Compensation Cafe

Cafe Classic: How to Reward Those Who Must Step Up During Tough Times? Thoughtfully!

Editor's Note:  In the chaos of what organizations are facing today, many employees are stepping up.  Many because they don't see an alternative to doing so, many heroically.  Today's Classic was originally posted during an earlier time of crisis, more than 10 years ago; sharing it with a few light edits as food for thought today.

During these times of upheaval, many employees are being asked (that's a nice way of putting it, eh?) to take on more.

The question becomes: Who, where and how to reward for this?

My advice is to proceed with thought and care.  These days, and for the foreseeable future, it is likely that everybody's job will require going above and beyond, taking on additional work or stepping up to new levels of responsibility.  And operating in a climate of stress.  For this reason, we should be thoughtful about the manner in which we reward these efforts. Emotions can be running high and people may be extraordinarily sensitive about how and to whom extra recognition and rewards are being funneled.  Looking forward and optimistically, chances are good that this too will pass and we will find ourselves at some point (hopefully sooner than later) settling into a new normal.  While we must take care of our employees, particularly those who are facing down enormous obstacles to take care of customers and team-mates, colleagues of mine who've traveled through crisis and back would caution us against creating a culture where being asked to do more always sets up the expectation of a raise. 

While cash is king, there are an array of tools in your reward toolbox.  Do be sure to consider them all.

Having said that, I think we can all agree that there are situations where someone takes on more ... and situations where someone takes on MORE.  The trick is to establish clear, defensible criteria for distinguishing between the two.

For employees who are clearly doing MORE, where some kind of reward is probably appropriate, I would advise taking a closer look at the circumstances to determine whether MORE ...

• Is a temporary/short-term situation or likely a longer-term thing.  If the duration of the additional work is expected to be short-term, I think a (permanent) base salary increase is ill-advised.  Perhaps some kind of cash bonus or non-cash recognition program would be the best fit to rewarding these employees.

• Involves more of the same level and type of responsibility or reflects a different and higher level role.  With the former, I would start by looking at whether your performance management/merit increase programs are positioned to provide an appropriate reward.  If not, perhaps cash or non-cash recognition is - again - worth exploring as an approach.  In the latter case, it sounds to me as though you might consider re-evaluating the position and treating it (and the employee holding it) in a manner consistent with your policy for job upgrades.

I'm not suggesting that these are the right answers or approaches.  My point is simply that rewarding those who step up should happen in a way that is commensurate with the circumstances, mindful of the precedent being set, and - ultimately - aligned with your longer-term values and reward philosophy.

What you begin today you will live with tomorrow. 

Ann Bares is the Founder and Editor of Compensation Café,  Author of Compensation Force and Managing Partner of Altura Consulting Group LLC, where she provides compensation consulting and survey administration services to a wide range of client organizations.  She earned her M.B.A. at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School and enjoys reading in her spare time. Follow her on Twitter at @annbares.

Cafe Classic: The Truth About Great Compensation Design

Editor's Note: The truth hurts... and it can set you free!  That's what they say, anyway.  Today, we feature a Classic truth from Margaret O'Hanlon about what ultimately enables your compensation plans to achieve greatness. Frankly, the better we understand and the sooner we embrace this reality, the we will be at delivering the right results!

Great managers are exquisitely rare. Poor managers cost your company a lot of money. A few managers can become better at managing through coaching and development. Most can't.

This stark reality is based on Gallup research, some of it confirmed and elaborated over 40 years. We can thank two Gallup researchers for reminding us about these findings in a recent HBR Blog Network article.

"I'm shocked, shocked," we can say in parody of "Casablanca." Or we can admit we've known this difficult truth for a long time. (It gets easier to acknowledge that unerring leadership at any level is challenging for most mortals if we use our very own selves as reference!) Instead of bemoaning the state of things, though, I want to point out aspects of their research that will help our compensation design.

Since most of our compensation practices rely on managers, let's be clear that our work can easily become dysfunctional (or just barely functional) if we don't speak the truth about our managers. Gallup finds that great managers have the following talents. (I'm using their words here.)

• They motivate every single employee to take action and engage them with a compelling mission and vision.
• They have the assertiveness to drive outcomes and the ability to overcome adversity and resistance.
• They create a culture of clear accountability.
• They build relationships that create trust, open dialogue, and promote full transparency.
• They make decisions that are based on productivity, not politics.

I think we'll all agree that each and every one of these talents is expected of managers in pay for performance. But Gallup's research also tells us that the probability is that only one out of ten  managers, or 10%, has all five talents. It is some comfort then that an additional 20% of managers exhibit some portion of these traits.

So, should we head for the hills? Or keep doing what we're always doing -- insisting that managers all fall into a narrow standard deviation of effectiveness around the mean? 

How can we ignore reality, even when it's this inconvenient? We can't. But we can use this data to help us make our designs more practical, and if we're successful, compensation can finally become far more influential in the workings of our companies.

Look at one nitty-gritty example. Do your managers meet their objective setting, performance review and developmental planning schedules? Most companies struggle with accountability -- and most HR functions moan about getting managers to act accountably with budgets, schedules, hiring practices. Why create a design that expects repeated acts of accountability when we know what the inevitable outcome will be?

Or if you do create such a design, because it really is the right thing to do, recognize that you are going to have to change your culture if you're going to achieve success. A wonderful goal, but one that needs, at the very least, a multi-year plan and executive leadership with their own list of accountabilities. The plan would also need a number of measurable milestones. For example, in the early years, it could include a development strategy on accountability for your managers; measures that identify improvement; and time-sensitive rewards for progress against the measures. (Measures that should address business practices overall, not just people practices.)

Do you know where your managers fall on a continuum from effectiveness to ineffectiveness on each one of the five dimensions? This information is too important operationally to be determined with a guess. Most of us will have to do some research to establish baselines, but that's exactly where our next compensation design should start.

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 https://gumroad.com/l/everythingiscommunication.

Cafe Classic: 3 Reasons Valentine’s Day (and Poorly Designed Employee Rewards) Often Goes Badly

Editor's Note: What can this holiday of love and appreciation teach us about doing rewards right?  A lot, as it turns out!  I give you Derek Irvine with some great insights and tips! (Hey, maybe they'll even help you spend this special day more successfully!)

It’s Valentine’s Day – a “holiday” equally loved and reviled. Actually, once I tune out the industry advertisements, not many people spring to mind who look forward to and enjoy the day.

I think the same is true for many employee recognition and reward programs – for many of the same reasons.

3 Reasons Valentine’s Day (and Poorly Designed Employee Rewards) Often Goes Badly

1) It’s a Hallmark Holiday.

Some think a grand romantic gesture given one day a year can make up for 364 days of mediocre behavior. Relationships – whether romantic or employee/employer –require constant nurturing and investment. Employees need to know they and their efforts are valued more often than the day of the annual performance review or Employee Appreciation Day.

I have friends and colleagues who object to Valentine’s Day simply because they don’t appreciate the greeting card and chocolate industries telling them what they should do and when. I have friends and colleagues who feel the same way about Employee of the Month programs and similar. Such programs are as inauthentic as a day dedicated to “love.” Employee recognition should be a natural part of the daily workflow – something employees at every level “just do” when they see a colleague demonstrate superior performance reflective of your core organization values.

2) Appropriate gifts are prescribed.

I’m as much a fan of good chocolate as the next guy, but my friend two offices down would be insulted by such a “gift.” She’s a Type-1 diabetic and has had to be quite careful about what she eats for as long as she can remember. Another common Valentine’s Day gift – flowers – would send some recipients into a allergic sneezing fit. And yet chocolates and flowers are two of the most common gifts given on Valentine’s Day.

This is similar to a common problem of poorly designed employee rewards programs – rewards left to the choice of the HR program manager or the employee’s manager. I’ve heard many stories of well-intended rewards gone wrong:

• The gift card to a steakhouse restaurant given to a vegan employee
• The engraved espresso machine given to a Mormon (who eschew caffeine)
• The iPod given to a deaf guy.

A far better option is to stop listening to what the industry tells you are appropriate gifts or rewards and let your employees choose for themselves, from nearly limitless options.

3) It can create the opposite of the desired effect.

Over the years, have you ever comforted friends who were single on Valentine’s Day? True, many think the construct is ridiculous, but for many others the day highlights their single status in a way that can seem cruel.

The same is true of traditional employee recognition and reward programs that target the elite top 10% of high performers. At the annual awards banquet, it seems the same group of employees continually receives all the accolades. Yet it’s the vast majority of employees in the middle – those who get the work done day-in and day-out – who make is possible for your stars to shine. They, too, are deserving of recognition for their consistently high-quality work.

Are you a fan of Valentine’s Day? How about Employee Appreciation Day or the like? What would you prefer instead?

As Globoforce’s Vice President of Client Strategy and Consulting, Derek Irvine is an internationally minded management professional with over 20 years of experience helping global companies set a higher ambition for global strategic employee recognition, leading workshops, strategy meetings and industry sessions around the world. He is a leader in the WorkHumanmovement and the co-author of "The Power of Thanks" and his articles on fostering and managing a culture of appreciation through strategic recognition have been published in Businessweek, Workspan and HR Management. Derek splits his time between Dublin and Boston. Follow Derek on Twitter at @DerekIrvine.

Is Your Job Good for Your Career?

Have you ever considered whether the job you’re holding down today is a good one to have help your career?  Many of us never take the time to step off the treadmill of life to ponder where we are today, against where we want to go.  Life seems to just happen and then seems to take us along for the ride.

For me, I never thought that I’d end up as a senior compensation practitioner-turned consultant.  I never prepared one of those five-year plans that self-help articles are always talking about.  In fact, I seemed to back into my career, letting things happen and going with the flow, which is something that I strongly advised my children was a bad idea.  Do what I suggest, not what I did <g>.

Sure, I made choices along the way, but those were often from the limited options staring me in the face at a point in time, not the result of any sort of a career life-plan.  While I am happy with where I journey brought me (whew!), statistics would suggest that I’m in the contented minority.  Many more would look back with regret at wasted opportunities and poor choices.

So, where are you?

Happy Compensation Practitioners

If you were sitting back in your lounger by the pool, sipping Mai Tais and staring up at the warm blue sky through your Ray-Bans while contemplating your compensation career, where would you envision this imaginary pathway ahead leading you?  Let me guess.  Probably to a senior position playing a significant role with high impact within your organization, along with a nifty reward package and a business card that sports an impressive title.  All that would be nice, wouldn’t it?

Someone once said that a desire without a plan is nothing more than a fantasy.  It’s nice to picture yourself being successful, no matter how you define it, but unless you take steps to reach your goals you’ll be left on that lounger under cloudy skies and with an empty glass. Disappointed.

So, you need to take stock of yourself, and your aspirations.

If you had to, how would you prioritize the value of these elements of your dream career?  Sorry to burst your bubble, but I’m guessing that most would put “impact within your organization” as dead last.  Money is king, I know, and the title and senior position are great for bragging rights and family gatherings.  We do like the trappings of our position.  And hitting three out of four isn’t a bad score.

But . . ..

Can You Live with That?

Can you be satisfied with that?  In many organizations, you can reach that 75% career attainment by simply being an administrator to your existing reward program(s).  You know, keeping the place afloat and not rocking the boat.  Where you don’t have to make tough decisions, and everyone likes you. Where you can pass the buck either sideward or upward.  Where you can join the bowling team.

It's tempting, isn’t it, to have money, title and a high-level job without being challenged.  Where the workdays seem to blend one into another as the calendar stretches through yet another year.  Because administrators tend to remain in position longer than average – or try to.

As time moves on though, staying with such a safe job may jeopardize your chances of eventually gaining that high impact job you say you want.  Because maybe you’ve lost your edge over time, become too complacent, haven’t punched enough project tickets to impress a recruiter who isn’t interested in your high bowling score.

Because you’ll be asked, “What have you accomplished?”  ‘Are your experiences both deep and broad?”  Or have you been performing the same work for “x” number of years?

So, give your current job some thought.  Is what you’re doing today likely to advance your career?  Soon?  Eventually?  Maybe?

• Are you learning new competencies, technologies or skill sets?
• Are you being exposed to diverse project work that punches tickets on your resume?
• Have you been identified by succession planning as ready to move up?
• Or are you sitting there watching as time passes by, knowing that you’ll be doing tomorrow what you did yesterday and today?

Think about it. Maybe it’s time to take a step in the right direction.  Maybe it’s time for a good career decision.

Maybe it’s time for you to have a job that’s working for you.

Chuck Csizmar CCP is the founder and Principal of CMC Compensation Group, providing global compensation consulting services to a wide variety of industries and non-profit organizations.  He is also associated with several HR Consulting firms as a contributing consultant.  Chuck is a broad-based subject matter expert with a specialty in international and expatriate compensation.  He lives in Central Florida (near The Mouse) and enjoys growing fruit and managing (?) a clowder of cats.

Creative Commons image "Amelia Cat II," by brownpau

Cafe Classic: Show Me the Bitcoin

Editor's Note:  As the dynamic world of cryptocurrency continues to make news, it's a good time to replay Chris Dobyn's Classic post on the bitcoin with its intriguing questions about whether and how the form of money influences its motivational impact.

Most readers will recognize the shameless adaptation of the line made famous from the movie, Jerry McGuire, and specifically the scene in the movie where sports agent Jerry McGuire (played by a then much younger Tom Cruise) had Cuba Gooding’s character literally bouncing off the walls in anticipation of a big financial payday, as a newly arrived sports personality in professional football.

The topic of Bitcoins seemed like the perfect inaugural subject, given the recent news around the emergent cryptocurrency, and the topic also seemed to dovetail nicely with my “shadowy” and now quite lengthy employment affiliation . . . which may (or may not) involve cryptography.

For the uninitiated, cryptocurrencies, and specifically Bitcoins, are a form of virtual currency, which is not linked to any national or reserve currency.  Consequently, cryptocurrencies can be used by individuals to conduct online transactions for goods and services, and to exchange money across borders, but without the need to involve banks, credit cards, or other third-party providers.

Connecting the dots between the movie Jerry McGuire and cryptocurrencies got me reflecting on the motivational effects of money.  It is well-demonstrated through empirical research that money does have the effect of being a real incentive and a true motivator for people.  It has been repeatedly demonstrated that people will change their behavior (both positively and negatively) for money, even to the point of changing their behavior in the physical presence of money. And in controlled experiments, people have shown significant changes in behavioral responses at even the mention of money, for as long as 30 minutes prior to being asked to perform a series of puzzles and tasks.

So, clearly the concept or idea of money can have a dramatic affect on human beings, both physiologically and psychologically. 

Circling back to Bitcoins, I began to wonder about whether these same effects of money are shifting or possibly being diluted with the changes that have occurred with regard to money, especially in its forms, use and transfer.  Nowadays, many people rarely even see their money, at least not in the more traditional form of actual currency.  The widespread introduction of direct deposit beginning in the 80’s eliminated the need to pick-up and deposit your paycheck at the bank.  The use and acceptance of debit and credit cards has all but removed the need to even carry cash.  Likewise, electronic bill paying services and the “virtual wallets” on smartphones have reduced the need to write checks, except for maybe one or two per month.  And the popularity of gift cards have all but made extinct the birthday cards from dear Aunt Charlotte, which always included the eagerly awaited, crisp, new $5 dollar bill (by the way, thank you Aunt Charlotte, since I forgot to send a thank you note last year . . .).

I know much of the foundational upstream research regarding the effects of money on people and their behavior has been conducted over the last several decades, with some of the newer research being conducted in the last ten years. However, I’ve not seen much research citing the effects of non-currency, electronic forms of money on people’s behavior and physiology.  Maybe the underlying principles remain unchanged regardless what form money and wealth take, as long as it can still be readily exchanged for the things we need and want.

I’m not sure about the rest of you, but when it comes down to a choice between the gift card from Aunt Charlotte and the crisp, new $5 dollar bill – I’ll take the $5 dollar bill every time. 

Everyone probably has a different perspective.  What's yours?

Chris Dobyns, CCP, CBP is currently employed as a Human Capital Strategic Consultant for the Office of Human Resource Strategy and Program Design for one of the largest U.S. intelligence agencies. The Office of Human Resource Strategy and Program Design is responsible for organizational effectiveness, personnel assessment, compensation and incentives, occupational structure, recognition and rewards, HR policy, human capital program design, implementation, evaluation and assessment and internal consulting. Chris has worked in the area of compensation for more than 35 years, and has been employed in various compensation-related positions by a number of large, private sector companies including, Sears, Roebuck, Arizona Public Service and Westinghouse Savannah River Company.

Creative Commons image "Bitcoin, bitcoin coin, physical bitcoin, bitcoin" by antanacoins

Cafe Classic: That's The Way We Do Things Around Here

Editor's Note:  Stuck in yesterday and the practices of the past?  Jacque Vilet has some Classic context and advice for you (and/or the Keepers-Of-Tradition that are holding you prisoner)!

Ever hear that line before?   Most of us have, and there’s research behind it.   Harry Harlow was an American psychologist best known for his experiments on Rhesus monkeys.   Here’s the story of one of his experiments .

The Monkey, Banana and Water Spray Experiment

5 monkeys are in a cage, a banana is hung from the ceiling and a ladder is placed underneath it.  Immediately, one of the monkeys races towards the ladder to grab the banana.  However, as soon as he starts to climb, the researcher sprays the monkey with ice-cold water as well as the other 4 monkeys.

When a second monkey tries to climb the ladder, the researcher again sprays the monkey with ice-cold water, as well as the other 4 watching monkeys. This is repeated again and again until they learn their lesson – climbing equals scary cold water for EVERYONE.   So no one climbs the ladder.

Next the researcher replaces one of the monkeys with a new inexperienced one. As predicted, the new monkey spots the banana, and goes for the ladder. The other 4 monkeys, knowing the drill, jump on the new monkey and beat him up. The new monkey therefore learns “no going for the ladder and no banana period” without even knowing why.   (The water hose has been removed and is no longer a threat.)

The process of switching out monkeys is repeated until none of the original 5 monkeys remains in the cage. The new monkeys never experience the icy water treatment and don’t know why they shouldn’t climb the ladder, yet each time a new monkey is introduced to the cage, it is beaten into submission. In effect, the “old” monkeys become the enforcers and caretakers of the “rule”, without even knowing its purpose.    It’s just because “that’s the way we do things around here…”

Sounds silly doesn’t it --- but that’s how company policy begins. We become the enforcers and caretakers of the rule, without even knowing its purpose.

How many programs, initiatives and policies in your company are being carried out without an understanding of the original purpose? How about in your own backyard --- Compensation?  Programs often exist because they met a need years ago.   Likely that need has changed or no longer exists ---yet the program or policy remains.

Look at what your company offers and ask these questions:

1) Do you still pay all employees at the same market position when it may make more sense to have different market lines for some key/critical positions?

2) Look at your sales commission plans.  In the last few years have all the salespeople reached or exceeded target?   Do you think that might mean targets are set too low? Are commissions more of a “given” anymore?

3) Is the $50 gift card to Walmart the company’s had for the past 10 years really viewed as an appropriate award for “recognition”?   Is it possible that with the influx of Gen Y employees in your company there may be other things that might be more appreciated?

4) Have you looked at your medical claims in aggregate to see what the biggest health issues are?  Might it be a good idea to initiate some sort of wellness program geared to these particular health issues?

5) Given the last recession when many of your employees probably lost a good deal of their savings in the stock market, would it be a good idea for the company to offer retirement planning workshops to educate employees on some good ways to build up their retirement accounts?

We all need to be wary of relying on prior successes as an excuse to do what has worked in the past.  In these fast-moving times, things change so quickly that it’s important to reevaluate and gain new perspectives.

Don’t be afraid to ask the tough questions and challenge past practice . . . even if it’s your past practice.

Jacque Vilet, President of Vilet International, has over 20 years’ experience in Global Human Resources with major multinationals such as Intel, Texas Instruments and Seagate Technology. She has managed both local/ in-country national and expatriate programs and has been an expatriate twice during her career. Jacque has the following certifications: CCP, GPHR, HCS and SWP as well as a B.S. and M.S in Psychology plus an MBA. She belongs to SHRM, Human Capital Institute and World at Work. Jacque has been a speaker in the U.S., Asia and Europe, and is a regular contributor to various HR and talent management publications.

Cafe Classic: Appreciation Shouldn't Ever Be Put on Layaway

Editor's Note:  A holiday retail story offers Classic lessons to us on kindness and gratitude in the workplace, via Derek Irvine.  Let's spread it!

Have you heard the stories of the Kmart "Layaway Angels" in the U.S.? It's a story that's made it all the way to Ireland and warmed more than few hearts this holiday season as it spread to more stores than just Kmart.

This one story from ABC national news summarizes several of these moments (email subscribers, click through):

From Hawaii to New York and points in between, the layway angels teach us three important lessons that apply just as well in the workplace.

1) Do something nice.

These layaway angels saw an opportunity to help others and chose to do so. Making this gift to others wasn't something they had to do. In workplace terms, this wasn't "part of their job description." Taking this extra step to do something nice for others in need during what can be a stressful time of year can be seen as the workplace equivalent of choosing to pause in your daily work to help out a colleague on something that you don't get paid to do. It could be as simple as taking the time to notice the hard work of those around you and tell them "thank you."

2) Inspire others to do the same thing.

What's the result of doing something nice - whether it be saying "thanks" or paying off someone's debt? You inspire others to do the same. From Orange County, California, comes this story I've heard in similar reports repeated in media across the U.S.:

"[Kmart Mangaer Matthew] Aldridge watched a woman who came in to pay off her layaway balance learn that someone had already beat her to it. She then told the cashier that she wanted to pay off the layaway balance of the woman in line behind her."

Kindness shown to others is one of the most powerful viral forces. So is appreciation, praise and recognition. We've seen the viral effect again and again in organizations that simply give their employees permission to recognize and appreciate each other through peer-to-peer programs.

3) Inspire others to do even more.

The kindness demonstrated often changes and grows in ways people may not have anticipated. One story I heard related to the layaway angels (though I don't have an attribution or location) said a woman who discovered her layaway items had been paid for turned around and gave the equivalent money to a local homeless shelter. This person chose to spread the warmth and good wishes of the season beyond those initially intended as the recipients.

The same is true of kindness and gratitude in the workplace. When appreciation becomes a habit at work because it's simply part of the culture, it's easy to demonstrate that habit in other areas of your life.

One final thought - By Christmas Eve, total "layaway angel" donations came to half a million dollars at Kmart stores alone - all from people giving a little or, occasionally, a lot to make the holiday bright during what has been inarguably a very difficult few years for many people.

Think of the viral effect recognition and appreciation could have in your workplace next year. It really can start with just a handful of peopel choosing to make a difference.

As Globoforce’s Vice President of Client Strategy and Consulting, Derek Irvine is an internationally minded management professional with over 20 years of experience helping global companies set a higher ambition for global strategic employee recognition, leading workshops, strategy meetings and industry sessions around the world. He is a leader in the WorkHumanmovement and the co-author of "The Power of Thanks" and his articles on fostering and managing a culture of appreciation through strategic recognition have been published in Businessweek, Workspan and HR Management. Derek splits his time between Dublin and Boston. Follow Derek on Twitter at @DerekIrvine.

Cafe Classic: 3 Ways to Boost Colleagues' Spirits during the Holidays

Editor's Note:  Well here's a Classic lesson that should never grow old: How to spread holiday cheer in your workplace, courtesy of Derek Irvine.

I am moved by this story every year. In the U.S., a new tradition is growing stronger – Layaway Santas. These people embody the true meaning of the holiday – giving out of the goodness of your heart to those in greater need. Here’s just one story on the phenomenon:

“Under layaway, customers purchase items, but the store holds onto the physical merchandise as they pay it off in bits over a few weeks. For those with uncertain cash flows and limited access to credit, it's a structured way to save up for the holidays. But even this system can be a stretch too far to make those final payments, coming due at many stores at the end of this week. 

“Unpaid, those gifts risk going back on the shelves instead of under the tree — unless a miracle happens. Enter the ‘Layaway Santa.’

“There are no elves or magic sleigh required. Just walk into a store offering layaway, such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, or Toys ‘R’ Us, head to the layaway counter, and say you'd like to pay off some folks' layaway accounts. Most stores will know exactly what you're there for and will help you out. You can set a dollar amount you're willing to spend, or only ask to pay accounts with toys on them. Some Santas only pay off all the balances under a certain dollar amount, like $100, to ensure sure they can help as many people as possible.

“Then the clerks behind the layaway counter get to work, calling up customers and telling them their balances are paid off and they can come in and pick up their items. The donations remain anonymous, the Santas, secret.”

Why am I sharing this on a blog focused on compensation? Because this story gets to the heart about what’s good in the world around us and what’s truly worth rewarding.

How does this translate to the workplace? This holiday season, I challenge you to:

1. Consider your fellow employees who are in greater need than you. This need not be monetary – who is working feverishly to complete critical projects before the end of the year, sacrificing time with family? Who could use an emotional “boost” to encourage them during a difficult project? You have the power to help – pitch in on the critical project. Offer a few words of praise and encouragement.
2. Look for opportunities to put “others first.” In the modern workplace, self-promotion has nearly become a disease. Instead, whose contributions can you promote ahead of your own? Trumpet their successes and make them the superstar.
3. Be a “Secret Santa” when possible. I’m particularly touched by the fact that the “layway Santas” are never known to those they helped. Giving in secret is truly the most selfless form of giving. What can you do to secretly encourage or help others this season?

What other ways can we spread holiday cheer in the workplace?

As Globoforce’s Vice President of Client Strategy and Consulting, Derek Irvine is an internationally minded management professional with over 20 years of experience helping global companies set a higher ambition for global strategic employee recognition, leading workshops, strategy meetings and industry sessions around the world. He is a leader in the WorkHumanmovement and the co-author of "The Power of Thanks" and his articles on fostering and managing a culture of appreciation through strategic recognition have been published in Businessweek, Workspan and HR Management. Derek splits his time between Dublin and Boston. Follow Derek on Twitter at @DerekIrvine.

Thank You for 10, 360 and 180,000 Reasons

This post is about recognition. The recognition of each of you reading this post, and anyone who has ever read a post on the Compensation Café.

Writing for the Comp Café is one of my favorite things. The discipline of finding ideas and turning them into 5 minutes of something that is, hopefully, interesting is both a challenge and a joy. Each article is an addition to a compendium of thoughts and ideas that have been shared by almost twenty regular writers and tons of guest writers over the years. As we dig into both the holiday and busy season, I want to say THANK YOU.

I have been writing posts for about 10 years. Most months I have written three or four posts, meaning I have written somewhere around 360 posts over the years. Luckily my friend and Comp Café Editor, Ann Bares, makes us keep our posts to around 500 words. Using these basic numbers, I have written somewhere around 180,000 words on pay and rewards! That is a heck of a lot of metaphors and stickman images.

I want to thank each and everyone one of you who has taken the time to like, share or even comment on the posts here at the Café. Knowing that someone is actually reading these things makes it far more worthwhile. It would be no fun to think we were just yelling into the wind.

Even more importantly I truly want to thank each of you who have sent me a note, asked me a question or just walked up to me at some industry event and said hi. Every time this happens, I excitedly tell my wife about it before the day is done. Every time it happens, I know that I have contributed, just a bit, to the industry that feeds my curiosity and my family.

I also want to thank Ann Bares for her amazing thought-leadership and keen editing eye. Her attention to detail and amazing writing are the most important aspect of this blog. Every other writer here is also amazing. I read their posts just like you do. I learn from them just as often as you do. I also know how much time they spend crafting their posts to ensure you receive great quality entertainment and information. (It ain’t always easy to make pay and rewards fun, pithy AND interesting.)

While this is a site focused on pay and rewards no one here makes a penny from their contributions. Not the writers, not the commenters, not the readers. So why do we all do it? I think there are a few reasons.

First, I think we all want to be better and perform at our potential. It’s a lofty goal that requires effort that is a reward in itself.

Second, we actually find this stuff interesting. We know that what we do is important to companies and the people that they employ. People’s livelihoods literally depend on us doing a good job.

Lastly, we like to be part of a community. A group of professionals who spend 3 to 5 minutes a day on a common topic, with a common cause, in an increasingly virtual and disconnected world. The Comp Café provides a small thread that ties all of us together brings all of us to the table for a quick sip of caffeinated information. 

Thanks again for stopping by and I hope you will come back and tell when you agree and disagree with our unique perspectives. Have a great Thanksgiving and we will see you after the holiday!

Dan Walter is a CECP, CEP, and Fellow of Global Equity (FGE). He works as Managing Consultant for FutureSense. He has three metaphors for every occasion and is a leading expert on incentive plan and equity compensation issues. He has written several industry resources including the only resource dedicated to Performance-Based Equity Compensation. He has co-authored ”Everything You Do In Compensation is Communication”, “The Decision Makers Guide to Equity Compensation”, “Equity Alternatives” and other books. Connect with Dan on LinkedIn. Or, follow him on Twitter at @DanFutureSense.

Cafe Classic: Be Careful What You're Grateful For This Year

Editor's Note:  In the run-up to the Holiday of Gratitude here in the states, we share Margaret O'Hanlon's Classic reminder to double check your assumptions about who you should be grateful for (especially when you're acknowledging that gratitude with rewards).

Superstar. Top performer. Rock star. High potential. Super hero. It's the time of year for these terms to trend. Many organizations are finishing up on focal reviews and determining merit increases right now. Managers are adding up the increases for those who go by these titles because, ever since the recession, you need to show up for work wearing a Marvel costume to be eligible for anything beyond a negligible salary bump.

With just a few bucks to spread around, common sense tells you to bet on the sure thing. But do we really know what that means in our companies? Have we tested our assumptions to determine if our super hero's  past success really does measure future "world dominance?" I have wondered about this and was hoping you were, too.

A timely article in the Harvard Business Review (HBR) encourages us to be careful. Here's what I mean.

HBR " . . . decided to put our expensively honed analytic skills to work . . . looking at the career paths of the 24 women who head Fortune 500 companies. What we found suprised us . . . All told over 70 percent of the 24 CEOs spent more than ten years at the company they now run, becoming long-term insiders before becoming CEO." Others advanced over decades at a single company to then make a lateral move to CEO at another company.

The median long stint for the women CEOs they studied is 23 years at a single company before becoming CEO. For men in the HBR sample, the median is 15 years. "This means that for women, the long climb is over 50% longer than for their male peers."

Odds are all these women were considered strong performers throughout their long slog. But superstars? I can easily imagine management conversations where these women's focus and commitment were compared less than favorably to someone else's flash. Can't you?

Hard work takes a lot of forms, so let's make sure our decisions for the coming year are as well-considered as possible. So much attention is put on whether an incumbent is "at risk" that, under this pressure, we overlook opportunities to make much more valuable investments in the future. Employees who are truly dedicated to your company's success would not be considered "at risk." Why disdain their commitment and engagement?

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 https://gumroad.com/l/everythingiscommunication.