Year-end bonuses should be higher this year than last, according to more than half of the senior managers surveyed by Robert Half this holiday season.

About 51 percent of the senior managers surveyed said they expect bonuses to be at least somewhat higher. Nine percent said they expect them to be much higher.

About 39 percent said they anticipate no change, and only 10 percent said they expect them to decrease.

"Bonuses are a key recruiting and retention too, especially with the intense competition for top performers, said Paul McDonald, Robert Half's senior executive director.

McDonald said savvy companies looking to poach employees from other companies are offering job seekers sign-on bonuses to offset the performance bonuses they would have received from their current employers.