I was all set to post a completely different article this morning until I got off the phone with the manager of the hotel where I am currently staying. I am staying at a beautiful resort. It is on the ocean and, in fact, my room has a view of the Pacific. The food has been wonderful. The staff has been friendly and helpful. But, I am very tired, a bit annoyed and overall my experience did not meet the promise of the vision created by the instantly visible “big” picture offered by the location.
Let’s trade in the hotel for company. We can switch the room for a department. The food is like my pay. And the staff is like HR and Compensation. So what could possibly be wrong? I am at a great company, in a fantastic department, my pay is wonderful and HR and Comp have been friendly and helpful. How could I be less than happy? Let’s talk about the little things.
When I went to brush my teeth last night the sink didn’t drain. It took almost 5 minutes for it to empty. When I went to sleep the room was a bit warm. I set a cooler temperature on the cool remote and went to bed. A few hours later, in the middle of the night I awoke to an even warmer room. I reluctantly called for assistance after being unable to determine the problem. The person who came to my room was also unable to correct the problem. I chose to stay in the room rather than go through the difficult process of changing to a distant new room.
A couple of hours and catnaps later I had to start working. I went to order breakfast and realized the room had no menu for the multiple onsite restaurants. I opened the Guest Service binder and the very nice metal insignia fell off and onto the glass desktop. I picked up the desk phone to call the front desk and it didn’t work. When I spoke to the front desk (from the functional bedside phone) I explained my issues and they expressed their apologies. They also offered a discount.
Things happen, but understanding that fact does not completely remove their impact.
Imagine the remote as your participant website. The air conditioning is the commute or parking access for your location. The maintenance person is the HR business partner who does not have the tool to answer the urgent question. The metal insignia, the termination provision in your LTI and the desk phone is the customer service line at one of your third party providers. And what about the sink? Heck, let’s just say your sink was clogged this morning. (Even I can run out of metaphors!)
By this point, you may have forgotten how great the company and its people are. You might not remember that pay was great. This is the challenge of the little things. Even though not a single one, or the combined total, of the minor issues I have experienced in the past 24 hours would stop me from staying at this fantastic venue again, they have colored my experience enough that I will without truly experiencing what this place had to offer. When you think about your compensation plans make sure you take care of the little things. When they become problems in a swarm you can lose nearly all of the amazing impact your company and effort should have brought.
Lastly, when the little things fail, don’t spend time reminding people of the good things. Just fix the little things and move forward knowing that the big stuff will usually speak for itself in the long run.
P.S. Did I mention how good the complimentary coffee and fresh-baked croissant are?
Dan Walter is the President and CEO of Performensation an independent compensation consultant focused on the needs of small and mid-sized public and private companies. Dan’s unique perspective and expertise includes equity compensation, executive compensation, performance-based pay and talent management issues. Dan is a co-author of “The Decision Makers Guide to Equity Compensation”, “If I’d Only Know That”, “GEOnomics 2011” and “Equity Alternatives.” Dan is on the board of the National Center for Employee Ownership, a partner in the ShareComp virtual conferences and the founder of Equity Compensation Experts, a free networking group. Dan is frequently requested as a dynamic and humorous speaker covering compensation and motivation topics. Connect with him on LinkedIn or follow him on Twitter at @Performensation and @SayOnPay
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