Crown

Porsche Germany will pay 7600 EUR to each of it's over 8500 official employees as a bonus for their good work in 2011.

No matter if engineer or cook, each employee gets 7600 EUR.

I kind of find this fascinating but I would have loved to see a bonus more or less related to the achievement and performance of each employee. Not that a cook isn't important but it is difficult for me to understand why a cook should get the same bonus as a highly educated and trained engineer or somebody working his ass off in production.

Maybe the bonus should have been divided:

1. 3000 EUR for jobs not directly related to production or development

2. 6000 EUR for jobs in the administration/marketing department

3. 9000 EUR for jobs directly involved in production and development

Not fair ? Well...I beg to differ. 

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S (June 2012 delivery), Porsche 997 Carrera GTS Cabriolet PDK, BMW X5M, Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe PP/DP, Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

Does the marketing for Porsche do not have the same class as the product development?

Without this marketing Porsche would probably sell only 911s to a small group of fans. Maybe the marketing guys should get even more ...

Itsme:

Does the marketing for Porsche do not have the same class as the product development?

Without this marketing Porsche would probably sell only 911s to a small group of fans. Maybe the marketing guys should get even more ...

 I don't know, I just think that the "producing" departments and those actually responsible for development should get the most but maybe I'm wrong. 

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S (June 2012 delivery), Porsche 997 Carrera GTS Cabriolet PDK, BMW X5M, Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe PP/DP, Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

See, you just made a case in point. It's almost impossible to quantify the contribution an individual has on the bottom line. Therefore, it's the most elegant solution to distribute a bonus which is solely based on financial performance to all workers. 
It also sends out a powerful message to the workforce: you're a team, everyone is interrelated and could not work without the other. It's a joint success and therefore all should profit equally.

Besides, this is just a general bonus and I'm pretty sure that most workers will also have (additionally) a part of their salary which is based on INDIVIDUAL performance.

Tim:

See, you just made a case in point. It's almost impossible to quantify the contribution an individual has on the bottom line. Therefore, it's the most elegant solution to distribute a bonus which is solely based on financial performance to all workers. 
It also sends out a powerful message to the workforce: you're a team, everyone is interrelated and could not work without the other. It's a joint success and therefore all should profit equally.

Besides, this is just a general bonus and I'm pretty sure that most workers will also have (additionally) a part of their salary which is based on INDIVIDUAL performance.

+1

Spyderidol:

Tim:

See, you just made a case in point. It's almost impossible to quantify the contribution an individual has on the bottom line. Therefore, it's the most elegant solution to distribute a bonus which is solely based on financial performance to all workers. 
It also sends out a powerful message to the workforce: you're a team, everyone is interrelated and could not work without the other. It's a joint success and therefore all should profit equally.

Besides, this is just a general bonus and I'm pretty sure that most workers will also have (additionally) a part of their salary which is based on INDIVIDUAL performance.

+1

+2

997.2 Carrera S in Carrara White. PASM-Sport Suspension (-20 mm), PSE.

987.1 Boxster S in Arctic Silver. OZ Racing Ultraleggera Wheels, H&R Monotube Coil-Over Suspension, H&R Anti-Roll Bars, Sachs Racing Clutch, Single-Mass Flywheel, IPD Plenum, GT3 Throttle Body, Recaro Pole Position Seats, PSE.

From the announcement I would think that "only"  the pay scale employees (union related work contracts) get this bonus, the other employees will have individual contracts with Porsche (hence, potential bonus linked to performance...)...

No wonder a base 991 S, with no full leather and no PCCB's is $120K  ...

2005 997S Blk/Blk

No, if applied smartly it's a way of keeping fixed costs low. If I remember correctly, the workforce gets a certain % of the profit Porsche makes. So if Porsche makes a lot of money, the workforce makes a lot of money. If profits plummet, the bonus goes down as well. That's the way it should be.

BTW combined that's a bonus of 65 millions. Now compare this to Wiedeking's salary in record times. That's peanuts. So no, there's no causal link between the bonus and the price of Porsche's cars. 

Congrats to them.

As part of our "Profit Sharing" based on EBITA, we give out bonuses the same way, same $ amount to everyone (no preference to title) when the company hits a pre-established annual profit goal.. Which is separate from bonuses and raises paid based accomplishing individual performance objectives. 

That's a great profit sharing motion from Porsche. Also, I don't think you could fairly assess would should get more and who should get less. You completely forget the people in sales, marketing, advertising, test drivers, building cleaners etc etc. I think a flat employee rate of 7600 EUR is very cool! Mine was 1.2% of that sum for the year 2011.

I doubt that the building cleaners are Porsche employees but I get your point. 

I still think that the same bonus for every single employee is wrong but I get it, it looks good, it makes most people happy and it is a good publicity stunt. The unions are also happy...well, you get my point. 

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S (June 2012 delivery), Porsche 997 Carrera GTS Cabriolet PDK, BMW X5M, Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe PP/DP, Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

This is exactly as in my company !! ( NOT !!!!! ) 

No bonus for me or any work-mates, but a good bonus to each manager in all departments !!....I see this so absolutely unfair !! It is not even funny !!....Some people easily get their bonus ( 10.000 eur ) and what they have achieved is from the support of their team !! This situation about having bonus or not, is like a weapon inside the company ! It can totally divide one department in just a matter of short time !

i am also supporting RC's idea !! Why a employee with high skills, highly educated has the same bonus as another employee that can barely complete that profile......I see this quite fustrating, and very unfair !!! Apart from that, it is very unfair if the daily tasks you do, give the company an extra value to the client and corporative image !.....in my company, there are some folks with very low skill profile, hardly some studies a three year university career, instead of a bachelors degree....and still !!! Having a better salary than the rest and getting bonus !!

i finished my studies (Business Administration and Law) and my direct boss, has only a three year business administration degree, which is the minimum here in spain..... And he earns 3 x more than me , plus !!! Gets bonus !!!....i have only finished uni, two years ago, and this is the time I 've been at the company....BUT !!....my skills, understanding, and relation towards customers is far better than my actual boss I report !!!!! It is absolutely unacceptable !!!

Ok !!! Enough !!!!

I love the 991 !!!! LOVE IT 

A Company wide flat rate bonus doesnt mean that others did not also get a "personalized" performance bonus based upon some sales or production metric unique to their position and its annual objectives. That is common in many sales, marketing, operations and executive level employment contracts.

Bosses always get more and they should. They set the strategy, goals, policies and are responsible for deal approval, hiring decisions and managing their people. Somebody has to captain or pound the drum for the galley slaves on the corporate Tireme.

RC:

I doubt that the building cleaners are Porsche employees but I get your point. 

I still think that the same bonus for every single employee is wrong but I get it, it looks good, it makes most people happy and it is a good publicity stunt. The unions are also happy...well, you get my point. 

Why is it wrong? Why is an engineer, for instance, more important than someone from the legal department or vice versa?
I think you would be ill-advised to introduce some arbitrary rules such as engineers get 9000 and marketing guys 2000 on the basis of a performance criterion (in this case profit) which can't be really linked to each department's or individual's performance.
A bonus is supposed to make people feel good. Now imagine the potential disastrous vibe the day after the bonus was awarded when the engineer and the marketing guy have to work on a joint project and the question naturally arises why one got 9000 and the other only 2000.  How do you explain that? Good luck.

That would be like giving your boy two and your girl only one gift for christmas, because one is a boy and the other is a girl. 

Tim:

RC:

I doubt that the building cleaners are Porsche employees but I get your point. 

I still think that the same bonus for every single employee is wrong but I get it, it looks good, it makes most people happy and it is a good publicity stunt. The unions are also happy...well, you get my point. 

Why is it wrong? Why is an engineer, for instance, more important than someone from the legal department or vice versa?
I think you would be ill-advised to introduce some arbitrary rules such as engineers get 9000 and marketing guys 2000 on the basis of a performance criterion (in this case profit) which can't be really linked to each department's or individual's performance.
A bonus is supposed to make people feel good. Now imagine the potential disastrous vibe the day after the bonus was awarded when the engineer and the marketing guy have to work on a joint project and the question naturally arises why one got 9000 and the other only 2000.  How do you explain that? Good luck.

That would be like giving your boy two and your girl only one gift for christmas, because one is a boy and the other is a girl. 

But this happens in every company, or business, all over the world.  It's not a potential disaster.  If someone is upset, they could always go to their boss to discuss and possibly get an adjustment, a transfer, or leave the company, etc.  To avoid this, usually, the company is wise to balance things out as fairly as possible. 

2005 997S Blk/Blk

SoCal Alan:

Tim:

RC:

I doubt that the building cleaners are Porsche employees but I get your point. 

I still think that the same bonus for every single employee is wrong but I get it, it looks good, it makes most people happy and it is a good publicity stunt. The unions are also happy...well, you get my point. 

Why is it wrong? Why is an engineer, for instance, more important than someone from the legal department or vice versa?
I think you would be ill-advised to introduce some arbitrary rules such as engineers get 9000 and marketing guys 2000 on the basis of a performance criterion (in this case profit) which can't be really linked to each department's or individual's performance.
A bonus is supposed to make people feel good. Now imagine the potential disastrous vibe the day after the bonus was awarded when the engineer and the marketing guy have to work on a joint project and the question naturally arises why one got 9000 and the other only 2000.  How do you explain that? Good luck.

That would be like giving your boy two and your girl only one gift for christmas, because one is a boy and the other is a girl. 

But this happens in every company, or business, all over the world.  It's not a potential disaster.  If someone is upset, they could always go to their boss to discuss and possibly get an adjustment, a transfer, or leave the company, etc.  To avoid this, usually, the company is wise to balance things out as fairly as possible. 

I'm not against an individual performance based bonus. However, in most circumstances this should not be linked to a large degree on the company's overall financial performance. There's almost no causal link between an individual's performance and the overall company profit in a large corporation. So if I have only very little influence on my bonus, it's not a good incentive for me.

Again, Porsche in this case is not paying based on individual performance. It's more like a dividend where each employee holds one share. 

for employees all over the world? or just in Germany??

maya:

for employees all over the world? or just in Germany??

Does Porsche have development, marketing and production facilities outside Germany ? 

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S (June 2012 delivery), Porsche 997 Carrera GTS Cabriolet PDK, BMW X5M, Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe PP/DP, Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

BTW...Porsche is not the only one paying nice bonuses this year:

VW: €7500
Audi: €>8000
Daimler: €4100

Good for the economy... .

Tim:

BTW...Porsche is not the only one paying nice bonuses this year:

VW: €7500
Audi: €>8000
Daimler: €4100

Good for the economy... .

 

Good for the government...and the tax office, not necessarily for the economy. Oh well... 

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S (June 2012 delivery), Porsche 997 Carrera GTS Cabriolet PDK, BMW X5M, Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe PP/DP, Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

RC:

Tim:

BTW...Porsche is not the only one paying nice bonuses this year:

VW: €7500
Audi: €>8000
Daimler: €4100

Good for the economy... .

 

Good for the government...and the tax office, not necessarily for the economy. Oh well... 

You don't think the people getting those bonuses will spend that money, thus helping the economy?
And the tax office's share will go to Greece where the Greeks will spend it, helping the economy there as well. 

A good thing about people spending bonuses is that it is their own money which they have earned. They are not charging that expenditure to credit cards and building up future debts for themselves and the economy generally, which is what got us into this mess in the first place.

--

fritz

Interesting take on bonuses, fritz.   

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S (June 2012 delivery), Porsche 997 Carrera GTS Cabriolet PDK, BMW X5M, Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe PP/DP, Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

fritz:

RC:

Tim:

BTW...Porsche is not the only one paying nice bonuses this year:

VW: €7500
Audi: €>8000
Daimler: €4100

Good for the economy... .

 

Good for the government...and the tax office, not necessarily for the economy. Oh well... 

You don't think the people getting those bonuses will spend that money, thus helping the economy?
And the tax office's share will go to Greece where the Greeks will spend it, helping the economy there as well. 

A good thing about people spending bonuses is that it is their own money which they have earned. They are not charging that expenditure to credit cards and building up future debts for themselves and the economy generally, which is what got us into this mess in the first place.

--

fritz

It's a very positive sign.  The company is doing well enough to pay out bonuses, the people working are making more than they would have, tax revenues should be increasing as a result.  This is the way to build the economy.  This is the stimulus we should be striving for.

2005 997S Blk/Blk

SoCal Alan:

fritz:

RC:

Tim:

BTW...Porsche is not the only one paying nice bonuses this year:

VW: €7500
Audi: €>8000
Daimler: €4100

Good for the economy... .

 

Good for the government...and the tax office, not necessarily for the economy. Oh well... 

You don't think the people getting those bonuses will spend that money, thus helping the economy?
And the tax office's share will go to Greece where the Greeks will spend it, helping the economy there as well. 

A good thing about people spending bonuses is that it is their own money which they have earned. They are not charging that expenditure to credit cards and building up future debts for themselves and the economy generally, which is what got us into this mess in the first place.

--

fritz

It's a very positive sign.  The company is doing well enough to pay out bonuses, the people working are making more than they would have, tax revenues should be increasing as a result.  This is the way to build the economy.  This is the stimulus we should be striving for.

That's just what I was getting at. Many pundits are complaining that the fact that people are not spending money is perpetuating the weak economic situation in the west. On the other hand, the last thing we need is for the same people who got us into this situation by spending money they did not have (and in many instances had no prospect of getting together short of winning a lottery) to start out on another spending spree.

German consumers have a reputation for being careful with their money, for good historical reasons. It takes a good windfall to make some of them loosen their purse strings. 

fritz

Do you really think that it will help Europe if Germans spend more money in their own country ? 

A recession already hit the rest of Europe and it seems to get worse, so I'm not sure German consumer spending will help, unless these consumers spend their money during vacations in Spain, Greece, Italy and so on. 

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S (June 2012 delivery), Porsche 997 Carrera GTS Cabriolet PDK, BMW X5M, Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe PP/DP, Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

RC:

Do you really think that it will help Europe if Germans spend more money in their own country ? 

A recession already hit the rest of Europe and it seems to get worse, so I'm not sure German consumer spending will help, unless these consumers spend their money during vacations in Spain, Greece, Italy and so on. 

You answered your question with your last paragraph.  Also, more tax revenues help secure the German economy, so that it could be in a better position to help other countries.

--

2005 997S Blk/Blk

RC:

Do you really think that it will help Europe if Germans spend more money in their own country ? 

A recession already hit the rest of Europe and it seems to get worse, so I'm not sure German consumer spending will help, unless these consumers spend their money during vacations in Spain, Greece, Italy and so on. 

Vacations are naturally one major item. Short term, it'll boost the sales of Champagne and Prosecco.  

Seriously though, do you think that Germany doesn't import any goods or services from neighbouring countries which would benefit from increased spending by German consumers?  

fritz