What is your perspective…are you a glass-half-full or empty kind of person?
Ideally, the preference would be to take on the world with a sense of gusto and optimism. Approaching situations with a positive attitude can certainly be impactful towards achieving desired outcomes; however, there are two sides to every scenario. ‘
For each of us, we will come across events where things will work in our favor or will not. Not to be the Debbie downer here, but as Rewards Professionals, it pays to approach the rewards strategy airing on the side of caution too.
The reality is that it will not always be greener on the other side and, as experts in our fields, we have not only a moral but a work obligation to assume and evaluate against the worst-case scenario. Doing so is in the best interest of the employee and employer. When it comes to compensation, there is no denying that it can be a touchy subject. The pay quotient is impactful. It is seen to be an organization's largest operating expense and a necessity to any one person’s livelihood. It is for this reason that the design, thought process, and testing of our rewards programs should model the good the bad, and the ugly.
Whether seeking to design a new incentive/sales program, or roll out a pay for performance philosophy, we will need to compute multiple narratives including situations where achievement is above, at, or below expectations.
While doing the grunt work of computing figures on all perspectives is critical, so too is the presentation and articulation of the outcomes to others, specifically leaders or functional heads. Yes, being the “Pay Police” will become an inherent label to our role, but we will need to accept and wear it as a badge of honor. Facts are facts and there are parameters within which our rewards programs function. It is upon us to paint the “borders” of our organization's compensation framework.
Operating with a short-term transactional lens for an interim solution may seem like an easy fix but addressing pay situations where we fail to assess against the long-term objective will only impede our success and instead reveal more inequities, necessitating harder conversations and costly expenditures.
Reena Paul (CCP, GRP) works as a Senior Compensation Consultant. She is passionate about all things “total rewards” and has experience in dealing with all stakeholders of an organization and strategizing optimum client-focused solutions. A lover of data and the story it tells, Reena enjoys the exploration of presenting and discussing compensation with a fresh perspective. Connect with Reena directly on LinkedIn.
Image source: iStock image with credit to Fokusiert
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