlee]

Hi everyone

I mostly hang out and read posts and shop the classifieds, but want to pose a situation to the crowd here. Its not coming from a managers point of view.. but does involve several.

Trying to keep this simple and ask for some opinions of what to do or shared experience.

In August a friend called and mentioned a local shop was looking for a programmer and I needed some income, so I went to interview.
There was an add on C-list and also it was mentioned in the interview that there is a sign on bonus after 90 days. They pretty much hired me on the spot and I was to start the coming Monday. Well.. its been 4 weeks post 90 days. The place has paid the employee a referral bonus 4 weeks ago too. I waited two weeks.. nothing. Emailed my foreman and he says he forwarded it to the other 4 bosses/owners. Wait another week and send an email to the one of the owners yesterday asking if he could clarify whats up and that im getting frustrated and feel ignored. We interacted today a bit.. and it was awkward.. but got ignored again. This is starting to bug me. I have not gotten much if any feedback from anyone on performance. From what I can see and bounce off others there, there are no complaints really. No attendance issues. Is this a hint I should move on? Really seems like the most bizarre place I have worked in regards to human relations and actually training someone to do stuff.
Any thoughts?

 

[Milland]

Do you still need the income, or do you have other options? It does sound like the place is not a great fit for you if you don't like the "vibe" (or being ignored on a legitimate issue), so looking elsewhere makes sense. But make sure you've got a solid opportunity before giving notice.

 

[m98custom1212]

Did you get this in writing?

 

[matthewlee]

Did you get this in writing?

Nothing in writing unfortunately. Just a assuming someones word and also that the employee that referred me got his portion.

 

[Ziggy2]

Hi everyone

I mostly hang out and read posts and shop the classifieds, but want to pose a situation to the crowd here. Its not coming from a managers point of view.. but does involve several.

Trying to keep this simple and ask for some opinions of what to do or shared experience.

In August a friend called and mentioned a local shop was looking for a programmer and I needed some income, so I went to interview.
There was an add on C-list and also it was mentioned in the interview that there is a sign on bonus after 90 days. They pretty much hired me on the spot and I was to start the coming Monday. Well.. its been 4 weeks post 90 days. The place has paid the employee a referral bonus 4 weeks ago too. I waited two weeks.. nothing. Emailed my foreman and he says he forwarded it to the other 4 bosses/owners. Wait another week and send an email to the one of the owners yesterday asking if he could clarify whats up and that im getting frustrated and feel ignored. We interacted today a bit.. and it was awkward.. but got ignored again. This is starting to bug me. I have not gotten much if any feedback from anyone on performance. From what I can see and bounce off others there, there are no complaints really. No attendance issues. Is this a hint I should move on? Really seems like the most bizarre place I have worked in regards to human relations and actually training someone to do stuff.
Any thoughts?

I'm going to comment on how I read your situation. Do not take my comments negatively but just as a long distance read and as possibly a way to improve yourself.

Your buddy that you referred you for the job apparently has some history at the company and is probably in good standing. The company that hired you also has some commitment to the bonuses for referrals program that is in place. That means for the sake of harmony and future of the employees and the bonus program, they are going to pay the bonus at the 90 day probation period.

That covers why your buddy got paid. Now here is how I read your situation. There are some apparent facts from what you have said.

It seems by implication that you did not have a job when your buddy called. No problem but just a point of fact. You state that you needed money at the time so you followed up on the opportunity. You also stated that there are "no complaints really". This is a rather unusual way to state something. The last piece of the puzzle is that you have asked at several levels about the status of your bonus and got the brush off. You also state that this is an unusual place to be trained in how to do stuff.

Since you were out of work and needed money, I suspect that you might have oversold yourself in the interview. I suspect that the employers expectation from you was to be a self starter and self learner. Without knowing you or your situation but just trying to read between the lines, I suspect that you might have a rather passive personality.

If this is true, then even though you are technically doing alright at your job, you are not meeting the perceived expectations of the employer. From the employers perspective they are between a rock and a hard place. Your buddy is a valued employee so they will be very guarded in what they say to you since they don't want to lose him. You are asking about a bonus that they don't think that you should get.

This is where it gets very difficult for everyone. It is easy to justify firing a bad employee. It is easy to justify raises, bonuses, and compliments for good employees.

In our culture we do not like to make people feel bad unless we are sadistic so often constructive criticism is never used when it should be. It is also difficult for an employer to do so with some of the labor laws we have. This means that employees that are performing at a mediocre level or slightly marginal level, never get the feedback that they need to improve even if they want to. This is a very unfortunate place for both employers and employees to be in as no one is happy.

So where does this put you? Putting all of this together, you are probably doing a mediocre job at what the employer needs or expects. They are probably fearful of addressing what needs to be said, for everyone's benefit since it is hard to do.

You could look for another job but I do not think that is what would be best for you in the long run. I think you need to grow yourself into becoming the employee that they want to give raises and bonuses too. You should probably do some introspection of yourself and try to view your job from the employers viewpoint. Things like what it is that you do that brings value to the employer and what it is that you don't do that creates issues for the employer. One thing that some employers find frustrating are employees that are content to wait to be told what to do next in a self starter environment.

Only you can figure out what you need to do. You and the employer might never be a good fit. Perhaps you need a more structured environment that only another employer can provide.

Either way, I think it would be accurate to say that it appears that the current employer is less than enthusiastic about your current job performance. My observations might be accurate or they could be all wet and that you are dealing with idiots.

And that is my $.015

 

[countryboy1966]

The way I look at it is you are trying to take advantage of two different marketing strategies to attract people. Your buddy reached out to you and you used him as a referral. He got his bonus.

You did not find out about the job on C-list therefore, in my opinion do not qualify for the sign on bonus.

Depends how they have that stated. If its possible for both to happen then great. Personally, I'd pay both. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. That is, if you are in fact delivering on your end.

Good luck with this issue and keep us updated. This is something a lot of people can learn from.

 

[broke]

If they told you they would give a signing bonus their verbal word should be binding. Not legally, of course, but do you want to work at a place where you can't trust the word of your management?

 

[powerglider]

apart from the missing bonus money do you like your new job?

 

[cross hair]

I think the key wording is "sign on bonus after 90 day" That means you were on a 90 day probationary period, at the end of the 90 days they didn't cut you loose so unless otherwise stated you are now a full time employee and should receive the signing bonus. It doesn't matter if your work sucks, if that was the case they should have cut you loose. If they addressed the issue and said they are going to give you another 90 days to prove yourself then that's OK.

It's right before Christmas, if they're not happy with your performance they may be playing nice and letting you work until the holidays, thinking they will let you go after the first of the year. If you return after the holidays you need to have a sit down with your supervisor/boss/owner..whom ever. Be direct and professional and ask for an explanation...go from there

 

[Gordon B. Clarke]

Did you get this in writing?

Wrote much the same in another thread but just as relevant in this one.

Here it isn't just standard procedure that all employees have a written contract, it's also the law.

Employment contract | Workindenmark

 

[Comatose]

As a manager, the ranking is pretty much as follows:

Employees you're willing to fight for
Employees you want to keep
Employees doing an OK job
Employees skating by
---
Employees you hope will turn it around
Employees you hope will quit soon and save you some hassle
Employees slated to be fired, but not yet for one reason or another
Ex-employees

If 90 day sign-on bonuses were discussed in the ad and the interview, and you've been brushed off by two different people, I agree with Ziggy2, you're somewhere below the dashed line. If you like this job, then the discussion you need to have with your manager needs to be "What can I do to improve my performance here" not "When do I get a bonus." They should have given you the bonus if they kept you, but them's the breaks.

 

[smallshop]

Do you want to work for people you cannot trust?

This will be the beginning of a long frustrating relationship. Though perhaps not untypical. It seems to me the manufacturing industry is the most dysfunctional workplace second only to anything government....

do you have a copy of the C-list ad? Show it...get the bonus...start looking for a job. I have never confronted "management" over their lack of integrity without being resented for it. What they really want is ....MAKE NO WAVES....EVER!

OR....stay and become another glowering unhappy dysfunctional machinist....lol.

One of the reasons I started a shop. (one of many)

I get pissed just reading stuff like this....or to quote a buddy, "People suck"

 

[JS]

90 calendar days? or 90 "working days" ?

If you've exceeded either one of those , figure out if it's you that needs to up your game or if it's them....

 

[SIM]

Keep all these answers in mind and go in to speak with the gent that made you the offer. Till you do that it's all guesses.

When you speak, don't be mad and angry; start by giving the benefit of the doubt and see what the story is.

One tip, if you Gesture to quit if you do not receive bonus...make sure your willing to make good on that.

It is business and you need to watch your end.

My 02.

 

[Tony Quiring]

Bonus could be one or two words this time of year.

First question is do you like your job?

Would you be working there if it was not thought to be offered?


Was it discussed in your interview where they discussed their expected time line for transition from new guy (low expectations) to full time company guy (high expectations)

We will assume it was discussed in your interview and they maybe forgot and that you like your job.

Speak to NOBODY on the floor about it unless they are management coming to you to discuss it.

This is between you and the person who hired you and nobody else so ask your supervisor for permission to ask for a short meeting with the person who discussed the bonus.

If asked by supervisor "why?" Just state you wish to have a follow up meeting to discuss your progress and how you are fitting in and for feedback...Do NOT mention any bonus.

When you have your meeting do not discuss your bonus but instead ask how you are measuring up and what actions you should do to further improve.

Somewhere in this you ask if you get any "end of probation notice" or any document or acknowledgement that you have completed your probation so you can relax about that and put more energy into learning more.

The general hope is they realize that they forgot and you need to act same way...Thank them and ask again for suggestions for improvements.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk

 

[matthewlee]

Well, I got paid the bonus..After the first of the year.

Lots of management changes have been going on. Went to talk to the owner one day and the new boss asked me what I was doing and not to bug owner as he was stressed with head in machine running rush job. I told him the story and he got it taken care of.

I didnt really make a fuss about it and kept doing my job. Turns out they were on a spending freeze. Didnt and wouldnt buy tooling.. material.. cut overtime.. for November and December. Still no OT to date. Still frustrated i was ignored and heard through gossip about the spending freeze. Would have been nice to hear it up front from one of the many bosses..

 

[countryboy1966]

Well, I got paid the bonus..After the first of the year.

Lots of management changes have been going on. Went to talk to the owner one day and the new boss asked me what I was doing and not to bug owner as he was stressed with head in machine running rush job. I told him the story and he got it taken care of.

I didnt really make a fuss about it and kept doing my job. Turns out they were on a spending freeze. Didnt and wouldnt buy tooling.. material.. cut overtime.. for November and December. Still no OT to date. Still frustrated i was ignored and heard through gossip about the spending freeze. Would have been nice to hear it up front from one of the many bosses..

Not that it is right, lots of people in middle management are afraid to ask the top brass whats going on.... believe it or not.

 

[chip_maker]

Well you got paid so that's good.

Sounds like they slowed down soon after hiring you.

Seems like a lot of places i do work for are a little slow right now. Hopefully that will change.

 

[Big B]

This thread kind of reminds of my first factory job. It was at a paper box factory. My best friend ad I went looking for jobs and the factory that took our applications told us to sit tight as the manager wanted to interview us.

They hired both of us on the spot and told us we would start out at two fifty an hour. (this was 1974 and we were making about a buck fifty doing lawn maintenance) We got our first checks and did the math. We were being paid two fifteen an hour. When we went to the guy who hired us and asked about it he said we must have misunderstood what he said. Told us to be patient as we would be getting raises soon.

At 60 days they gave us a raise to $2.35/hour. I left shortly after for greener pastures. My buddy stayed for a couple of years before he found something better.

Getting things in writing is the only way to go.