Share the knowledge – January 2012

Like every month, here are some of the best or most relevant Compensation & Benefits, performance management, HR and/or global mobility articles that I came across recently :

• Dave Ulrich’s ebook for HR Magazine (free download) looks into “What is Leadership ?”, another must-read from the most influential HR thinker.
• Also from him and his partners, a preview of the results of the survey they conduct regularly, defining the 6 core competencies for HR professionals to be personally effective and have an impact on business performance, as explained in HR Magazine (look for the January edition to see these results in full)
• … and here is another analysis of these results.
• A blog post article written at Huffington Post by a US teacher on teacher’s compensation. Very interesting to see how what looks like great compensation from the outside (short working hours, long holidays, great benefits and fair pay) is actually not perceived so well from the inside due to the lack of pay for performance and no recognition of the impact of each teacher individually. Replace teacher by “civil servant” or “government employee” and you have a classic article on the shortcomings of tenure based pay progression.
• An interesting article on why profit-sharing can be perceived as an entitlement, which is not what a bonus is about as it is supposed to reward extra effort and not be expected.
• This article (in French) resonates with my recent post commenting on the High Pay commission recommendations in the UK. It touches on high pay from a public expense standpoint and argues for a better distribution of total wages (read : less differential between average and highest pay in companies). Beyond taxation as a means to redistribute wealth, they argue against the “closed circle” of remuneration committees deciding Directors pay and often being composed of members who cumulate board memberships : they propose to have the General Shareholder Meeting vote on Exec pay, and to limit the number of Boards one can be a member of at the same time. They also propose more long-term compensation as well as closing certain fiscal advantages. Whether we agree with the specifics or not (some of these proposals are very specific to France), it is interesting to note that 2 independent commissions in France tend to propose some similar ideas regarding high executive pay. I would not be surprised if this European legislation were passed in that direction in the coming years…
• Total distributes some of the largest salary increase budgets in France, boosted by record profits… yet sometimes numbers aren’t always what they seem, as some of the comments (clearly written by people privy of the situation) highlight. Article in French.

For those of you who are interested in GCC and MENA articles, here are some regional pieces :

• A contract is a contract and a company is bound by it – I am glad that UAE courts maintain this principle alive and kicking :
• UAE firms wising up to retirement acounts
• Abu Dhabi will bear the cost of the pension hike to AED 10,000 for former federal employees and military :
• Some details of who will be impacted by the salary increases announced for federal government employees on the UAE 40th National Day:
• UAE manufacturing workers’ wages among lowest in the world. Average worker wage is $3.38 against $45.5 in Norway – the highest.
• Talent shortage threatens Gulf retail banking expansion
• Prospects for salary increases brighten in the Middle East
• http://gulfnews.com/business/economy/prospects-for-salary-rises-brighten-in-middle-east-1.957919
• An analysis of the main benefits of being an expat with a particular slant on the Middle East, through the Expat Economics table from the HSBC Expat Explorer Survey 2011 which was published recently.
• The Council of Ministers has approved the Unified System for the Extension of Insurance Protection for all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) citizens working in Saudi Arabia. The system provides pension coverage for GCC citizens in all member states.
• Saudi unemployment benefits may hinder Nitiqat scheme
• 6,000 health graduates refuse to work in the private sector – KSA
• Egypt increases social insurance pension plans

Best of the rest :

• Say on Pay leading to better compensation communication – Comments from the SEC Chairman.
• An interesting example of representation of employees in the remuneration committee at John Lewis.
• The British government has announced plans to help control and understand executive pay. The measures focus on four key areas: greater transparency; increased shareholder power; more diverse boards and remuneration committees; and best practice led by the business and investor community. Reactions have been varied, from institutional investors welcoming them to Unions finding them rather “underwhelming”
• In Incentives may not trump culture over at i2i (one of my favorite blogs), Paul Hebert argues that if we want to change a culture, we could be  “better off, over time, recognizing and rewarding behaviors than trying to motivate them”. I really encourage you to read this thought-provoking article on culture, change, reward and recognition.
  

… And this month I would like to give you a special : a fascinating review of one of the most famous speeches of all times, “I have a dream” by Martin Luther King. Nancy Duarte skillfully analyses the different parts and rhythms of the speech in a short video (less than 8 minutes) and calls for everyone to become great communicators.  Or at least listen to Dr King again….