THOUGH bonuses are not guaranteed, employers say their staff can increase their chances of getting a bonus payment if certain conditions are met.

Scotiabank and NCB have shown that profitability is key, with their over 10 billion profits each this year.

John Marzouca, head of a transport empire, says everyone in the company must contribute to the bottom line.

“The driver has to be a part of it, the office staff has to be a part of it. Everybody has to contribute to making sure that the company stays viable. We have to be watching our expenses, because expenses are a big part of it,” he says. “We have a big staff and they know what it takes for us to be able to pay the bonus.”

Anya Levy, executive director of Valerie Levy and Associates, a real estate firm, says recession or not, bonuses can be paid, “but the employees have to ensure that they really look at the organisation and treat it as their own.”

Adds Levy : “They have to see how they can be more efficient with their jobs and increase the profit margins of the companies.”

“What has happened is that the pie is shrinking. What they have to do is to ensure that their companies have a bigger piece of the pie”, she says. Levy, who manages the real estate company, says that because of competition, employees play a major role in maintaining the profitability of organisations. She stresses efficiency, productivity and a focus on customer service.

“The real estate business is a service business. If I pick up the phone to call my clients and they don’t like the way I speak to them, they will just pick up the phone and call someone else”, she says.

For this reason, Levy stresses that employees should think about the bonus at the end of the year, from the moment they start working.

“It has to be done not just in the December season. It has to be something that you think about from January to December,” she says. “If employees don’t elevate themselves and elevate the companies then they are not going to see those zeros that they want to see,” she said. That competitive drive is so much more crucial now. The bonus is not a given, you have to earn it.”

Like Marzouca, Levy also stressed the need for collective effort. “Its got to be a team effort, because you alone cannot change the organisation. Employees need to have accountability, responsibility and the profits will trickle down to them in the end.”