Tag: Compensation

Say-on-Pay? ISS Surprisingly Influential

ISS (Institutional Shareholder Services), which rates executive pay for shareholders, might seem to be losing influence, says consultant Kurt Fichthorn, but every compensation committee in America continues to be aware of the ISS standards around executive pay. During the 2011 proxy season, shareholders seemed to be less influenced by ISS on say on pay, says […]

Sales Compensation—Pay Level and Pay Mix

Yesterday’s Advisor posed many of the tricky questions surrounding sales incentive compensation. Today, options for sales comp, plus an introduction to the program specially directed at smaller HR departments. The most important design features in a sales compensation program are the pay level (how much) and pay mix (proportion of incentive pay to base pay). […]

Pay Budget Survey Indicates Modest Rises for 2012 and 2013

Among employers awarding merit increases in 2012, the most commonly cited increases ranged from 2.5% to 3.0%. This corresponds closely with SHRM’s recently announced figure of 2.8%. Last year’s survey indicated an average “planned” merit increase for 2012 of 2.1%. Actual merit increases for 2012, however, were higher than anticipated for the first time in […]

Sales Comp and Unintended Consequences

Setting sales comp sounds simple, but it’s easy to get it wrong, and that can be costly. Carelessly designed programs can have disastrous, unintended consequences. For example: If salespeople don’t view your program as competitive, your best salespeople will seek greener pastures. If salespeople don’t view your program as fair, there will be morale issues. […]

Should You Meet, Lead, or Lag the Market?

In yesterday’s Advisor, consultant Michael Strand began laying out his seven steps for market pricing. Today, steps 5, 6, and 7, plus news about a comprehensive wage/hour compliance tool for HR managers. Strand, owner of consultancy HR Dynamics Inc., offered his seven steps to successful market pricing at a recent webinar hosted by BLR/HRhero. [Go […]

Compensating Tech Workers—Best Practices for Retention

It’s challenging to reward tech workers, says consultant David Wudyka, but you have to find a way to do it or you’ll lose them. Wudyka is the founder and managing principal of Westminster Associates, a Massachusetts-based human resource and compensation firm that specializes in pay, performance, and productivity issues. His tips came during a recent […]

Perks More Cost-Effective than Pay Raises for Tech Workers

For many employers, he says, perks and benefits—from healthcare to club membership to financial advising to concierge service— offer the greatest room for growth and the most flexibility for use as retention tools in 2012. The primary reason? They’re much more cost effective than straight-up pay raises, Wudyka says. Wudyka is the founder and managing […]

The 7 Steps to Meaningful Market Pricing

Reference to market is critical for every compensation program, says consultant Michael Strand. Without market pricing data, you’re likely to underpay (and lose your best workers) or overpay (and lose your profitability). Strand, owner of consultancy HR Dynamics Inc., offered his seven steps to successful market pricing at a recent webinar hosted by BLR/HRhero. 1. […]

ISS Losing Influence on Say-on-Pay? Not So

During the 2011 proxy season, shareholders seemed to be less influenced by ISS on say on pay, says Fichthorn, vice president in the Philadelphia office of Hay Group. He was joined in his presentation at a recent BLR/HRhero webinar by Martin Somelofske, a senior principal in Hay Group’s Metro New York office. Only a handful […]

Critical HR Policies—What Are Best Practice Companies Doing?

For years, BLR® has surveyed HR and compensation/benefits professionals to find trends in policy and practice. We appreciate your participation in our series of brief, targeted surveys. Today’s survey topic: HR Policies. (We’ll publish the results in a future issue.) Please participate in this brief survey and we’ll determine what employers are doing with this […]