Benefits and Compensation

Be a ‘Soul’-ful Company

In yesterday’s Advisor, the latest in research along with tips on talent acquisition from consultant Josh Bersin; today, Bersin’s thoughts on engagement, the benefits of corporate “soul,” and The Simply Irresistible Organization®.

Bersin, who is principal and founder of Bersin by Deloitte, Deloitte Consulting, offered his research and tips at the HR Tech conference held recently in Las Vegas.

Companies with Soul

Deloitte has found that companies with “soul” do better than companies without, eight times higher than the S&P 400. (He calls such firms “Firms of Endearment,” after a book of the same name written by Raj Sisodia, Jag Sheth, and David B. Wolfe.) Employees want to be part of something bigger.

Companies with “soul” experience:

  • Much higher engagement and retention
  • Better customer service
  • Long-term profitability

Try BLR’s all-in-one compensation website, Compensation.BLR.com®, and get a complimentary special report, Top 100 FLSA Overtime Q&As, no matter what you decide.   Find out more.


Rethinking Engagement

Glassdoor data are startling, says Bersin.

Senior leadership gets a rating of 2.8 out of 5. And only 54% would recommend their employer. (Of course, it’s not totally surprising that Glassdoor comments are negative, Bersin points out.)

To try to improve this situation, Bersin has developed the Simply Irresistible Organization®. It has five major facets:

Meaningful
Work

Great
Management

Fantastic
Environment

Growth
Opportunity

Trust in
Leadership

Autonomy

Agile Goal Setting (i.e., OKR*)

Flexible, humane work environment

Facilitated talent mobility

Mission and purpose

Selection to Fit

Coaching & feedback

Recognition rich culture

Career growth in many paths

Investment in people, trust

Small Teams

Leadership
Development

Open flexible workspaces

Self and formal development

Transparency and communication

Time for Slack

Modernized
Performance Mgmt

Inclusive, diverse culture

High-impact learning culture

Inspiration

*A system of performance management including objectives and key results

Is Software the Answer?

Some people preach that software is the answer to HR’s problems. Bersin asked his audience, How many have transformed their companies with software? Not one hand went up.

Performance Management

Ninety-two percent of companies don’t think their performance management process is worth the time they are spending on it—they find it complex, burdensome, and not doing what it is supposed to do.

Recognition Drives Retention

Bersin has seen a 31 percent reduction in voluntary turnover between companies that rate Poor in recognition and those that rate Excellent.

From curbing turnover to maintaining engagement to designing incentive plans, compensation and benefits are never easy. “Maintain internal equity and external competitiveness, with benefits and compensation, and control turnover, but still meet management’s demands for lowered costs.” Sound familiar?

Many of the professionals we serve find helpful answers to all their compensation and benefits questions at Compensation.BLR.com®, BLR’s comprehensive compensation website.

And there’s great news! The site has just been revamped in two important ways. First, compliance focus information has been updated to include the latest on Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), Lilly Ledbetter, and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Second, user features are enhanced to make the site even quicker to respond to your particular needs, such as:

  • Topics Navigator—Lets you drill down by topical areas to get to the right data quickly
  • Customizable Home Page—Can be configured to display whatever content you want to see most often
  • Menu Navigation—Displays all the main content areas and tools that you need in a simple, easy format
  • Quick Links—Enables you to quickly navigate to all the new and updated content areas

The services provided by this unique tool include:

  • Localized Salary Finder. Based on reliable research among thousands of employers, there are pay scales (including 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles) for hundreds of commonly held jobs, from line worker to president of the company. The data are customized for your state and metro area, your industry, and your company size, so you can base your salaries on what’s offered in your specific market, not nationally.

Try BLR’s all-in-one compensation website, Compensation.BLR.com®, and get a complimentary special report, Top 100 FLSA Overtime Q&As, no matter what you decide.   Find out more.


  • State and Federal Wage-Hour and Other Legal Advice. Plain-English explanations of wage-hour and other compensation- and benefits-related laws at both federal and state levels. “State” means the laws of your state because the site is customized to your use. (Other states can be added at a modest extra charge.)
  • Job Descriptions. The website provides them by the hundreds, already written, legally reviewed, and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandate that essential job functions be separated from those less critical. All descriptions carry employment grade levels to current norms—another huge time-saver.
  • Merit Increase, Salary, and Benefits Surveys. The service includes the results of three surveys per year. Results for exempt and nonexempt employees are reported separately.
  • Daily Updates. Comp and benefits news updated daily (as is the whole site).
  • “Ask the Experts” Service. E-mail a question to our editors and get a personalized response within 3 business days.

If we sound as if we’re excited about the program, it’s because we are. For about $3 a working day, the help it offers to those with compensation responsibilities is enormous.

This one’s definitely worth a look, which you can get by clicking the link below.

Click here to get more information or start a no-cost trial and get a complimentary special report!

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