Question for the few bosses who post here. I'm new at this whole boss thing having just made full 50/50 partner last year. We have 3 employees, an assistant and two receptionists. we give them nice holiday bonuses. Should I also give them a small gift like a gift card or is the bonus enough from a boss? I think they are going to get me something, like a bottle of booze or something like that. My dad says the bonus is enough, but he's old school. Is that common or should I also give a small gift. The bonuses are good, 3 weeks of salary. Or at least I think that's good, don't really have a frame of reference to compare it to.

Our company is ~25 employees, and the partners take us out, give us bonuses and a small gift. We also have prizes we can win at the party, and some of them are decent. Last year was 4 suite tickets to a Bulls game, which I enjoyed with some lucky CFMB members.

Throw in the gifts unless you have family working for you. Boosting employee morale is priceless.

I also get them little things during the course of the year which helps neutralize the negative feelings that inevitably arise from our quarterly meetings in which I go over a list of all the ways in which they disappointed me the previous quarter.

shakes: "Should I do something?"
Pretty much everyone: "Yes".
...44 minutes later.
shakes: "I decided not to".

Glad we could help shakes!

If you're paying them for a full day today, and taking them out for a nice meal, that is a great way to top off their bonuses.

Given the choice, I'd rather the 4 hours of pay and a nice meal than a giftcard.

shakes: "Should I do something?"
Pretty much everyone: "Yes".
...44 minutes later.
shakes: "I decided not to".

Glad we could help shakes!

yea but I was asking for opinion from bosses and Dr. Ken never showed up.

You guys gave me good data and from that I was able to determine the correct course of action. Just because I reached a different conclusion than most of you doesn't mean I didn't use and appreciate your help.

Scrap the bonus, just get them membership in the Jelly of the Month Club

We give all our staff a cash bonus and we have a "Secret Santa" gift exchange. I then usually get my assistant $25 in lottery scratch tickets or something like that. Not sure if my partners do the same for their assistants or if the associates do. I assume so though.

Question for the few bosses who post here. I'm new at this whole boss thing having just made full 50/50 partner last year. We have 3 employees, an assistant and two receptionists. we give them nice holiday bonuses. Should I also give them a small gift like a gift card or is the bonus enough from a boss? I think they are going to get me something, like a bottle of booze or something like that. My dad says the bonus is enough, but he's old school. Is that common or should I also give a small gift. The bonuses are good, 3 weeks of salary. Or at least I think that's good, don't really have a frame of reference to compare it to.