articles & white papers on
Talent Retention Team
Building
& Compensation
http://www.transworldnews.com
TransWorldNews (press
release)
Monroe,GA,USA
:
Each year, salary surveys
are conducted through the public sector and private sector. The United States
Federal agencies collect and provide an enormous amount of salary and
compensation data to the public, if you know where to look, and if you have the
time to sift through it.
John Honeycutt, author of
Provocative Business Change™
apparently knows where to look and has taken the time to summarize over 320,000
pieces of salary data collected by the Federal Government.
In particular, he has
summarized 2004 average base incomes for dozens of senior management roles in
various disciplines. Compensation above and beyond base pay include performance
bonuses, company bonuses, and other perks. He intentionally excludes these from
his recent research which is focused more on the cost of talent acquisition,
rather than the cost of talent retention. Base-pay, Honeycutt suggests "is more
directly related to talent acquisition costs, to use in a return-on-investment
(ROI) calculation."
Using base-pay only,
Honeycutt's research reveals some not-so-surprising findings.
Technical-oriented roles tend to provide higher base-pay than most of the
softer-skill management roles. He asserts that "finding talent to lead groups
of people who can also provide substantive technical insight costs more than
talent with only one of those traits." The apparent decreased enrollment,
graduation rate, and emphasis in technical areas in recent decades may have
contributed. Honeycutt also has a second hypothesis, "The high-profile,
outsourcing of many technical jobs overseas, Information Technology (IT) in
particular, makes many professionals think twice about staying in a technical
field, even if that's where they began." Honeycutt himself began his early
career as a petrophysical scientist and IT professional. His personal
career-shift into management consulting and marketing provides at least some
anecdotal evidence of his theory.
In reviewing his recently
completed research of 2004 data of top-level non-executive directors and senior
managers, engineering managers top the list at just under the six-figure mark,
with $99,000. Coming in second at $94,390 are the computer and information
systems managers. This supports his claim that technical managerial roles
demand the highest base pay. Rounding out the top five are marketing managers,
natural science managers, and sales managers with $90,450, $90,080 and $85,980,
respectively. Honeycutt does clarify that in marketing and sales roles, the
variable compensation can be substantial in both real dollars and on a
percentage basis. He asserts that this relates to talent retention, and not
necessarily talent acquisition costs. Great performers in top-line revenue
producing roles can bring in hefty paychecks at the end of the year.
Senior managers focusing
in financial, human resources, general business operations, purchasing, and
industrial production complete the top ten of this analysis. Most of these are
considered back-office positions that almost all organizations have. These
roles tend to have skills that are easily transferable across industries, and
where there is ample supply of what Honeycutt calls "next-in-line talent."
First line supervisory
management appears toward the bottom of the management list, weighing in at
$41,496. Honeycutt did not make a specific observation about this figure or
what it might imply. He did observe that the base-pay has made healthy gains
over a ten-year-period.
Purchase
Provocative Business Change™
through Amazon, or find helpful information at
http://www.businessturfing.com such as business templates.
http://www.management-issues.com
Management-Issues -
London,UK
Author: Nic
Paton
10 Feb 2006
Extra benefits often
wasted on staff
Throwing money and
extra benefits at workers is only effective if line managers get proper training
in how to communicate their advantages, new research has suggested. A
study by Britain's Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has found
more than half of employers believe lack of skills and the abilities of line
managers limits the effectiveness of pay and benefit strategies.
Its Reward
Management Survey 2006 also found more than a third – 36 per cent – felt
insufficient communication was one of the key problems and a quarter believed
the attitude of line managers was at fault. At the same time, the CIPD has
warned that an historical lack of flexibility in reward strategies in some parts
of the public sector could restrict the chances of achieving efficiency and
service delivery improvements. The public sector was leading the way on equal
pay and so was well placed to recruit from a wide talent pool, as organisations
were more likely to have carried out an equal pay review than their private
sector counterparts.
More employers were
making sure equal pay reviews were carried out regularly and including variants
other than gender, such as age and race. But when asked if their reward strategy
was "flexible enough to change when circumstances require" public sector
employers rated their own reward strategy lowest with an average of 2.61 (where
four is agree and one is disagree), compared with 3.18 for private sector
services. Charles Cotton, CIPD reward adviser, said: "Inflexibility can create a
barrier to achieving business objectives and cause recruitment and retention
problems. This can lead to the reward strategy becoming misaligned over time
with business objectives."
Across the board, in
both public and private companies, when it came to pay and reward strategies,
employers commonly failed to give line managers enough responsibility for
determining total reward yet expected them to communicate them to staff.
"More involvement of front line managers is needed – both in terms of
determining the non-financial benefits (such as training and development and
flexible working) and financial aspects of reward, such as pensions and bonus
awards," he explained. "This will enable them to understand the pay and
benefit strategy and then implement and communicate it effectively," he added.
Fewer than a third
of organisations were using recruitment and retention as a factor in determining
pay award. But employers were increasing the use of benefits, with 46 per cent
planning to introduce new benefits in 2006 compared with just 16 per cent in
2005. New benefits were often government-inspired tax advantaged childcare
vouchers, bike loans and home computers, the CIPD added. "It is encouraging to
see employers investing in employee benefits. These perks can be important and
can help business in terms of recruitment, retention and motivation," said
Cotton. "However, they will also fail to help if employers continue to ignore
some of the pivotal problems surrounding the effectiveness of pay and benefit
strategies such as line manager involvement.
"The key is for
reward practitioners to get closer to their line mangers by giving them the
support and training that they need to implement effectively the organisation's
pay and benefits polices and practices and to communicate what employee
behaviours and performances the organisation values and how it will reward
them," he concluded.
http://www.chicagotribune.com
Chicago Tribune - United
States
By Carolyn Bigda
February 5, 2006
No
pension? Jobs still can offer plentiful benefits
It may not be your parents' workplace anymore, with companies putting an end to
pension plans and forcing workers to take on more responsibility for their
retirement. But entering the workforce today, you still can find substantial
employee benefits--just in a different form. Even the news last month that
corporate heavyweight IBM would freeze its pension made little difference to new
hires: Big Blue already had locked out newbies a year before.
Today, 57 percent of the roughly 300 companies surveyed by the National
Association of Colleges and Employers offer a pension plan to entry-level
workers, down from 70 percent in 2004. In place of this traditional benefit,
companies are ramping up their defined-contribution plans, such as 401(k)'s and
403(b)'s, by enrolling employees automatically (to ensure you start to save) and
increasing the company match.
That's good news for anyone who didn't have a shot at a pension plan anyway.
Other perks that may be particularly valuable for new workers still exist:
-- Tuition reimbursement
Predictably, many of us graduate from college, work a few years and then,
realizing just how good we had it in school, seek a graduate degree. Instead of
footing the bill yourself, though, some companies will pay a portion or all of
your tuition, depending on to what extent the degree relates to your job. "That
can add significantly to your compensation package, as well as launch you on a
rewarding career path," said Brad Karsh, president of JobBound, a Chicago-based
career counseling firm and author of "Confessions of a Recruiting Director"
(Prentice Hall, $14.95), due out in April.
-- On-the-job training
Beyond formal schooling, the first-time job could provide valuable opportunities
to learn and develop skills.
Rob Franek, publisher for Princeton Review Books, which puts out "Best
Entry-Level Jobs" ($16.95), points to EMC Corp., an information technology firm
based in Hopkinton, Mass., as an example.
New hires at EMC may be enrolled in rotational programs and training courses,
which, as one young employee commented in the book, "seemed like a very steep
learning curve experience." "Students today are looking for a good experience
that they can maybe apply to later in their career," Franek said. "They're
looking to not only acquire good benefits but also advancement."
-- Moving allowance, frequent-flier miles
Building an impressive cache of job skills now will help ensure you the cash
flow to overcome any benefits shortfalls in the future. (Remember, Social
Security can pay only three-fourths of its promised benefits beginning around
2042, barring any changes.)
And there are a few perks you can enjoy along the way.
Have to relocate for the position? Ask about a moving allowance. Travel
frequently for the job? Use the airline miles to go on vacation. In cases where
you suddenly need a professional wardrobe, some companies may even give out a
clothing allowance. "These are areas in your package that you can negotiate,"
JobBound's Karsh said.
Some companies will be more amenable, or downright generous, than others. To
find them, try these or similar resources:
-- The Princeton Review's "Best Entry-Level Jobs." The 2007 edition is due out
in March, covering about 120 companies, including not-for-profits. It lists the
type of entry-level jobs usually offered, benefits and insider tips from young
employees.
-- "100 Best Companies to Work For." Head to the library and check out the Jan.
23 issue of Fortune magazine (or see www.fortune.com) for its annual ranking of
the most employee-friendly companies.
-- "Best Places to Work in the Federal Government." If you want to become one of
nearly 2 million federal employees (excluding the Postal Service),
www.bestplacestowork.org ranks federal agencies by worker satisfaction and
provides tips on how to apply.
E-mail Carolyn Bigda at yourmoney@tribune.com.
Copyright © 2006,
Chicago Tribune
http://www.tompaine.com
TomPaine.com - Washington,D.C.,USA
October 6, 2005
Beth Shulman
Corporations have lots of ways to be profitable,
and undercutting their workers attempts to organize a union doesn't have to be
one of them. A recent report by the non-profit American Rights at Work
spotlights successful companies that understand it can be good business to
recognize their workers' right to organize.
These
companies have partnered with their employees' unions to provide sustainable
wages, employee-retention strategies, better safety practices, health care, and
training and professional development opportunities - and surprise! These things
actually help the companies to compete globally.
According to
the report, "The Labor Day List: Partnerships that Work," companies such as
Addus Healthcare, Catholic Health Care West and Brightside Academy provide wages
and benefits that are higher than average in their fields, and the reduced
turnover and higher morale that result have improved care for patients and
children. Cingular Wireless, a leader in telecommunications, partners with the
Communications Workers of America to provide good jobs at decent pay. The highly
profitable Costco believes strongly that treating workers right results in more
productivity and commitment, and it shows in their bottom line.
The Douglas
County School District in Colorado agreed to let its teachers organize even
though the state had no statutory requirement for collective bargaining. The
resulting agreement involves teachers in all decisionmaking and includes bonuses
for those whose students excel. And students recently scored higher than the
state average in every grade and subject tested by the Colorado State Assessment
Program.
These
companies and school system have been highly successful by choosing to respect
their workers, but others choose the low road to profitability. They combat
their workers' efforts to organize in order to keep paying low wages and few
benefits. Employers like Wal-Mart, Comcast and Tyson Food are a few that take
this approach.
The American
Rights at Work study notes that 15,000 workers have been fired or punished so
far this year for supporting a union. Human Rights Watch documented the reality
in its 2000 report, using terms that sound straight out of the Dark Ages:
"Workers who try to form and join trade unions to bargain with their employers
are spied on, harassed, pressured, threatened, suspended, fired, deported, or
otherwise victimized in reprisal for their exercise of the right to freedom of
association."
It is clear
that companies can be competitive in the global economy by respecting their
workers' rights. But corporations do not have sole responsibility for deciding
whether to follow that high road. It is our role as citizens to ensure with our
voices and our votes that workers' fundamental rights to organize are upheld. We
need to insist that labor laws be reformed to ensure strong and swift penalties
against corporations that take the low road. And meanwhile, we need to demand
that companies that violate their workers' human rights to organize a union be
treated as the lawbreakers they are.
The Age
(subscription) - Melbourne,Victoria,Australia
By Julia Medew
September 15, 2005
Bosses reap bonuses but workers miss out on
rises
AUSTRALIAN employers have held off on pay increases in the
first half of this year, despite a strong economic climate and tight labour
market, the latest Mercer Remuneration Trends Survey has revealed.
The
half-yearly survey of 241 companies and organisations from a vast range of
industries found national salary movements remained steady at 4.2 per cent, with
employers more likely to offer high-performing individuals big increases rather
than offering moderate increases across the board. Mercer human resource
consultant Ken Gilbert said companies were choosing to reward their employees by
offering non-pay benefits, such as better career opportunities and company cars.
But the
survey also found employees and employers' perception of the value of non-pay
benefits did not match. "Employees are seeking financial-based benefits such as
discounted health insurance, home loans and access to financial advice yet
employers still rated 'traditional' benefits such as company cars and social
club programs quite highly," he said. The research also revealed employees'
awareness of the benefits available to them was low, with just one in five
knowing what was on offer. "There is a major opportunity for employers to better
communicate, promote and market company benefits … particularly as 57 per cent
of employers believe that benefits contribute to the attraction and retention of
key talent," Mr Gilbert said.
The
mining, construction, pharmaceutical and engineering sectors all recorded the
biggest pay rises, with workers collecting rises of 4.2-5.5 per cent. Workers in
the health care, finance and education sectors received the average 4.2 per cent
rise but those in the retail and telecommunications sectors fell behind.
Target-based bonus payments for chief executive officers rose significantly in
the past year, leaping from 20 per cent in 2004 to 27 per cent of overall salary
in 2005.
"We think
greater governance over fixed pay has encouraged variable increases for
executives," Mr Gilbert said.
http://www.prnewswire.com
PR
Newswire (press release) - New York,NY,USA
SOURCE
Hudson
Money
Talks, but Employees Walk for Other Reasons
Hudson Survey of 10,000 Workers Examines
Retention Tactics and Employee Tenure
NEW YORK, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Workers still consider a competitive
pay and benefits package to be indispensable, but employers need to offer more
than that to keep employees satisfied and on the job. Nearly all of the
workforce (96 percent) rated a fair salary as very or somewhat important and
93 percent said the same for benefits. However, when workers' needs regarding
career advancement, the relationship with their manager, and training are not
being met, they are more likely to look for a new job than when their salary
and benefits are poor. This according to Hudson's "Why Employees Walk: 2005
Retention Initiatives Report."
Among workers who consider career advancement opportunities to be very
important yet believe their employers are doing a poor job of meeting that
need, 41 percent are actively seeking a new job. Only five percent of the
workers in this category would not consider another job offer. The next most
likely turnover trouble spots are the relationship with manager and training.
When individuals rank these factors as very important but feel their employer
is doing a poor job at providing them, 37 percent and 36 percent are actively
looking, respectively. By contrast, 34 percent of workers who highly value
salary but work for a company that does a poor job are actively seeking a new
position, and 31 percent of those who feel the same about benefits are
looking.
"While monetary considerations continue to be key elements in retaining
talent, other, often intangible, factors can play a significant role in an
employee's decision to stay with or leave an organization," says Robert
Morgan, COO, Hudson Human Capital Solutions. "As employers confront issues of
continually rising healthcare costs and restricted salary budgets, they should
consider implementing programs such as flexible working arrangements and
manager training initiatives as ways to reduce turnover."
Highlighting the need for a sound retention strategy is the decreasing job
tenure within the workforce, as a significant portion (50%) expects to change
companies within the next five years and over one-third (36%) within less than
three years. Additionally, one-third (32 percent) of the workforce is
actively job searching or has an updated resume and would consider job offers,
while just one-quarter (25 percent) would not consider changing jobs at the
current time. "Clearly, employment for life is no longer a realistic concept
for most workers," says Morgan. "Employers who can elicit just an extra year
or two of tenure stand to benefit from dramatically reduced turnover costs."
Hudson's survey explores a variety of factors surrounding retention, with
results segmented by categories including company size, employee type, age,
income, race and gender. Other key findings include:
* While there is virtually no difference between managers and non-managers
when it comes to current job search efforts, managers were more likely
to believe that top talent stays at their company (49 percent compared
to 35 percent) and also more likely to recommend their employer to
others (70 percent compared to 57 percent).
* Workers are torn about retention among the top performers in their
organization -- 40 percent report that they stay and move up within the
organization, while another 40 percent think they leave the firm to find
better jobs somewhere else.
* A majority of U.S. workers (62 percent) would recommend their company as
a good place to work.
* Only 36% percent of the respondents reported that their organizations
conduct internal surveys to gather feedback from their employee base. Of
those, nearly three-quarters (72 percent) always participate.
* Three in ten (30 percent) accounting workers would not consider another
job offer, while just one-fifth (19 percent) of human resource and
manufacturing workers feel that way.
Additional information about the Hudson retention survey is available in
the "Why Employees Walk: 2005 Retention Initiatives Report", which can be
found online at http://www.hudson-index.com. The survey is based on a national
poll of 10,000 U.S. workers and was compiled by Rasmussen Reports, LLC, an
independent research firm (RasmussenReports.com).
Hudson, one of the world's leading professional staffing, outsourcing and
human capital solution providers, also publishes the Hudson Employment
Index(SM), a monthly measure of the U.S. workforce's confidence in the
employment market. Next month's Hudson Employment Index(SM) will be released
on October 5, 2005.
Hudson
Hudson delivers specialized professional staffing, outsourcing and human
capital solutions worldwide. From single placements to total solutions, the
firm attracts, selects and develops talent to meet the specific business needs
of each client. Global practice areas include Accounting & Finance;
Engineering, Operations & Scientific; IT & Telecommunications; Legal; and
Sales & Marketing.
Hudson is a division of Hudson Highland Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: HHGP) one of
the world's leading professional staffing, retained executive search and human
capital solution providers. More information is available at Hudson.com.
Web Site: http://www.hudson.com http://www.hudson-index.com
Canada
NewsWire (press release) - Canada
May 26,
2005
Cash Still King: Bonuses Best Reward After
Major Projects, CFOs Surveyed Say
Non-monetary incentives have gained popularity as
a means of rewarding employees, but financial executives recently said that
cash bonuses are still the preferred method for recognizing their teams' hard
work. Forty-three per cent of chief financial officers (CFOs) cited bonuses as
the most effective way to acknowledge a job well done.
The survey was developed by Accountemps, the world's first and largest
specialized staffing service for temporary accounting, finance and bookkeeping
professionals. It was conducted by an independent research firm and includes
responses from 270 CFOs from a stratified random sample of Canadian companies
with more than 20 employees.
CFOs were asked, "Which of the following do you feel is most effective in
rewarding your team after major projects?" Their responses:
Bonus............................................... 43%
Time off............................................ 16%
Departmental lunch or social gathering.... 6%
Do not reward....................................... 19%
Other............................................... 6%
Don't know/no answer................................ 10%
----
100%
"When budgets are tight, non-monetary perks such as time off or a
departmental celebration can be valuable tools to acknowledge staff
accomplishments on a major project," said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps
and author of Motivating Employees For Dummies(R) (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.).
"But employees also expect financial compensation for their efforts, which can
be an effective retention tool."
Messmer added that recognizing personnel who go above and beyond the call
of duty is essential to keeping them motivated. "The objective is to create a
working environment that provides meaningful, tangible incentives and rewards.
Such a workplace attracts quality people and creates a setting that maximizes
productivity, enhances job satisfaction and protects the firm against the loss
of good employees who may be difficult to replace," he said.
For further information: ACCOUNTEMPS, Jason Chapman, (416) 365-9140
extension 245, jason.chapman@rhi.com
http://www.onrec.com
Online Recruitment - UK
24/05/2005
Senior
Professionals benefit from candidate shortages as
salaries continue to rise
·Average salaries are now £48,281 representing a yearly increase of
2.64% and a quarterly increase of 4.7%
·Senior professional salaries have increased over the year by 5% and over the
quarter by 13%
·New jobs have increased by 24% over the last month and by 15.6% since April
2004
·The number of candidates has decreased by 9.9% over the month. Over the year
the number of candidates in the market has increased by 19.6%
Average
City salaries rise by 4.7% over the quarter
In April the average City salary stood at £48,281, an increase of 4.7% over the
quarter and 2.6% since April 2004.
Over the past year senior professionals have seen basic salary offerings rise by
5% from £70,852 in April 2004 to £74,409 last month. Following a slight dip over
the Christmas period in 2004, salary offerings for senior professionals have
risen steadily over the first quarter of 2005 (see chart 1).
Support/Administrative staff have also witnessed a rise of 0.87% in salaries
over the month and can now expect to be offered an average salary of £28,407.
Average basic salary offerings for middle market professionals are now £42,028.
Robert Thesiger, Chief Executive of Morgan McKinley comments: “Recruitment
activity has increased at the top end of the market and this is having an upward
effect on salaries. Two factors have contributed to this movement. Firstly,
senior professionals are more willing to seek new opportunities as the 2004/2005
bonus round has come to a close. Secondly, general increases in market activity
have meant that banks are investing further in their headcount to compensate for
the increase in business and revenue streams.”
New jobs increase 24% over the month
Over the month of April, new jobs have increased by 24%. Since April 2004, the
number of new jobs coming onto the market has increased by 15.6%. Morgan
McKinley estimates that there are currently 11,151 outstanding vacancies in the
City.
Robert Thesiger explains: “Hiring volumes increased steadily throughout 2004 due
to improvements in market activity and demand for skilled staff at all levels
and across several product groups including fixed income, equity and credit
derivatives is continuing apace during 2005. Likewise, the current growth of the
hedge fund industry and an increase in project work driven by regulatory changes
such as Sarbanes-Oxley and Basel II, is all putting increased pressure on hiring
volumes in the City.”
Candidate shortages continue as numbers fall by 10% over the month
Since March 2005 the number of available candidates has fallen by 10%. However,
compared to April 2004, the number of candidates coming onto the market has
increased by 19.6%. The time taken to secure a position has fallen by 18% over
the twelve months from April 2004.
Robert Thesiger continues:
“The market is firmly candidate-driven across most sectors within the financial
services industry and the war for talent continues apace. On the one hand,
buy-backs are increasing as banks fight hard to retain their best talent. On the
other, City firms are recognising the need to offer extremely competitive
overall compensation packages in order to attract high calibre individuals to
their organisations.”
Inside
INdiana Business (press
release) -
Indianapolis,IN,USA
May 18, 2005
By Nancy S. Ahlrichs, SPHR,
EOC Strategies, LLC
No Results? No Raise!
In an organization where showing up pays as much as extra effort, loss of top
performers ALSO becomes the norm.
Merit pay systems that reward all employees equally do
not improve performance, motivate employees, or help retain Top Talent. Stop
funding low performers at the expense of losing your top performers. No results:
no raise!
Only 10 percent of 335 organizations surveyed by Hay Insight (the research and
survey division of the
Philadelphia consulting firm)
say that their merit pay systems are “very effective.” Chances are excellent
that your firm is among the remaining 90 percent that dole out 3.5% raises
across the board. You know what that practice does: it loads your highest paid
ranks with low performers and frustrates creative, productive employees into
becoming job seekers because it is the only mechanism available that enables
them to be recognized for their superior performance.
The solution? Reward only top performers and let low performers leave
voluntarily. There IS such a thing as “good turnover”! Base salary is intended
to reward basic performance—it is the minimum compensation for the minimum
effort. Merit increases need to reflect meritorious performance. Take five steps
to align pay with organizational strategy and increase individual performance.
1. Update your employee handbook. No employee should expect an annual raise. New
employees coming into the organization need to know from the beginning of their
employment that they will be paid for their performance. Put this policy in the
handbook. Ask employees and new hires to sign a document stating that they have
read the updated handbook.
2. Update your employee’s individual goals. Celebrate longevity—but reward
productivity! Long-time employees should not assume that outstanding attendance
is equated with outstanding performance. Share the overall strategy of the
organization with all employees, as well as the need for excellent individual
performance in a competitive marketplace. In one-on-one meetings with employees,
managers should be sure that individual performance expectations are tied to the
strategy, and reiterate that employees should not expect an annual merit
increase unless specific goals are met. Put it in writing and ask employees to
sign a document stating that they understand their goals for the year.
3. Communicate the new “pay for performance” policy several times throughout the
year. Communicate using emails from senior management, newsletter articles,
department meetings, and as many other mechanisms as possible. Let no employee
be taken by surprise at performance review time.
4. Train managers to provide frequent positive and corrective feedback.
Rewarding poor performers through positive or neutral comments as well as
routine increases can backfire if the performance later is determined to be
grounds for termination. Don’t risk legal problems—and don’t ignore your
responsibility to develop employees. Provide frequent (monthly if not weekly)
performance feedback. Remove barriers to positive performance. If necessary,
script positive reinforcement and encourage the use of meaningful on-the-spot
rewards and recognition. If necessary, also script corrective feedback so that
it will have a positive impact on performance. Briefly document any feedback.
5. Train managers AND employees to evaluate performance. The best performance
reviews include self-evaluation that is incorporated into the comments made by
the manager. Managers may discover that their employees played a larger role in
a project than previously believed, or that an employee’s impression of his or
her own performance has been shaped by the comments of others. Often, the direct
manager may have little day-to-day interaction with an employee, so if 360
degree feedback is available from peers, customers, other managers, etc., all
the better!
It is OK to give an “E for effort” to a promising employee in a new position,
but it is not OK to give him or her the same raise as that given to top
performers. Instead, give a one-time, lump sum reward or perhaps an “experience”
reward (dinner for two, etc.) Encourage continued efforts—and results!
Merit increases need to reflect top performance. Give your managers the tools
that they need—the handbook, training, and even scripting—to improve individual
performance, reduce the turnover of top performers, and improve your bottom
line. Remember: you get the performance that you reward—and that you tolerate.
No guts? No glory!
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz
Newstalk ZB - New Zealand
17/05/2005
Workers changing jobs to get pay rise
A survey showing that up to 85 percent of finance workers
believe they have to change jobs to get a pay rise is being labelled a wake-up
call.
The survey of 2,000 people
by recruitment company Robert Half shows that more than half are looking for a
new job.
Managing director David
Jones says there are skill shortages in the sector particularly in accounting,
and employers need to do better if they want to attract and retain staff.
He says there is clearly a
need for more frequent pay reviews and dialogue with staff, with three-quarters
only being reviewed annually and 13 percent saying they are never reviewed.
The survey also shows
women on average earn 10 percent less than their male counterparts.
http://www.benefitnews.com
Benefitnews.com - New
York,NY,USA
Ann Black
Employee Benefit
News • May 2005
Communication vital to
success of new benefit plan designs
The employee
benefits package is the most important recruitment and retention tool employers
have. Today the average employer spends more than 40 percent of total
compensation on employer-paid benefits. Most employers find that they perform a
delicate balancing act, trying to provide a competitive package of benefits,
while holding down costs.
In spite of their efforts, employers are frustrated by the fact
that their employees often overlook or undervalue the total compensation package
they receive, which includes compensation and employer-paid benefits. While they
place a high value on their benefits, many employees fail to recognize that
their total compensation package is far more than they're taking home in pay.
Most don't realize how much their employers pay to provide their benefits
Escalating costs have led many employers to restructure their
employee benefit plans or to introduce new, less costly alternatives. The common
theme underlying these new and redesigned plans is increased employee
responsibility. New consumer-driven health care plans, for example, are taking
the place of traditional plans. Such plans expect employees to share in cost
savings by managing their own health care accounts and becoming more
discriminating consumers of health care.
Retirement plans are also undergoing changes, with the trend being
away from traditional defined benefit plans, which pay a guaranteed benefit for
life based on a formula, to defined contribution plans, which shift investment
responsibilities and risk from the employer to employees. The adequacy of future
retirement benefits in defined contribution plans depends largely on how much
employees are willing to save and invest and well these employee-directed
investments perform.
Whether the new benefit plan designs will result in long-term
savings depends largely on how well they are communicated. The money employers
spend to provide an attractive benefits package is wasted if employees don't
know what benefits they have or how to use them efficiently. An effective
benefits communication program reinforces the value of the total compensation
package. Communication also plays a key role in building employee understanding
and acceptance of changes to benefit plans, which often require them to assume
grater responsibility for their well-being and future financial security.
When new plan designs are introduced, current employees are
typically given a choice between the old plan and the new one. At this point,
employees need information in order to make informed choices and to use their
benefits in the most cost-effective way. Employees need to have these plans
explained to them in as many ways as possible, including small group meetings.
They need to be provided with the tools and technology to guide them through the
decision process. These tools include Web-based tools, cost information and
comparison guides.
Because the long-range goal of benefits communication is, more
often than not, to motivate employees to take some kind of action or to modify
their behavior, an effective communications program is continuous. It cannot be
a one-time event or left up to the orientation program. Benefits communication
often involves an entire campaign, conducted over an extended period of time,
with targeted messages for specific groups, using a variety of tools and
monitored continuously for results.
Employers who take this comprehensive approach to their benefits
communication can reap rewards over the long run. The fact that effective
benefits communication pays off can be illustrated through numerous reports in
the news recently about companies that have introduced new programs or changed
their benefit plan designs in an effort to control costs. For example:
-
When a major airline
introduced online health information and decision support tools to its
employees, enrollment in the company's flexible benefit spending account
increased from 16% to 26%, saving the company millions of dollars in FICA tax
and providing an immediate return on investment.
-
A Massachusetts-based pipe
valve distributing company reports saving as much as 8% using a
consumer-directed benefits plan compared with a traditional benefits plan. The
success of the new program was directly related to its communications efforts.
-
A manufacturing company in
the Midwest reduced health risks among employees in eight of 13 categories. It
did so through its wellness program and a concentrated communications campaign
that focused on disease management. Savings resulting from the campaign are
about $9 million per year from reduced medical expenses and lower
administration costs.
-
A Fortune 500 hotel chain
realized a $1 million cost savings in its first year, double its initial
objectives, by targeting prescription drug costs as a key area for cost
savings and conducting a comprehensive communications campaign.
These and other employers throughout the nation are proving that
communication can be the most powerful cost-containment strategy they have. A
well-planned, comprehensive communications program can address the issues and
win employee support for needed change, even when the news is bad.
Whether new or restructured employer-paid benefit plans pay off in
the long run will depend on how willing employers are to commit the time and
resources needed for a long-term, comprehensive communications strategy.
Employers must be willing to try new techniques and continuously monitor the
effectiveness of their communications in order to see a return on their
investment.
Employers who are willing to make this commitment will find that
effective benefits communication can pay off in more than dollars and cents. The
ultimate payoff can be healthier, more informed employees, greater motivation,
improved employee retention and better morale.
10
Pointers for More Effective Benefits Communication
1.
Take a total compensation approach.
An annual compensation and benefits statement can show employees specifically
what the company pays for their benefits. They can see that their total
compensation is far more than what gets deposited in their bank account each
payday.
2.
Communicate the business reasons behind change, but don't stop there. Tell employees what they can do to help keep costs down and how
their decisions and actions can benefit themselves as well as the company.
3. Do
more targeted messaging.
Different groups of employees have different interests and information needs.
Your message will be different, for example, in promoting retirement planning
for workers in their 20s from those in their 40s or 50s.
4.
Select tools with your audience in mind.
Younger employees, in particular, require different communication tactics. They
are less likely to sit and listen to a 50-minute lecture. Consider using
electronic communication tools, such as e-mail messages, PowerPoint
presentations and Internet tools to reach this group.
5. Use
a variety of communication methods.
No one size fits all. Face-to-face meetings, e-mails, newsletters, decision
guides, brochures, online calculators and Web pages all have their place.
6.
Focus on areas where communication can pay off.
Determine areas in which employees may not be using benefits most appropriately
and create targeted communications to address the problems.
7.
Eliminate complexity.
The average person reads at an eight-grade level and even college graduates
often prefer information that is written at a lower reading level. Avoid overuse
of benefits jargon, acronyms and legal terms.
8. Be
persistent.
Benefit communications isn't a one-time event. Employees need to be constantly
reminded about the advantages of their benefit plans.
9.
Plan for the long term.
Behavioral changes don't take place overnight. Plan your communication campaigns
to roll out over time to drive your message home.
10.
Monitor results.
Continuously review your communications and make modifications based on feedback
from your audience. Involving employees in communication planning and evaluation
goes a long way toward building commitment and acceptance of needed change. -
E.B.N.
http://bostonworks.boston.com
Boston Globe - Boston,MA,USA
By Alan R. Earls
5/8/05
Sabbaticals aren't just for professors anymore
Brook Weisman-Ross, an assistant vice president in the commercial
cash management division at Citizens Bank, has awakened every day of the past
several weeks to scenes of devastation and suffering. And he's in no hurry to
leave. Taking advantage of a sabbatical program provided by his employer,
Weisman-Ross, who once trained to be an anthropologist and lived in Indonesia as
a child, has been involved in around-the-clock efforts to rebuild shattered
lives and communities in the area around Banda Aceh, Indonesia, the region most
devastated by the Dec. 26 tsunami.
"I want to use every
moment I'm here up until the time I get on the plane to come home to help," he
said in a telephone interview from the devastated island. The Community Service
Sabbatical program is open to all full-time Citizens Bank employees who have
three or more years of service there. Citizens Bank gives out the awards among
each of the geographic regions it serves. The selected employees work a standard
full-time schedule at a local nonprofit organization (Weisman-Ross's Indonesian
venture was a special exception).
Upon returning to Citizens, sabbatical recipients are asked to
share their experiences with their colleagues. Employees selected for the
program are guaranteed their same salary and level of responsibility upon
completion of the sabbatical. Dozens of sabbaticals have been awarded at
Citizens Bank since the program started eight years ago in New England.
Sabbaticals, a word
derived from Sabbath, the day of rest, have a long history as a perk in
academia, but a look around the corporate landscape shows that sabbaticals are
emerging as perhaps the ultimate "flex benefit." Marcie Schorr Hirsch, principal
of Hirsch/Hills Associates, a Newton management consulting firm, says she first
heard of nonacademic sabbaticals around 1990 and believes they are a perfect
antidote for today's 24/7 nonstop world. "There are kinds of reflective thinking
which simply can't be done without this kind of opportunity," she said.
What's more, companies that provide sabbaticals can benefit from having
employees that are recharged and more creative, she says. However, Hirsch
admits, the bottom line may be employee loyalty: Companies that offer
sabbaticals have a better shot at retaining talent.
A case in point is the
Boston office of the auditing firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, which has
experimented with sabbaticals for about four years. In an effort to boost morale
and improve retention, PricewaterhouseCoopers has launched a "Great Place to
Work" initiative that includes offering sabbaticals of up to three months during
the "off season" times of the year when the accounting industry is typically
slow. This gives the chance for employees to pursue outside interests or
passions without having to worry whether they will have a job when they return.
Those on sabbatical are paid 20 percent of their normal salary, usually enough
to cover the cost of their health insurance but not much else.
Still, Jill Branca, who
began her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers four years ago and is now a senior
associate, is not complaining. Two years ago she spent a two-month sabbatical
traveling to Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, and Hawaii. She earned her scuba
certification, "came face to face with a shark" on the Great Barrier Reef, hiked
a glacier, sky dived, and climbed the Sydney Bridge. Branca said she recalls
being very disappointed as a child when she asked her father to get her a koala
bear on one of his frequent business trips to Australia. "He brought me a
stuffed koala instead," she said. That left her with a strong desire to make it
to the land down under herself at the earliest opportunity. As an undergraduate
at Dartmouth, Branca said the travel bug only intensified and she longed to find
a way to do some traveling after graduation. Instead, she went to work. But her
job, she said, allows her the best of both worlds - a solid career and an
opportunity to travel.
While most sabbaticals
have focused on travel, said Eric Pugh, human resource leader for the firm's
Boston office, others have had more serious goals. Another employee traveled to
San Francisco where she spent two or three days a week tutoring inner-city
elementary school kids. Pugh said the sabbatical can range from six to 12 weeks
and must not interfere with client needs. Beyond that, it's wide open. Pugh says
that, to date, about 50 of the company's 3,000 or so Boston-area employees have
taken sabbaticals.
Meanwhile, other area
companies have also developed a sabbatical track record. Maynard-based
Shareholder.com, a firm that provides clients with investor relation services,
has had a sabbatical policy in place for several years. Company spokesman
Bradley Smith says the program is very straightforward - after four years you
get an eight-week, fully paid break. "We don't allow anyone to break it up
either - its goal is as its name - a sabbatical," he said.
Joe Cavicchio, a
Shareholder.com Web developer, is preparing to leave this month for a
seven-country European tour. A calendar counting down the days until departure
is hung above his desk. Like Branca, Cavicchio said he got the travel bug in
college but could never quite figure out how to make it happen. Thus,
Shareholder.com's sabbatical was highly attractive when he went looking for a
job. "Four years is a long time so at first I didn't think too much about
it, but for the last year I have been really excited," he said.
Renuka Kamerka, the
company's manager of webcasting services, knows the feeling. On her sabbatical,
late in 2002, she joined her parents on a trip to India to visit her extended
family. "My grandmother had passed away there just before we left, so I
was able to get closure by participating in a religious ceremony for her when we
arrived, and I also got to visit with my cousins, some of whom I met for the
first time," she said.
As for Shareholder.com
founder Ron Gruner, currently on sabbatical in Germany, Smith says the company
is deliberately not in touch with him. "We had to push him a little bit to
follow his own advice."
http://www.azcentral.com/business
Arizona Republic -
Phoenix,AZ,USA
Dana Knight
Apr. 15, 2005
Perks
help keep employees out of revolving door
For employees at Ernst &
Young, the job just seems better with a 600-gallon tank full of shiny, colorful
fish. Getting hooked on the job isn't so hard, either, when the boss offers
on-the-spot $500 bonuses for a job well done and the company pays for childcare
on weekends.
Extreme workplace perks are put into place not only to keep employees happy -
but also to keep them. "Employees are on the lookout, and if there's a better
opportunity out there, they're going to go for it," said Mark Angott, president
of Angott Search Group, an executive search firm in Michigan. "If you're in
corporate America, you better make sure you're taking care of employees."
The tide is turning rapidly from an employer-driven job market to an
employee-driven one. The economy is improving steadily. Consumer confidence is
up and unemployment is down. Simply put: Quitting the job - and finding a new
one - just got a lot easier. Keeping workers is going to get tougher for
employers, and retention is high on the minds of managers and bosses fighting a
can-quit attitude among employees.
The rate of people leaving their jobs is on the rise. In January 2004, 1.6
percent of America's work force quit, according to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics. In January 2005, the most recent figures available, that number had
risen to 1.9 percent - that's 2.5 million people. In the past year, more than 1
million jobs have been created and 30 percent of hiring managers nationwide
expect to add jobs in 2005, according to Careerbuilder.com. That means
opportunity for unhappy workers.
More than half of workers (53 percent) said they are or may be considering
leaving their jobs, according to an August 2004 Job Satisfaction and Retention
Survey of 455 employees nationwide. In 2001, just 36 percent answered yes to
that question on the survey conducted by Chart Your Course International, a
company that trains employers on how to retain their most talented performers.
The top reasons workers leave include a poor relationship with the boss, salary,
uninteresting work, no flexibility or opportunity for advancement and work/life
balance, the survey said.
Experts estimate turnover costs range from a conservative 30 percent of annual
salary plus benefits to as much as 150 percent of a worker's yearly pay.
Included are the steep expenses of hiring a replacement, paying for temporary
work or overtime as the position sits vacant, signing bonuses, relocation costs
for the new employee and retraining. Using conservative figures, a
1,000-employee company with an average salary/benefits package of $60,000 would
have annual turnover costs of $2 million. That causes employers like
Indianapolis-based Reliant Services to take notice. The facilities locating
company decided to get serious about turnover a year ago when it implemented a
hiring process to reduce its quit rate by 50 percent.
Dennis Norman, a vice president of the 250-person company, said the key to
keeping employees starts early. "Our motto is hire tough, manage easy," he said.
The company makes sure the prospective employee understands exactly what the job
is like through a lengthy and detailed interview process, which includes a day
shadowing an employee working in the job for which the candidate is
interviewing. "You'd be shocked at how many come back and say, 'I don't want to
do that,' " Norman said. "We'd much rather they do that up front than (hire
them) and then hear that."
But once hired, the work doesn't stop for employers, said Quint Studer, chief
executive officer of Studer Group and author of "Hardwiring Excellence." "The
No. 1 reason a person leaves the job is a poor relationship with the
supervisor," said Studer, whose Gulf Breeze, Fla.-based company trains employers
on ways to reduce turnover. "Because if you don't have a commitment to your
boss, if you don't think your boss cares about you, you're probably going to
leave on any offer that's even close to what you're getting."
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/
Press Release
February 23, 2005
Source: Watson
Wyatt Worldwide
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