Compensation Strategy

Midpoint Progression

Midpoint progression is used when building and implementing a salary structure that is consistent and fair.

Skill-Based Pay

Looking for a change that drives growth and motivates employees? Skill-based pay may be the answer. In this article, get valuable insights and tips for evaluating and possibly implementing this compensation approach.

Health Insurance Benefits

Understanding health insurance benefits and their pros and cons can take your company from good to great. Should your company offer health insurance benefits? How can you determine which kinds to offer? Continue reading to find the answers to these questions and more.

Pay Mix

Incentives are incredibly useful compensation tools. However, it takes a lot of work to determine the right balance between base pay and incentive pay. This is where a pay mix can help.

Underpaying Employees

Employees want to feel valued and appreciated, and one way to show you value them is to pay them what they are worth. We'll look at the causes and consequences of underpaying, as well as how to avoid it.

Pay Differentials

Ever wanted to work on a holiday because you'd get paid time and a half? That's a pay differential, and they are effective ways to reward employees. As HR professionals, we are responsible for making strategic recommendations for the most appropriate pay differential techniques.

Proration

An employee is resigning half way through a pay period, or is hired five days after the pay period begins. How do you calculate their wages accurately? This is called proration. Let's look at the different methods and why timing is indeed everything.

SPIFFs

Finding the right ways to motivate your salespeople can be hard. You want something that will help achieve your company goals while also being beneficial to the employee. A common incentive among sales teams are SPIFFs. SPIFFs can be complicated, so this article dives into their benefits and potential downsides.

On-Target Earnings

When it comes to building a competitive commissions plan, one of the first things that should be determined is on-target earnings. This is important to determine as it is one of the first things sales reps want to know when they start a new job. In this article, on-target earnings will be explained, as well as the role they play in motivating employees.

Internal Equity

Valuing employees is a huge conversation in the business world. Less talked about is valuing employees through equal pay, or internal equity. Read on to understand why and how to build it into your organization.

Pay Transparency

As transparency becomes more and more of a buzzword these days, it's only fitting that our compensation move toward the same conclusion. In this article, we will cover the pros and cons of pay transparency and how to get started with simple implementation in your organization.

Compensable Factors

An exceptional employee regularly outperforms other team members but is paid less than those who have more seniority in the company. How can companies reward employees more equitably for their contributions? Perhaps re-evaluating compensable factors is a good starting place.

Compa-Ratio

You are tasked with analyzing your company’s pay practices and making recommendations to ensure everyone is being paid equitably and competitively. Where do you begin? Consider starting with a compa-ratio analysis.

Salary Expectations

Salary negotiations can be hard. It can be intimidating to try to find a number that works for the company and the candidate, but it is vital in keeping the candidate aboard for the long haul if you hire them, and it plays a big role in creating a company culture where employees feel valued and important. You always want to make your employees feel valuable to your company, and that all starts in the hiring process. Read on to learn how to navigate your candidate's salary expectations to ensure success.

Meet-the-Market Compensation Strategy

Developing a compensation strategy and determining your company’s strategy in the market can seem like an overwhelming process. Our goal is to make it simple and take some of the confusion out of that process as we discuss a “Meet the Market” strategy.

Compensation Philosophy

Your compensation philosophy is the organization’s position and approach to rewarding employees for their work. The compensation philosophy will help inform your more specific compensation strategy and define your position within the competitive market.

Continue reading to learn what a compensation philosophy is, why it’s important to define one, how to develop a compensation philosophy and how to write a compensation philosophy statement.

Salary Range

Naturally, salary is a huge part of recruiting top talent. How to define and communicate a position's salary to candidates can be challenging. Most companies advertise open positions with a salary range. It defines the lowest and highest base salary you will pay for a specific position or group of jobs.

Continue reading to learn what a salary range is, factors that affect salary ranges, how to determine salary ranges for your positions, and tips on how to communicate about salary expectations with candidates.

Lead-the-Market Compensation Strategy

Have you ever suggested paying an employee more than the going rate and gotten some pushback? When you set your salary ranges above the market rate, you are using a lead-the-market compensation strategy. While it comes with financial risk, it can have several benefits.

Continue reading to learn what a lead-the-market compensation strategy is, its advantages and disadvantages and how to know if a lead-the-market compensation strategy is right for your company.

Compensation

Today, the world of compensation is more diverse than ever before. Companies no longer create compensation plans that scream dollar signs and long work days. They’re creating plans that send a new message—one that says, “We care about your work-life balance, personal goals and health.”

So what can you really include in a compensation plan? Today, we’re answering that question. Spoiler alert: it’s not just money, insurance and retirement.

Salary Survey

How do you know the right salary range for a position? HR struggles with this all the time because industry standards change as the job market changes. One of the most helpful tools for setting salary ranges are salary surveys. In this article, we’ll help you understand what a salary survey is, where to get them, and how to use them.

Sales Compensation

The cost of salaries, benefits, and unnecessary attrition is a significant expenditure for organizations. Add variable pay to the mix and sales compensation can be the most expensive, complex, and detailed of all compensation plans.

Creating a strong sales compensation plan ensures that the organization is able to plan for and manage a successful sales strategy as well as attract and retain motivated sales professionals who directly contribute to the profitability of the company.

Executive Compensation

Executive compensation may be one of the most important financial decisions a growing company makes. However, it is frequently one of the most debated and criticized - by employees, boards of directors, stockholders, and the public.

The fact is, an executive’s compensation is tied to what expertise they can bring to the table and reflect their investment in the business. And how can a company thrive and compete without a leader who is completely committed to the success of the organization?

The short answer - it can’t.

Lag-the-Market Compensation Strategy

Are you considering implementing a lag-the-market compensation strategy? Although lag-the-market strategies are usually rife with pitfalls, there are some benefits to implementing a temporary or mixed approach. But it has to be the right plan for you. So, if you’re considering lagging the market, read this first.

Job Classification

Job classification is the process of evaluating jobs and grouping them into categories based on similar skills, abilities, tasks, experience and other criteria. Creating a job classification system can help provide an overview of your organizational hierarchy and evaluate employee performance.

Continue reading to learn more about job classification, why it’s important, criticisms of job classification and how to create a job classification system for your company.

Compensation Strategy

A compensation strategy is how your company approaches employee compensation. When developing a compensation strategy, it’s important to consider how competitors compensate their employees and where you want your organization to sit in the competitive field. A strong compensation strategy is required if you want to recruit, attract and retain top talent.

Continue reading to learn what a compensation strategy is, why one is important, types of compensation strategies and how to develop a compensation strategy for your company.
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