"Wanna grab lunch sometime?"
When we're hiring, we offer far more allure than a one-time, get-to-know-you over lunch. Our immediate goal is to court talent that we are attracted to as if we want to go steady with them. In addition to trying to impress them with all we have to offer, we're on our best behavior, listening closely to prospective hires and doing our best to understand their needs.
Out of this phase of our relationship comes a job offer. It typically includes a salary we believe will persuade the prospective hire to go steady. And once we start going steady, our goal -- in HR-speak -- is to build Engagement.
While our type of Engagement doesn't involve a diamond, it does represent a relationship that needs as much daily attention as those with our families and friends. But when, after a bit, our employee/date brings up compensation, it quickly becomes clear that the courtship is over.
We tell our employee that s/he should be happy with the total (reward) package we've given them. At the same time, we tell ourselves that we are a great find and the employee should realize it. The employee couldn't get the same benefits or as great a work experience with anyone else.
Then our employee/date says, "But I really want to feel better about our relationship. Show me that you've heard me by giving me more of what matters the most to me -- cash compensation." Suddenly, we are speechless.
This back and forth has gone on for decades, while consultants keep showing us research findings that make it hard to tell whether we and our employees are actually in a full-fledged relationship or on the brink of breaking up. Recent findings are more blunt. Engagement seems to be getting harder to come by, especially when we hook up with younger employees who are new to our game and rebelling against dating rituals.
When the data shows that we keep doing the same thing -- and getting away with it -- there's no need to change. But if you're paying attention to the last few years of U.S. news, odds are we may not be able to get away with our same old compensation habits much longer.
It seems time for some real self-examination and closer attention to our employees' compensation concerns as part of our ongoing relationship. Or have benefits become the new compensation, as I read somewhere recently? If so, we should come clean.
Are you acting like everything you do in compensation is communication? If you wonder why it matters, earn a career boosting ROI by investing in the popular Ebook, Everything You Do (in Compensation) Is Communication @ https://gumroad.com/l/everythingiscommunication. Margaret O'Hanlon, CCP collaborated with Ann Bares and Dan Walter to create this DIY guide to compensation leadership. Margaret is founder and Principal of re:Think Consulting. She brings deep expertise in compensation, communications and leadership to topics like the CEO Pay Ratio and performance management discussions at the Café. Before founding re:Think Consulting, Margaret was a Principal at Willis Towers Watson.
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