2. A JOB IS ONLY WORTH SO
MUCH
Organizations need to limit how much they will pay for any one job.
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Compensation Saying
3. Protests
• “But Mary is so valuable to this
organization! We couldn’t operate without
her!”
• “Jorge has been here forever! He knows
everything about this institution.”
• “But it’s ridiculous to expect someone with
a Masters Degree to work for that
amount!”
4. “But Mary is so valuable to this organization!
We couldn’t operate without her!”
• What does Mary do that is so valuable?
• Is it truly necessary for the organization or is it just nice
to have?
• “She knows exactly who to call to get results,” may be
necessary for the organization.
• “She makes my coffee just the way I like it,” is probably
not essential.
• Revise the job description to include the
additional factors that are necessary.
• Factors that truly are necessary for the job
may increase the compensation level.
5. “Jorge has been here forever! He knows
everything about this institution.”
• What does Jorge’s extensive knowledge of
the institution add?
• Is it necessary for the performance of his
job?
• Could someone without his knowledge
perform equally well?
• If it’s necessary, add it to the job
description and adjust compensation
accordingly.
6. “But it’s ridiculous to expect someone with a
Masters Degree to work for that amount!”
• Does the job REALLY require an
advanced degree?
• Does your institution compensate for
additional degrees for staff jobs?
• Do similar jobs at other organizations
require the advanced degree?
– Is your pay rate competitive?
• If the degree adds value, modify the job
description and adjust pay accordingly.
7. REDUCE THE NUMBER OF
SEPARATE CLASSIFICATIONS
An organization should keep the number of separate job
classifications to the bare minimum.
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Compensation Saying
8. Advantages of Many Unique
Job Titles in an Institution
• Greater ability to require KSA’s,
experience and education specific to the
job
• Allows more specificity in essential job
functions– employees knows exactly what
is expected
9. But what about finding market
matches for 5000 different jobs?
• Can make it harder to find market matches
• Group jobs into similar positions and levels– a Suicide
Prevention Coordinator and Drug and Alcohol
Education Coordinator are both Program
Coordinators.
• Look at education and years of experience required.
• Look at outcome or role of the job: Budget Specialist
and Financial Specialist both keep the financial house
in order.
• Suicide Prevention Coordinators and Alcohol
Education Coordinators both run programs to keep
young adults from engaging in self destructive
behavior.
11. Advantages of Specific Job
Descriptions
• Valuable tool in recruiting and hiring
• Identifies specific behavioral competencies
necessary for top performance
• Defines what is expected of the employee
• Provides standards against which objective
performance appraisals can be made
• Helps employers zero in on exactly what they
need from a position
• Helps define and maintain organizational structure
• Defines essential job functions for ADA
12. Caveats
• Must be updated regularly
• Is at its most accurate on the first day of
the job-- loses accuracy as the employee
grows in the job
• Be careful not to restrict employees’
initiative to be innovative.
• May result in employer missing out on
skills employees have that fall outside the
detailed description
13. SHH! SILENCE IS GOLDEN!
Employees shouldn’t talk about their salaries and shouldn’t know
what other employees are making.
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Compensation Saying
14. Policies Forbidding
Employees to Discuss Pay
• May be an unfair labor practice under
NLRB
• Allow the employer to keep control
• Allow employer to hide arbitrary or illogical
pay practices
• Are an exercise in futility: People will talk.
15. Disadvantages of NOT
Communicating Pay Info
• Employees will make it up.
• Employees may be given inaccurate
information.
• Inconsistent messages about pay structure
• Could expose the institution to potential legal
action or reputational damage
• Demotivate employees who think the pay
structure is random, unfair or driven by
favoritism
16. Advantages of Open
Communication About Pay
• Can motivate employees- they know what
they have to do to make more money
• Can promote the goals of the organization
• Employees know what factors influence
salaries: customer satisfaction, quality of
work, hours worked, seniority, skills,
commitment to the institution…
17. How to Talk to Employees
About Pay Structures
• Share market analyses. If your pay structure
is not competitive, state what the organization
is doing to address that.
• Be up front about the fact that each individual
brings a unique skill set and background to
the table that is weighed against that of
others in the role and the performance they
are demonstrating.
• Do not discuss with employees the merits of
respective profiles, performance and
contribution of one employee versus another.
18. What if employees question
their pay in relation to other
employees?
Say:
• “You don’t have knowledge of the skills or
performance requirements of others, even though
the roles may seem similar to you.”
• “Each job has specific projects or performance
criteria that can make comparing the performance
of peers difficult.”
• “Individuals bring different experience that allows
them to do more or less than others in the same
role.”
20. Barriers
• No buy in from top- end runs and elevator
conversations
• No clear and consistent policy
• Departments throwing money at perceived
problems
• Managers with more money ignore the
policies
• Rogue managers
• Reactive compensation decisions
21. How to Achieve Objective
Compensation
• Define structure.
– Clearly defined market for market based
systems
– Clearly defined factors for point factor system
• Consistently administer guidelines.
• Clearly communicate policies.
• Analyze and document variances.
• Comply with regulations.
• Re-evaluate.
22. PEOPLE LEAVE JOBS FOR
MORE MONEY
If we don’t pay our employees more, another organization will hire
them away from us.
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Compensation Saying
23. According to a Gallup poll of more than one million
employed US workers, the number one reason why people
leave their jobs is because of their manager.
• 2013 Survey from Randstad found that more than 80% of
employees believe their relationship with their direct
supervisor has a big impact on how happy they are with
their job.
• 67% feel their manager has their best interests in mind
when it comes to recognizing their abilities and helping
their careers.
• 53% believe they could do a better job than their
manager or supervisor.
24. Other Reasons Employees
Leave Jobs
• They don’t love what they are doing. The passion is gone, if it was ever
there to begin with. They don’t feel that their work is meaningful, making a
difference in the world.
• They are bored and feel that they are not being challenged.
• Too much bureaucracy and red tape
• They don’t feel connected to the organization. They don’t see how their job
fits into the overall strategy and business plan of the organization.
• They are unhappy with their pay (or they receive a better offer.)
• There is no room for advancement. If they don’t see a path to continued
growth in their current organization, they will look elsewhere for a career
growth or promotion opportunity.
• Job insecurity- they are worried about whether their job will exist in a few
months or a few years- ties into the financial stability of the organization.
• They don’t feel valued. Appreciation and recognition is the icing on the cake
for employee retention.
• Their values don’t align with the company’s. The overall culture of the
company does not demonstrate respect and caring and is not conducive to
employee satisfaction and engagement.
• They think the grass is greener somewhere else.
25. What Does This Mean?
• There are many reasons besides money that people leave
their jobs.
• There are many reasons more important than money that
people leave their jobs.
• If an employee has started looking for a job, s/he has made
the decision to quit. Offering more money may delay the leave
taking, but it won’t put it off forever.
• If organizations REALLY want to improve employee retention,
then they need to implement a comprehensive exit interview
strategy to determine why employees are leaving, and then fix
the identified issues.
• Throwing money piecemeal at people to get them to stay will
not improve retention or keep people from leaving.
26. HIGHER EDUCATION JOBS
ARE UNIQUE
It’s impossible to find good matches for jobs at our organization.
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Compensation Saying
27. No External Matches?
• Find external market position with same skill
set.
– To whom would we lose this employee?
– Where would we look for someone to do this job?
• Broaden the job description or title. Ex:
Engineer for Gravel Road Pothole Repair is a
Street Engineer.
• Use internal benchmarks.
• Similar skill requirements, management responsibilities,
educational requirements, complexity of problems
normally faced, decision-making responsibilities, impact
of decisions
