Spot Bonuses allow managers (users who have direct reports under them in Motivosity) to have larger amounts of cash available to give to people who have done exceptional work or put in exceptional effort. Spot Bonuses function differently than the normal "Giving" money in Motivosity because these balances replenish at the beginning of each calendar year. (Remember that "To Give" funds are replenished at the beginning of each month). Also, these rewards are supposed to be given in larger amounts (as opposed to the $1 or $2 that are given with appreciations).
Please Note: Spot Bonuses expire at the end of the calendar year (00:00:00 GMT on January 1).
Spot Bonuses vs. Regular Peer to Peer Dollars
There are some important differences to consider when deciding to put dollars towards Spot Bonuses or Peer to Peer dollars.
Who can give Spot Bonus vs Peer to Peer dollars?
Spot Bonus dollars can ONLY be allocated to "Managers" (users with at least one direct report).
Peer to Peer dollars can be allocated to anybody.
When do dollars expire/refresh?
Spot Bonus dollars will expire at 00:00:00 GMT on January 1.
Peer to Peer dollars will expire at midnight on the first of each month depending on the time zone selected on the Setup > Peer to Peer page.
Who can these dollars be awarded to?
Both Spot Bonus and Peer to Peer dollars can be given to ANYONE.
How are these dollars given?
Spot Bonus dollars are given through giving a spot bonus. Click on the three dots next to "Spot Bonus" on the home page.
Peer to Peer dollars are given by clicking Who Do You Appreciate on the home page
Are there restrictions to how many dollars can be given?
Spot Bonuses can have a limit for how many dollars given through a spot bonus without approval. Any dollars over that may require an approval. Click here to learn more. You must give at least $1 with a spot bonus.
For peer to peer giving, user can tie any number of dollars from their "To Give" balance or their "To Spend" balance. Users do not have to give dollars with their appreciations. (So sending $0 is an option).
Create and Send Spot Bonuses within Motivosity
You first need to head to 'Setup' > 'Spot Bonuses' and select 'Yes' to start creating allocation rules.
NOTE: Managers up and downstream on the org chart will be able to see and request a spot bonus. Even if they will never receive a spot bonus, those requests if made can just be denied.
Setting Up Spot Bonuses:
You have two options for the way that you can allocate funds for your managers. First, you can create a single spot bonus allocation for a particular user or second, upload an excel spreadsheet with many spot bonus allocations. The allocations created here will expire at the end of the year as shown. You can do uploads for these one-offs or add a single spot bonus by clicking the designated buttons.
Spot Bonuses Allocation Spreadsheet:
The 'Import Allocations' is used for when you'd like to allocate a Spot Bonuses to multiple users. We recommend clicking 'Download Current Template' to get a good look of how the information will be filled. Once downloaded you'll see the example below:
After adding the users you'd like to have a 'Spot Bonus' in the spreadsheet you can go ahead and select this file in the 'Import Allocations' modal and finish by clicking 'Save'.
Spot Bonus Approvals
The next step is deciding on your approval process. You can set an amount that for any spot bonus under that amount you do not need approval. If nothing is specified or if the amount is more than the required approval amount, then the spot bonus will go through the approval process. You then select the Approvers by simply starting to type in their names into the 'Select approvers' box once you have selected 'A specific person' if you don't want the giver's managers to approve them.
You can also include instructions for anyone who will be approving a spot bonus by typing the instructions in this box.
Giving Spot Bonuses
With Spot Bonuses enabled, Managers will now see a 'Give a Spot Bonus' button on their home page.
Giving a Spot Bonus is similar to an appreciation where you will type in the employee's name, type a note, select a company value, determine the giving amount, and mark it as private or leave it as public. After filling out the information, click 'Send It!'
If the Spot Bonus needs to be approved, it will then show up in the Action Items list of the approvers. If no approval is needed, it will get posted to the home feed.
Managers will also be able to request additional funds or transfer funds by clicking the three dots pointed at below
They can click on the "Request/Transfer Funds" button as seen below
They will then be met with this screen where they will submit their request or transfer funds to receive additional money or give direct reports additional money to give.
How to Reverse a Spot Bonus Allocation
1. Click 'Add Allocation'.
2. Select the Manager name that needs to be reversed.
3. Input a negative balance in the 'Amount' field and fill out the 'Note'.
4. Click 'Save' and the spot bonus allocation will be adjusted!
