Still haven't solved that compensation issue that's been nagging at you? (Sometimes, for years?) You know, the one that is easy to avoid because, after all, you're the only one who knows how much value the upgrade would have. Every now and then you realize the guilt you feel about not working on it, but no one else has to know, do they?
First quarter is a great time to confront these difficult situations. You know, the ones that would deliver on your compensation philosophy, but you don't really have the confidence to take on. They are high output but they need high investments of time, support and resources that you have to stand up for and then work through. All of those are available to you, no matter what your current business situation, if you stand up for the project with a solid proposal, I assure you.
Below is a list of many items that fall into the "coulda, woulda, shouldas," based on my experience. Some of them are simpler to achieve than others. You know the ones you should be targeting. Take this article as encouragement and support.
Many, many have undertaken these projects and succeeded, so you can, too. Think of how much better you will feel -- about yourself and your career -- when you see your effort come to pass in fourth quarter or sooner. Use Compensation Cafe as your DIY resource. We've got loads of good advice on each of these topics.
Compensation philosophy -- Crucial to consistent practices and strategic decision making, yet often overlooked. Your company needs this yardstick to build satisfaction with pay practices.
Salary surveys -- When's the last time you updated your sources? Have you found good data for all of your jobs? Even if senior management pushes back on the costs, timely surveys are required for total compensation judgments.
Salary structure -- When your midpoints are no longer competitive, you can't guide pay practices judiciously -- let alone competitively.
Market research for hot jobs -- No one wants to lose a key employee. Stay up to date on pay and career practices at local and national competitors. And by the way, do you and management agree on who your key employees are?
Job architecture -- We talk about this often in the Compensation Cafe. Do you know what an effective model looks like? It's hard to make any progress on this unless you know what the end product should look like, so ask a consultant for a briefing. Even if you are a small organization, it's important to know how many different paths an internal candidate can take to achieve a key job and how someone can grow into those "irreplaceable" experts that keep the company moving forward.
Pay transparency -- You can't achieve full transparency in one step, so why not just commit to start? Identify the communication practices that can be better this year and sketch out a full blown plan. Recognize that improvements in this area will take a few months to plan, and implementation won't just be one event, so start the project as soon as you can.
Administration guide -- Documentation of processes and key decision points is essential for consistent practices. Especially for annual programs like incentives that are not thought about in every month of the year.
Skills update -- Are you a homegrown compensation practitioner? And even if you are not, when's the last time you discussed compensation with professionals outside of your company? Professional growth is satisfying and valuable. Online courses and presentations make learning convenient. An annual refresh is important -- wait much longer, and it becomes crucial.
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. A former Board member for the Bay Area Compensation Association (BACA), Margaret coauthored the popular eBook, Everything You Do (in Compensation) Is Communications, a toolkit that all practitioners can find at everythingiscommunication.com.
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