Comp 2012: Smart Tactics for Uncertain Times

Pasteris is president of TLMP Consulting Group and Lipis is owner of Lipis Consulting Inc.

Focal points: All Companies

Since for most companies there’s not a lot of money to go around, the question is, how do you get the best bang for the buck? Here’s what WorldatWork’s 2012 survey projects:

Note: “General increase/COLA,” “merit” and “other” do not add to the “total increase” because not every organization provides all three types of increase.

Staying Competitive Without Breaking the Bank

How can we work with a 3 percent merit increase budget and still achieve our goals or retaining our good people? You have to work your merit increase matrix, Pasteris says. You’ve got to give as much as you can to top performers and especially those low in the range. And, no surprise, that means nothing for poorer performers and those high in the range.

Sample Merit Increase Matrix

A few employees driving you nuts? You’re not alone. Learn how to tame the worst offenders—attend BLR’s new Managing and Motivating Difficult Employees: Conflict Resolution Tips for HR webinar April 11. Practical, field-tested approaches. Guaranteed. Get info here.

Identify Your MVPs

There’s often no response, says Pasteris, when we ask, Who are your MVPs and what are you doing comp-wise to feed these eagles? In general, we don’t think that companies do enough to identify those folks and treat them as special.

Recognize When Jobs Have Changed

Many people have been cut loose, and often their jobs were picked up by other people. These changes that were once stopgap are now essentially permanent, yet compensation hasn’t been changed to recognize this.

Pay Attention to Generational Differences

When crafting total rewards packages, keep in mind that different generations are motivated by different things, says Pasteris. The table below is one source’s take on generational differences.

Source: Towers Watson “2011 Talent Management and Rewards Survey”
Gen Y=under age 30
Gen X=ages 30‐46
Boomers=ages 47‐64

You really don’t want too many different reward systems, says Lipis, but nevertheless it’s important to recognize that studies do show big differences between generations.

10 percent of employees taking 90 percent of your time? Attend BLR’s Managing and Motivating Difficult Employees: Conflict Resolution Tips for HR webinar, and learn proven techniques or managing the difficult 10 percent. Click here to find out more.

Focal Points for Public Companies

Scrutiny of compensation continues unabated, says Lipis. No doubt, more and more audiences are looking at what you are doing.  Some organizations do nothing but watch. Here are some of the key things to be concerned about:

• Transparency issues
• Corporate governance, proxy advisors and observers
• Say on Pay—(We think it will be a larger issue as time goes on.)
• Risk management—for example, allegations that execs took excessive risks to get a bigger bonus
• Proxy access by shareholders

• Continuing call for more link pay to performance
• Equity awards – linking performance to vesting and full value vs. options
• Clawbacks if you find out that someone cooked the books
• More board discretion, usually moving compensation to the downside when they think incentives haven’t been earned
• Reduced severance
• Double trigger “Change in Control” agreements (Some CICs led directly to golden parachutes. Double trigger means first there has to be a change in control and then the person has to lose his or her job.)
• Elimination of tax gross-ups.

• Election year issues: Which party takes control?
• Less scrutiny and regulation?
• Or not?

• “Occupy Movement. ” It’s a wild card, says Lipis. It’s likely to have some impact on executive compensation, but it’s hard to tell what.

In tomorrow’s advisor, focal points for private companies, and how to respond to employees with online data, plus news of a timely webinar—Managing and Motivating Difficult Employees.

Sign up, find out more, or order the CD.