While most organizations use some form of job evaluation to determine the worth of jobs, there are many factors to consider when valuing work. There are internal factors such as being fair and consistent with how employees are compensated. Therefore, organizations typically use the following techniques to measure a job’s value: Perform a job analysis to… Read on…
Imagine you’re sitting in a dark room with the shades drawn. No, you’re not about to turn on Netflix or take a nap. You’re at work—and you’re not alone. You, as an HR professional, and several managers in your organization are participating in your annual tradition: Performance Ranking. You’re determining every employee’s value relative to… Read on…
Salary increases are just like our relatives. Merit increases are the close relatives you see regularly, and promotional increases are the distant cousin you only see every few years. You like the distant cousin, they’re flashy and fun every time you see them, but you want to learn more about them. There’s a reason everyone… Read on…
There’s at least one in every class. I teach a Compensation Management seminar, and every iteration there’s at least one person with the same problem: “We have a chronic issue with compensation compression.” They’re right to call it chronic, because it’s a potentially fatal diagnosis for any company. First of all, what is compensation compression?… Read on…
She was desperate. A Human Resources Manager was on the phone with me, and she needed help. “Our corporate headquarters is in Detroit,” she said, “but we’re trying to attract and retain engineers in our Boston offices.” “Where is your salary data coming from?” I asked. “Michigan.” I like Michigan and the Motor City just… Read on…
Who knew William Shakespeare knew so much about human resources and compensation? Seriously. If you don’t believe me, just read this line from Romeo and Juliet: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” I don’t mean to take us back to freshman English class—I… Read on…
Across the business landscape, pressure is mounting for pay transparency. With Pay Equity legislation sweeping the U.S., as well as company cultures transforming to embrace transparency, pay openness is a critical question in every organization. But how far is your organization willing to go? The degree to which you share your compensation formula with your… Read on…
Free is tempting. Free is easy on your bottom line. Free can be deceiving. We all want something for free, but as an HR professional, should salary data be on the list of freebies you take advantage of? There are several websites that provide employees with free salary information so they can gauge their worth… Read on…
Salary ranges. The phrase alone is like nails on a chalkboard for most human resources professionals. When we think of salary ranges, we envision an unnecessary administrative burden, we imagine wasting our time on a useless project for management, and we think of…math (cue thunder and lightning). So why bother with salary ranges in the… Read on…
Drinking my morning cup of coffee, I look out my window, and for a moment it looks like the world is standing still. For years, my street has been packed with cars by 6:00 AM on weekday mornings, people rushing on to the expressway, a few stopping only for gas or breakfast on the go.… Read on…