Suncorp offers bonuses for return to office

As part of a trend to entice people back to the office, insurance and banking group Suncorp is giving its team leaders the option to award bonuses based on who makes an appearance at work.

“Our scorecards are used to determine overall performance rating, which is linked to bonuses for eligible employees,” a company spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia.

“Leaders will determine the right plan for their team aligned to the work they do, which may include a portion of time in the office where appropriate.”

Many Australians believe that it is time for more employees to get back into the office, found a recent survey.

‘Small percentage of performance rating’

However, minimum office attendance is not mandatory, said the spokeswoman in the Daily Mail, stressing it was only “a very small percentage of an overall performance rating.”

“We acknowledge that hybrid working is a key driver of our people’s engagement, attraction and retention,' she said.

A scoreboard taking into account office attendance is designed to boost workplace culture, said the spokeswoman, but it didn't stop team leaders from offering flexible working arrangements. 

“In an organisation as large and diverse as Suncorp, we know that a one size fits all approach simply won’t work,” she told the Daily Mail.

“The intention of including these plans in our scorecards is acknowledging the role our ways of working plays in our culture and to provide clarity, something our people have been asking for through our regular feedback channels.”

With the economy tightening, many Australian companies are offering new recruits lucrative sign-on bonuses to convince them to take up employment.