C-Suite—What to Say and What NOT to Say

Csizmar, who is founder and principal of CMC Compensation Group, offered his tips at a recent webinar sponsored by BLR.

The Recommendation to Management

Finally, you get to make your presentation to senior management, says Csizmar. The trick is to get them nodding their heads first before your recommendations see the light of day

Tell them a story, Csizmar says. Explain what’s wrong in a way that they understand and they see it. Use concrete examples and metrics and data. Give them a reason to nod their heads.

Put out things that are obvious. Build your case with objective, neutral data, says Csizmar.  You might state that:

• We are behind the market
• Our top performers are leaving
• We have morale issues

But don’t offer too much data. If you do, top managers will feel that it’s necessary to push back with questions and to retain control—this interferes with flow of your presentation. You want  to keep the attnetion on you as a leader focused on the bigger picture.

Get them worried. They’ll want to know how things went South. Your job is not to assign blame, but to explain, and to show that you understand the situation and have the solution, says Csizmar. Be sure to:

• Explain what you want to do to solve problems you’ve described
• Speak with confidence
• Show how your recommendations will make things better
• Give the cost—they are going to ask anyway
• Be realistic. Don’t overestimate savings or ROI. (Hopefully, the CFO is already on your side.)

Compensation.BLR.com, now thoroughly revamped with easier navigation and more complete compensation information, will tell you what’s being paid right in your state—or even metropolitan area—for hundreds of jobs. Try it at no cost and get a complimentary special report. Read more.

What Not to Tell Them

There are several approaches to avoid, says Csizmar, because they will distract or annoy top management. First of all, as mentioned above, not too much detail. Then avoid phrases like:

• “It’s the right thing.”
• “The survey says”
• “Everyone else is doing it”
• “We have to do this”

Don’t’ try to push. You want nodding, not shaking of heads, Csizmar says.

Moving Past the Green Light

OK, you may have weathered a beating, but you have the go ahead to roll out programs. Now the clock is ticking—management wants to see action.

Focus on communication, says Csizmar. Do more than just issuing a memo. Make sure all managers understand what you are doing and what you hope to accomplish. All managers need full documentation, new ranges, FAQs, etc, plus a contact phone number gfor any questions.

Finally, he says, de‐brief. What can you learn from your experiences? What went tight and what went wrong. Now you’re already working on next year’s process!

Learning to deal with top management—an important skill, but also just one more thing to add to the list of compensation challenges. “Maintain internal equity and external competitiveness and control turnover, but still meet management’s demands for lowered costs.” Heard that one before?  

Many of the professionals we serve find helpful answers to all their compensation 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 COBRA, Lilly Ledbetter, and FMLA. Second, user features are enhanced to make the site even quicker to respond to your particular needs:

• Topics Navigator—Lets you drill down by topical areas to get to the right data fast.
• Customizable Homepage—Can be configured to display whatever content you want to see most often.
• Menu Navigation—Displays all of 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, here 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 law 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 a 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 links below.

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

Follow Stephen Bruce on Google+