Using our heads to solve your Reward challenges.
Reward Heads Consulting Director, Claire Williams, takes a look at this tricky topic.
Few topics make senior managers lean forward in their chairs quite like the words: “We're proposing a change to the bonus scheme.”
Eyes narrow. Calculations begin. Imaginary spreadsheets appear in people's heads. One leader wonders if their earnings potential is at risk. Another worries about what their team will think. A third insists, “We tried something like this back in 2017 and it didn't work.”
Welcome to the wonderful world of securing senior leadership engagement in bonus scheme redesign. It can feel a bit like herding cats - if the cats all had different priorities, personal targets, and (let's be honest) finely tuned self-interest.
So how do you get the best possible engagement when the very people you need to back the change may not love the idea?
1. Acknowledge the elephant in the room
The first step is honesty. Leaders know bonus changes may affect their wallets, so don't pretend otherwise. Be upfront that earnings patterns may shift - some positively, some less so. Framing it as a shared challenge (“we need a scheme that works for the whole business, not just individuals”) helps move the conversation from personal to collective.
A little humour can help too. “We're not here to make anyone poorer - just to stop us accidentally paying champagne bonuses when the results look more like sparkling water.”
2. Ground the discussion in business strategy, not spreadsheets
Senior managers are sharp - they'll want to know why the change is happening. Link it directly to business strategy. For example:
If the rationale is simply “Finance thinks it's too expensive,” engagement will collapse faster than a soufflé in a cold kitchen. Frame it as alignment with strategic priorities, not purely money-saving.
3. Bring data, not just opinions
Every senior leader has a perspective. Some are genuinely insightful, some are only human and well, let's just say “shaped by their own bonus statements”. To avoid endless debate, bring hard evidence:
Data won't silence every objection, but it shifts the conversation from “I feel” to “We know.”
4. Involve them in the design (without letting them design it)
Engagement grows when leaders feel consulted. But beware the trap of design-by-committee, which often produces the kind of nine-metric mazes that nobody understands (except those who created them).
Instead, involve them through open conversations: ask them to prioritise business objectives, debate trade-offs, and stress-test proposals. They should help shape the direction, but not dictate every detail.
Think of it like getting input on the menu - they can choose the cuisine, but they don't get to stand in the kitchen stirring the pot.
5. Anticipate - and address - fears about fairness
One of the biggest engagement killers is the whisper: “Does this mean I'll earn less?”
Be clear on the intent: the scheme isn't designed to cut pay, but to align rewards more fairly and sustainably. Use historical modelling to show that over time, high performers still do well - but the business avoids the extremes of over- or under-payment.
Reassure them that the pie isn't shrinking - it's just being sliced in a way that better matches contribution and what the business really need so that all can share in future success.
6. Keep the story simple
Complex bonus schemes are hard to engage with and harder to sell to teams. If senior managers struggle to explain the new scheme at the coffee machine, you've lost the battle.
But while you want to avoid any totally unnecessary intricacies and convolution, that doesn't mean that you can avoid any complexity at all - there are different elements and nuances that can be key to support what the business is trying to achieve across multiple areas.
Our CEO, Victoria Milford, is firmly of the view that a bonus scheme should be explained in one page or 5 minutes or it is just too complicated and won't hit the mark.
So boil the story down to a simple narrative:
If leaders can repeat the story without a script, you've nailed it.
A final thought
Securing senior management engagement in bonus changes isn't about eliminating all resistance - that's impossible. It's about creating enough understanding, trust and alignment that even those who are sceptical feel able to support the change.
Do that well, and the cats may not march in perfect formation - but at least they'll be walking in roughly the same direction.
We've worked with a number of organisations to support them with their bonus scheme design and principles, from greenfield to review of existing schemes. To find out how we could help your organisation, please contact us at rewardsolutions@rewardheads.co.uk