A major airline's recently abandoned strategy to replace the traditional bonus system with a lottery for cash prizes is an example of what one HR industry expert says is a winnowing of trust between employers and their team members. 

Liz Ballou works for Clutch, compiling studies on human resources and employment and other topics.

“The traditional idea of a bonus is that it's a way to foster trust,” Ballou told HR Daily Wire on April 2.

By untethering bonuses from performance, she said, companies are jeopardizing that sense of loyalty that they want from employees. Specifically, she pointed to United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, who had a plan to save the company money by replacing guaranteed bonuses with entries in a company lottery. 

“Our intention was to introduce a better, more exciting program, but we misjudged how these changes would be received by many of you,” Kirby said in a statement to his employees.

Many did not like the idea of foregoing their bonuses, and an earlier memo by Kirby announcing the program was panned by Business Insider as “condescending” and an example of “how not to treat employees.” As United leaders have announced a series of ‘listening sessions’ aimed at creating a new program, Kirby says the company is “going to press pause” on the lottery idea.

Ballou said stories like the United saga show how company leaders need to step cautiously in messing with traditional bonus programs.

“You're not going to have that same cultivation of trust,” Ballou said, stressing the idea of a corporate culture where people feel valued, and characterizing the above story of bonus slashing as a “misstep.”

Ballou also remembers getting some pretty clear feedback from respondents in a prior survey about human resources.

“We asked people if they were dissatisfied,” Ballou said. “What they told us over and over again is – ‘communicate with your employees!’”

Proactive communications, she said, also builds that sense of loyalty and trust that helps a company to make changes in a responsible way.

“That way, nothing really comes as a huge surprise,” Ballou said.