Golden hello

In accounting and contractual law, "golden hello" is a term used for several different arrangements:

1. A payment made to induce an employee to take up employment from a specific employer^[1] in form of a welcome package^[2] or a payment from a rival employer to entice the employee to leave the other company.
2. A payment from a government to employer (private company) during an economic recession who takes on new staff, usually superfluously, when job openings in general are scarce.^[2]
3. In the United Kingdom, a financial incentive^[3] for graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) who are pursuing a career in teaching.^[4]

Risks and advantages

If the employee is worth the money

A hiring company may spend millions of dollars for a golden hello package, hoping the poached executive generates more benefits for them than the cost of bonuses. After the 2008 financial crisis, such compensation methods have become controversial.^[5]

If the payment rate is right

It's difficult to make the payment rate be an incentive for employees.^[6] Generally, employees who are senior-level receive higher golden hellos than entry-level or mid-level employees, considering the skills, experience and talent for specific positions.^[6]

Attracting talented recruitment

In a study by Aerotek and the Human Capital Institute, 46% of professionals (570) at companies said that the best way to attract senior-level employees is bonuses.^[7][8] Employers can offer a one-time signing bonus or promise a specific timeline for raises to salaries.^[8]

Building trust between employee and new hire

Golden Hello build the foundation for a positive relationship between an employer and a new employee.^[8] The study indicated that trust is built between employers and new hire when employers offer signing bonuses.^[9] This is also incentive for new employers to work harder.^[9]

Golden hello for academies

In the UK, a golden hello is financial incentive,^[10] not for executives, but for attracting graduates in STEM^[4] (science, technology, engineering and maths) into teaching in a maintained secondary school.^[11]

The scholarships, funded by Department of Education, were introduced in 2011 and are offering £30,000^[12] for graduates with a good degree in physics, chemistry, computing or maths in 2016/17.

According to the document of National College for Teaching and Leadership, golden hello is only available to teachers "who trained through a postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT) course leading to qualified teacher status (QTS)".^[11][13] Teachers must meet the training, teaching and application criteria, in order to be eligible for golden hello payment.^[11]

Golden hello for high-ranking executives

In the United States, golden hellos are typically offered to high-ranking executives by major corporations and may be valued in the millions of dollars. They are said to have become "larger and more common" starting around the mid-1990s.^[14][15]

Further reading

• Golden boot compensation
• Golden handcuffs
• Golden handshake
• Golden parachute
• Voluntary redundancy
• Signing bonus