Bonuses for high-performing staffers

A fast-growing district has resulted in Waikato District Council spending over $150,000 on bonuses for staff over the past two years.

In 2016, the council spent

$142,595.80 on performance bonuses. This was divided between

46 staffers at an average of just over $3000 per staff member.

Chief executive Gavin Ion said this is not the norm and the 2017 performance bonus figure of

$25,607.55 is more in line with what has been spent previously.

‘‘Spending $142,595.80 on performance bonuses in 2016 was a strategic move and investment by council to ensure business continuity,’’ Ion said.

Over the next three decades the Waikato District’s household growth rate is expected to surpass Hamilton and match Auckland’s.

‘‘Estimating household growth from population projections, the Social and Economic Profile says the Waikato District can expect growth of 660 to 880 households every year leading to a total growth of 14,000 to 19,000 households by 2043.’’

This means there will be demand for a corresponding number of additional houses, Ion said. These predictions are already supported by the number of building consents issued in the district –

2006 for 2015 to 2016 and 1977 for

2016 to 2017. It’s even surpassed Wellington, making Waikato District the fourth highest-growth area in the North Island and seventh in New Zealand, Ion said.

‘‘Keeping this story of growth in mind, it is clear council needed to maintain staffing levels and the excellent service we hope to deliver our customers.

‘‘This growth in the district hit a critical level in 2016, which is why bonuses were awarded to a number of staff to retain them in critical and hard to fill roles within the business and to reward staff for working above and beyond their job description and expected workload.’’

Performance bonuses are oneoff payments given to council staff for outstanding performance, working in an area which is shortstaffed, managing work in a high growth area, and retaining talent in hard to fill roles.

Examples of outstanding performance could be for taking on significant duties in addition to a current role, achieving outstanding results against key performance indicators, or a staff member going above and beyond a role to deliver improvements that benefit the community.

Any bonuses are approved by both the general manager and the chief executive. Money for bonuses comes from remuneration which is already budgeted for, Ion said.

‘‘This is not additional expenses. The additional funding can come from a number of reasons such as vacancies or new hires at a lower pay rate.’’

The council also runs its own WaiFactor Awards – annual awards which allow staff to acknowledge the great work peers are doing across council and within the community. Each category winner is rewarded with

$300.

Seven staff members were awarded in 2016 and 2017 – $2954 was spent in 2016 and $2703.59 in

2017. For the past two years, the council has also been working to become the most engaged community by 2020. From that come a number of challenges and areas council needs to improve on, Ion said.

‘‘Each year, a number of measurable targets are identified. Staff then aim to meet those targets throughout the next financial year.’’

If successful, permanent staff are rewarded with two ‘‘plan days’’, which are two additional annual leave days. There were 335 staffers awarded ‘‘plan days’’ in 2016 and 324 staff members in 2017. Due to a change in payroll system, the council was unable to provide information which dated back further than 2016.