Somehow it felt like time to hit the reset button, so I went looking for inspiration. I came up with two new WorldatWork videos (embedded below). They helped me clear away some cobwebs. I thought I'd point them out to you in case you're in a reset mode, too.
The first one, "The Modernization of Total Rewards: What's Changed and What's Coming," should inspire conversations in your department. It's not your usual, "Align your talent, reward and business initiatives," sort of discussion. Instead, it encourages us to shine a light on our practices to become aware of the cobwebs and dust bunnies have that been accumulating while we have been working away diligently over the years.
Think back. During the Recession, we were just hanging on for our lives, so overall strategy couldn't be a priority. When things finally started to improve around 2014, we were really tired, so repetitive work was right up our alley. Since then we've been looking closely at details, trying to plug the holes that had been created by the Recession.
In the meantime, the work world has changed immensely in terms of regulatory policies, economics, workforce priorities, data analytics, productivity through technology and so on. At some point, instead of living with the clutter from the old systems, we need to take the time to clean out the metaphorical closets. Extreme Clutter may have been a TV program that focused on icky realities, but think about how often people in situations like that say, "We just don't know how it got this way." I'm just sayin' . . .
I think you'll change your perspective in the six minutes that it takes to watch this video. Then pass it around and talk it over with your colleagues. You just might find yourself looking for flashlights and the buckets in the next few weeks.
The Modernization of Total Rewards: What's Changed and What's Coming from WorldatWork on Vimeo.
I'm passing the second video along because, in my experience, it's the first time that WorldatWork has highlighted the value of behavioral psychology/economics for our compensation practices. Over the years, Compensation Cafe writers have pointed out that a lot of money is spent wastefully in compensation on the premise that the pay-for-performance concept simply and automatically drives employee performance. However, there are acres of behavioral research showing that it isn't nearly that straightforward -- and that many of the "classic" motivational philosophies inspiring compensation design are just plain wrong.
This video, "Using Behavioral Science to Improve Total Rewards Effectiveness at the NSA," is best seen as a case study of an organization that is dedicated to making its practices as effective as possible. " . . . virtually anything we do in Total Rewards arena ultimately has some sort of an impact from a behavioral perspective on our employees . . ." comments Chris Dobyns of the NSA (and frequent Cafe guest contributor). In the wider world think merit pay, incentives, equity awards, sales compensation, wellness, medical cost management, training and you've only touched on the most obvious examples.
The video doesn't have answers. Instead, you're watching and learning from practitioners who are committed to upgrading the NSA's practices. It's courageous of the speakers to be talking about their work in progress, and instructional.
Using Behavioral Science to Improve Total Rewards Effectiveness at the NSA from WorldatWork on Vimeo.
Margaret O'Hanlon, CCP brings deep expertise to discussions on employee pay, performance management, career development and communications at the Café. Her firm, re:Think Consulting, provides market pay information and designs base salary structures, incentive plans, career paths and their implementation plans. Earlier, she was a Principal at Willis Towers Watson. Margaret is a Board member of the Bay Area Compensation Association (BACA). She coauthored the popular eBook, Everything You Do (in Compensation) Is Communications, a toolkit that all practitioners can find at https://gumroad.com/l/everythingiscommunication.
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