Bonus: een Nederlands bankier vertelt

by Kilian Wawoe

Tien jaar lang was Kilian Wawoe als senior personeelsmanager werkzaam voor abn-amro. Hij maakte de vette jaren in de bankwereld mee en daarmee de jaren van de almaar stijgende bonussen. Hij was zelf verantwoordelijk voor het uitdelen van bonussen, hij maakte deel uit van het systeem. Onlangs verliet hij de bank uit onvrede met de bonuscultuur, waaraan ondanks de kredietcrisis geen einde is gekomen. Wawoe begon een onderzoek naar de werking van bonussen en constateerde dat ze vaak onjuiste prikkels geven. Ze zetten medewerkers van een bedrijf niet aan tot betere prestaties. Integendeel, de kwantiteit van hun prestaties neemt toe, maar de kwaliteit neemt juist af. Bonussen zouden afgeschaft moeten worden, is zijn conclusie. In Bonus doet Wawoe verslag van binnenuit, min of meer als kroongetuige, waarbij hij zichzelf niet spaart. Een spectaculaire en onthullende kijk in de keuken die de lezer aanzet tot nadenken over hoe het verder moet met de bankensector.

Genres: Nonfiction

203 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 14, 2011

Reviews

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had special reasons for wanting to read this book: last year I was taking a Strategy & Organisation course, and the course had the lovely addition of having well-chosen, relevant guest speakers. Kilian Wawoe was one of them, and by far the favourite of all students (for two years in a row). The guy is an energetic speaker, and knows how to address an audience. In short, his presentation was fun, and it mostly dealt with the topics discussed in this book. In all honesty, the book just went a bit deeper, but the basics I had heard from Professor Wawoe himself last year.

The book discusses the bonus-system in the banking sector, and the dangers it causes. The basic idea is this: at the beginning of the year, people high up in the company decide on targets for the next year. Employees are promised a bonus when they reach this target, regardless of how good of a worker they are, and what methods you use: all that matters is reaching this goal. If you need to sell 50 travel-insurances, selling them to people who don't travel at all is still fulfilling the target. This employee would still get the bonus, even if he doesn't help move things along for the company. Working well therefore doesn't earn you bonuses, which is, at the very least, a bit strange.

Professor Wawoe argues this system caused the crisis, as employees started taking more risks to reach their targets, claiming that "if you win, you get a bonus; if you lose, nothing happens". In case of the banking sector, it's generally the tax payer who has to pay for the mistakes made in the sector. The mistakes that have been made, and the risks that have been taken are not the fault of a single employee, but more a fault of the system, a system the banks themselves and also politicians are reluctant to change. Most of the book talks about Wawoe's research about this topic, and his frustrations on being ignored. It's a topic no one really wishes to talk about or is even interested in.

Besides this, Wawoe addresses other issues, such as Professor Schenk's theory on fusions (they're not good for a company, generally, and they're rarely successful; it's mostly a matter of prestige), but also the ego of people in high functions, and why they play such risky games.

There's a wealth of information in this book, but what bothered me personally was the writing style. It was very informal, and written in the I-perspective. Wawoe tells about the banking crisis from his perspective (+ added personal anecdotes, which in my opinion weren't always necessary), so it was understandable why he chose an I-perspective, but it just bugged me a bit. An informal style generally helps to make more people read your book, as it seems less daunting. And true, the book reads like Wawoe is telling you a story. I can just speak from experience when I say that the speech makes much much impact than the book itself does. I personally think an informal structure doesn't work as well for a non-fiction book, but for some people this might be a plus, as it helps create that personal touch.

All the same, it's a very interesting book.