In my last blog post, I promised solutions. Here's what I've got for you.
What's the secret to happiness and satisfaction with compensation communications? It's simple -- tell yourself the truth. Along with all other healthy habits -- exercise, eating fruits and vegetables, getting enough sleep and so on -- the truth is the best place to start.
As I've written in earlier posts, the evidence for valuable business returns on effective compensation communications continues to grow, but habits are not changing. There's just so little compensation communications going on.
I fretted about this for many years. Then it hit me. It's like skipping cheeseburgers and fries, or second helpings. We know these decisions would be good for us. We believe the research on nutrition is sound. But when the time comes our impulses win out.
So let's face it. When it comes to compensation communications, the determination to do whatever it takes -- in terms of initiative, money, time -- to break our habits and really engage employees in the power of performance and rewards is rarely our MO. Keeping time and costs to a minimum remains the abiding strategy. As a result, employees barely understand the basics.
Our success parallels our limited progress with our own wellness plans. We limit our commitment and then criticize ourselves because we can't yet run the annual marathon or because our cholesterol is dropping so slowly. Then we grab fries the next night. It's just reality. So let's work with it.
With that in mind, I turned the model of effective communications on its head. Instead of "beginning with the end in mind" -- which assumes you are committed to a strategy of real and abiding change -- let's look at reality.Time and resources are the real determinants of most HR department's communications strategy.
How many people do we have to put on the communications team? How much time can they commit? Can we expect managers to take hours away from the department to build new skills? Will they really talk with employees when the time comes? Will executives commit the time to act as spokespeople? I understand the reality of the balancing act that you face.
So tell the truth about the time and resources that you are willing to allocate. And face the reality of the outcomes that you will achieve. Want better outcomes? Commit more resources.
Limited resources? Don't get frustrated, face the truth. The most you will achieve is employee awareness of, or a very basic understanding of, your compensation program. A good foundation, but you won't have changed employee or manager behavior -- yet.
Want employees to connect their performance with their pay or with business results? You've got a bigger communications project on your hands. Here's an overview of what I'm getting at.
Margaret O'Hanlon is founder and principal of re:Think Consulting. She has decades of experience teaming up with clients to ensure great Human Resource ideas deliver valuable business results. Margaret brings deep expertise in total rewards communications and change management to the dialog at the Café. Before founding re:Think Consulting, she was a Principal in Total Rewards Communications and Change Management with Towers Perrin. Margaret is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), Pacific Plains Region. She earned her M.S. and Ed.S. in Instructional Technology at Indiana University. Creative writing is one of her outside passions, along with Masters Swimming.
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