Salary data and the small Rewards consultancy: some boundaries

I am regularly asked by potential clients for support in gathering salary data and market benchmarking. Small and mid-size companies often don’t have internal resources to handle what, for them, tends to be an infrequent exercise, so they look for outside help when it comes to make sure that their pay levels are aligned to market. Obviously,…

Caps and thresholds for Business Development roles?

One of my friends recently asked me this question : “I was hoping you could help me with a Sales Commission question. To set the scene, we want to target quality Business Development people – niche skill set and specialist experience for this engineering company, Hay level 19-20, on about AED 50,000+. For these type…

Reader Question – Should I pay a prorated bonus to an employee who resigned ?

Marta one of my readers just wrote to me asking me for advice on the following situation : “I’m HR Manager for a small Oil & Gas Contractor. Recently,  I’ve been facing quite difficult situation and need second opinion. We have a Project Manager leaving the company in June (resignation) and here comes the issue –…

How do I roll out the new performance management system to 70 companies with no budget ?

Nadia, a reader, asks : “My main struggle with C&B stems from performance management. The organisation I work for is a large conglomerate with companies operating mainly in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. We have recently re-designed the whole performance appraisal system where we now have a system that is no longer paper based and no…

C&B : Local leadership want it “their” way, not the corporate way – what can I do?

Holly, one of my new subscribers recently commented : “One of the biggest challenges involves developing global strategy that inter-relates both compensation & benefits as well as global mobility issues among 100 countries. One size does not fit all situations – and a regional approach has been employed. However, that approach is often undermined by…

Is this the biggest HR challenge in the GCC?

One of my recent subscribers wrote to me : “I think the biggest challenge for any one handling HR in the GCC would be Total Rewards equity. Convincing people that they are paid fairly and equitably by any company seems to be an impossible task to achieve. Nationals keep wanting to be promoted despite their…

What does “utilities at cost” reimbursement cover ?

Nadim, one of my readers asks : “In our company for certain senior grades we do pay Utilities at actual cost which is the DEWA bill (Dubai Electricity and Water Authority). In my opinion utilities should cover the water and electricity, however I got employees who are claiming also for the household gas, or even…