Last week businessman, Donald J. Trump was elected the 45th president of the United States. To many, the election’s result was unprecedented and unpredictable. This month’s Compensation Alert will summarize current writings on total rewards changes that may occur under the new administration. Trump’s issues on total rewards include a mix of pro-business positions and […]
In September, Rich Sperling and I made two presentations at the Illinois SHRM Conference. A total of approximately 65 conference attendees participated in the two seminars. At the end of each session, we asked the participants two questions: “What is the most significant compensation issue(s) that you are facing in your company?” and “Why is […]
As we communicated in last month’s eNewsletter, salary increase budgets are expected to remain at 3 percent for 2017. Employers are turning to variable pay to reward employee performance. The percentage of companies using variable pay vehicles, such as annual or quarterly incentives based on individual, team and organizational achievement, rose to 84 percent in […]
Projected 2017 Salary Increases [Survey Results] According to recent surveys conducted by WorldatWork and the Hay Group division of Korn-Ferry, U.S. employees can expect to see a moderate 3 percent salary increase budget in 2017. This figure is consistent with actual pay increases of 3 percent reported by surveyed companies in 2016. These projected and […]
The focus on sales compensation is understandable as selling is, by far, the most expensive part of strategy implementation for most companies. Five times the expenditures on all media advertising; 20 times larger than the money spent on all online marketing and advertising in 2013. Here are five areas to test your plan. Focusing on […]
When you think about traditional performance reviews, it was based on an employer-employee relationship that has radically changed. Years ago, most employees would wait anxiously for their annual meeting with their manager to find out how they were doing and if they mattered. This was the official validation that employees wanted and craved. Up until that point, you […]
The United States Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 requires that employees be provided overtime pay unless they qualify under one of the FLSA exemptions. On May Increase the minimum weekly salary to $913 ($47,476 annually) to be considered exempt. The current limit was $455 per week or $23,660 annually. Increase the highly compensated employee […]
When we have the opportunity to talk with executives and managers about their compensation programs, it can be surprising how many don’t understand the complete picture. While they are usually well-versed in the plan mechanics, such as metrics and targets, they are often in the dark when it comes to the broader rationale behind the […]
A recent client engagement underscored the need and importance of using an online tool in reviewing a sales incentive plan and making recommendations for improvement. The company is a middle market company located in the Midwest. It offered the B2B markets a high quality and premium priced product line. In recent years, there were multiple […]
We argued in our February Compensation Alert eNewsletter that hiring and paying women was not only the right course, but data and common sense reasoning suggest that it’s simply good business. To underline that topic, this month’s Compensation Alert summarizes a survey reported in the Harvard Business Review regarding why women in their early 30s […]