We Need to Talk About the Sign-On Bonus

In these dire times, it seems like just about everyone is offering sign-on bonuses. They’re plastered up and down online job postings and hanging in the windows of businesses across the country like blinking neon dollar signs. The idea is that the alluring glow of fast extra cash will be irresistible to job seekers, leading to an instant boost in applicants and hires. Boom, staffing problem solved!

Not so fast. There’s a whole array of issues we can throw a stack of money at and walk away happy with the outcome. This is not one of them. Offering sign-on bonuses isn’t the answer to our talent acquisition and retention woes. 

As recruiting strategies go, it’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s low effort. Candidates know this just as well as we do. They see right through it. It does little to nothing to convince them that they want to work for us at all, let alone stick around for the long haul. What everyone really wants in a job is to feel truly valued, and a sign-on bonus sends the opposite message.

Simply put, we need to offer more than a one-time check… and not just to external candidates. An often overlooked downside to offering sign-on bonuses is the sizable dent it can put in the morale of our faithful current employees, who will not be receiving that sweet influx of cabbage and whose loyalty may have gone unrewarded thus far. Luckily, there are plenty of ways we can demonstrate just how much we value our people and attract new talent in the process.

That sign-on money could be used for higher pay across the board or regular incremental bonuses. If that’s not feasible, consider putting together a benefits package that stands out. We all have stuff we care about outside of work. Generous paid time off and flexible schedules are small ways to show that we recognize that fact. Wellbeing and mental health resources are more important than ever, and make for an essential, long overdue addition to traditional offerings like healthcare coverage and retirement planning. These benefits and perks will mean so much more to potential applicants and our current workers than offering sign-on bonuses.

Another key difference-maker in driving talent attraction and employee loyalty is internal mobility. No one is applying to a job without thinking about what their future might look like, and no one is going to stay at a job where they feel stuck. Offering opportunities to learn new skills and move up or around our companies will do wonders for application and retention rates. It will also put us at the very forefront of a rapidly changing work landscape as more and more employers realize just how important internal mobility is to a winning culture.

It’s clear now that we can’t buy our way out of this problem, so let’s put our wallets away when we’re drawing up job postings from here on out. Out with the sign-on bonuses framed in capital letters and exclamation points, and in with an emphasis on all the amazing things our organizations have to offer.