Should we pay the same at Corporate and in the Operating Companies ?

I often get the following question : “Should pay at our corporate headquarters be different from pay in our operating companies / in our Divisions ?” My answer is always the same : “It depends”. I know, I know, this is a bit frustrating. So let me expand a little. I have written in the…

Reader Question – What drives employee discretionary effort ?

About 2 years ago, in Milan, I delivered a presentation on Linking performance management and pay-for-performance to an audience of Compensation & Benefits Managers and HR Directors. And every now and then, someone who has a copy of this presentation asks me to explain one specific slide. It is a very short overview of some…

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…

4 considerations when creating a job title structure

In today’s Reader Question, I will explore the topic of how to create a job title family for your organisation. One of my friends recently had to open a whole new area for the company she works at. For the sake of the post, let’s say her company operates in retail and construction, and it…

What are the benefits of a good Performance Management System ?

  You are trying to convince Top Management to redesign the Performance Management System at your organisation, because the existing one is not producing the desired results and has lost its shine internally.What are the benefits of a good Performance Management System ? Here are some of the positive outcomes you can describe to the…

Of average salaries in Europe

A while ago, a Sales Director asked for “an average salary for a sales/account manager in IT company selling specialty software within Europe”. I wish it were that simple but there is no such thing as a “salary in Europe”. For the same job, each country will pay different salaries. Salaries are normally always expressed…

The safeguards in salary benchmarking

Here is a paraphrase of a LinkedIn question asked recently : “How do you make sure each role benchmarked for salary purposes has the same responsibility ? Is there legislation on this ?” This is a question a Compensation specialist often gets from managers. Here is what you can reply when you get that question…