This post is dedicated to my readers, old and new. In the past 6 months, the number of people reading Compensation Insider has grown from 12-15 per day to about 100 per day. I am very happy and hope to continue to see growth in my readership as I believe in sharing information and points…
Compensation and Benefits, the CSI of HR
One day one of my team members huffed and puffed : “But Sandrine, this is boring !”. One employee had complained and said she was being discriminated against. She claimed she had been left behind during a job grading change (promotion) that had been implemented 4 or 5 years before for a specific category of…
Do we need job descriptions ?
I am often asked : “Do we need job descriptions ?” A lot of managers ask for them. Of course, these managers very rarely think of doing it themselves and writing down the description, maybe even with the input of the employees who hold those roles ! Why do these managers expect HR to write…
Case study – refusing to increase base pay further
I have created, over the years, a “swipe file” of C&B situations I have faced and how I reacted to them. The idea is that I keep a copy of the more seminal communication pieces I have written, mostly one-to-one, not the “all employees” emails that we all have to spend from time to time.…
Comparing salary ranges? Really?
I was recently approached by a well-meaning Organisation Development specialist working for a governmental organisation. This gentleman emailed me the following : “I have been requested to benchmark our salary grades with other (semi-)government entities. Therefore we are approaching some organizations to see what they can share with us. We are mainly interested in the…
Prepare a superb self assessment
As we approach mid-year, many companies have put in place a mid-year review for checking on progress against goals etc. These tips will help employees prepare for their self-assessment as well as managers who want to give advice to their team members on preparing for the discussion. Don’t hesitate to use the print button at the…





