Assignment: As the Human Resources Manager at XYZ Industries, Inc., it is your pleasure to announce the addition of annual performance-bases bonuses for mid-level managers and above. These bonuses will require annual performance reviews to discern the amount of the bonuses. Draft a memo explaining this scenario to this specific group of employees.
Format: See email with General Memo Format. Body of memo should be single-spaced, with an empty line between paragraphs. All paragraphs should be left-justified, without any indenting at the beginning of each paragraph.
Address the memo to all mid-level managers and above at your company.
Recommended Organization
Header: Begin your memo with the four standard memo heads (Date, To, From, Subject). The Subject should be the positive message.
Body/Discussion: Remember that memos do not begin with greetings or salutations. This is a direct approach announcement of positive news, so begin your first paragraph with the news. Then go on to explain what factors led to this new program (e.g. increased sales, rising stock price, market share gain, etc.) and why the decision was made to reward employees with the surplus funds. Go on to assure the employees that they deserve this reward, and thank them for their contributions to the company’s success.
The following paragraph is where you explain that the amount of bonus each employee will receive will be based on performance reviews, and tell then what department will conduct these reviews, when they will begin and when they will be finished, when employees will learn how much they will receive, and when it will be paid to them.
The final paragraph is where you explain that the company looks forward to continuing this bonus program in the future, commensurate with company performance. Thank the employees again for their outstanding contributions, and conclude the memo by indicating how the reader may contact you if he/she has any questions.
