Who else didn't receive a Retention Letter?
23 replies (most recent on top)
The fact that 99% of us are not worth retaining, is enlightening.
I will keep that in mind, going forward.
Torn & Abused. You wouldn't have gotten $300K. It would have been $30K for a 2 or 3 year commitment. That would be about the right amount for a Sr. Dir. that HON needed to keep.
Sr.Director
Last poster what is your job title
I got one. If I stay 3 years I get 300k in stock. Not sure it’s worth it. I hate this place
HON uses retention bonuses in two circumstances. The first is to keep key and some other employees if a divestiture, closure, sale or merger is looming (think GE in 2001 or a plant closure). The second is to keep key employees from bolting, and that is used more frequently - it's just not widely known or discussed. Cash is used for the first, and stock options are most commonly used for the second, although cash has also been used for the second as well.
Retention letters are typically sent out to key employees a few weeks, before a official announcement that the business is being sold is made public. Both the selling and acquiring companies wants to assure the specific key employees they will be retained to assure for a successful transition. It also gives the employee something in writing, so they know they are wanted in the new organization and hopefully they do not jump ship during the transition and actual finalization of the sale occurs.
Retention letters and bonuses are typically used when businesses are being sold and offered to the key employees to help make the transition smoother and easier. The buyer is typical interested in keeping the key employees and it’s figured into the purchase price.
Standard Operation Procedure, but must be kept on the QT by the chosen ones, if you every expect another letter of retention and incentive bonus. Don’t tell, Don’t ask!
Retention letters? All I se are a lot of knowledgeable folks that are fed up with work load and "average" or worse reviews that want to retire, leave for a job elsewhere or already have left. Or were RIF'd in 2020. Honeywell leadership is showing me they don't know who does what or what or the processes we have to work with nor do they seem to care. They do know how much $$ we all get paid and their goal continues to be to make that expense less.
Such retention contracts usually come with a gag order. Usually can't talk about it or tell anyone the details, nor that such a deal even exists.
@1oxd It's the same at most companies. Before things go sideways, everyone is building their own reputation as either a key employee or one that may be not-so-key... it's not like anybody is planning for the day when everything goes sideways.
Once things are clearly going wrong, or headed in a different direction, it's a mad scramble to find out from lower management who the key players are, their "must retain" folks to keep the wheels on the bus for the duration, keep morale high, etc... Then they try to calculate the likelihood that each of those folks wants to leave, as well as how many might leave earlier if each of these left early, based on what everyone knows of the person, their work history, their reputation around the office, their influence on others in the team, etc... finally they figure the total budget they've got for retentions... and that gets divvied out in various offer amounts from highest impact + highest risk of leaving, down to lowest impact +Lowest risk of leaving.
But yeah, it's not some big conspiracy where these incentives are already pre-planned, sitting out there and the details can be socialized up front. These are just normal things that happen in large corporations, and all I can add is that now you know, so act accordingly in the future? It might be quite lucrative once or twice in your life :D
@ 1oxd+1cMWjh7E- I won’t go into detail but it was not only hidden by HON but the employees, who received bonuses, were forced to hide it. You know the tactics.
Yes. A director left before his two years was up and ended up having to pay all 100k back in relocation. This is per the review that he recently left on glassdoor:
https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Honeywell-RVW50847917.htm
As a second data point I will say that I also left before my two years was up, and so I also had to pay everything back however it wasn't anything near 100k. In any case it still stings financially but it was worth every penny to regain my health and my sanity. I wish I never stepped foot inside this glorified meat grinder...
It’d be great if they let all employees know about these bonuses/compensation packages to drive some motivated work but lies and subterfuge are SOP.
I remember receiving 20% bonus for the next 3 years (it was supposed to start from 2022). My manager made a big deal out of it that Its highly selective. I told him that I don’t care about money at the moment but need clear career path plan from you. He didn’t listen. So I left within 2-3 months. We both are happy I guess!
I've received several retention packages over the last 28yrs. One in particular gave me 2k stock options that I converted at about $23 if I recall. I still have the stock.. There was a stock split along there somewhere and dividends reinvest. It started as a roughly $45k value and now sits at $312,000. Your mileage may vary but that is the story for me.
I think that account opened around 1999.
I hate honeywell as much as the next guy. It has made me a millionaire. That doesn't mean much today beyond accellerating my retirement.
Only the grand talkers or showboaters will get something like this yet no actual work is accomplished by them
The day I get offered one I’ll say “How about I give you the finger and $1 to leave me alone?”
It isn't intended to put the company out of business. Of course it's the select few key employees which would have the most adverse impact if they left. Don't be bitter. Be better.
Does this count?
Cap'n Ahab-S.K. at Aero Olathe-Cedar Creek is promising an off-the-clock quarterly luncheon for those who work 25% mandatory OT for straight-time pay. Bologna slices will be provided. Please bring your own bread, condiments, drink, and table service. Mandatory an-l Covid swabbing will be deducted from your paycheck.
Parts of Aero giving a 20% salary adjustment for 2 year commitment to a select chosen few.
not a retention letter but I took a relocation package so I'm technically on the hook for 2 years. Anyone leave before their 2 years? Do they chase you down for the value of the package?
No longer at HON but I received one at a previous employer. It came with an out-of-cycle promotion, raise, and some handcuffs, though it was years ago and I don't recall the details of the handcuffs. The point being, don't be too envious of the recipients of this letter because they are signing on to endure the abuse for a specified period of time, while the rest of you have the option to walk away.
- 9% of HoneyHell