Mykkah Herner, MA, CCP, 
Compensation Consultant at PayScale

It’s the end of the year! I’m wrapping up a bunch of client projects, getting them all set to launch their brand new compensation plans in the New Year. As I’m doing so, I’m realizing how helpful the tried and true New Years’ Resolutions are when thinking about best practices for managing compensation plans. Below are some of my favorites.

Laleh Hassibi, PayScale

In this edition of 5 for Friday, our last in 2012, it seemed appropriate to take a look back at the big trends that influenced HR this past year and will continue their impact on us during this coming year.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, blogging4jobs

Having worked for both male and female bosses, it is no secret that the sexes see work, priorities, and life differently. My male boss would often cut out of the office at 4:30 p.m. while a female boss would call me at 8 p.m. on a weekend. Some of this is work style, but science has proven that men think, lead and react differently than their female counterparts. As an HR professional who likely has a female boss, it can help to know it isn’t just you.

Evan Rodd, PayScale

Many of us have dreamed of rock stardom—climbing on stage in front of an audience, and watching thousands of people sing along with us as we aggressively strum our guitar like Angus Young. There’s nothing like that level of recognition to get your adrenaline pumping, especially from a stadium full of people who are able to come together under the common bond of your awesome abilities.

Laleh Hassibi, PayScale

This week, in our weekly review of the blogosphere, we focus on Santa and all things holiday. 

1. Without Magic, Santa Would Need 12 Million Employees Chana Joffe-Walt, NPR - Planet Money
   Ever wonder what it would take to do the job of Santa? NPR, with the help of FedEx and UPS figured it out and the answer is a whole lot of people! It's a good thing Santa's got the elves to rely on! 

Dan Walter, Performensation

In recent presentations I have heard several compensation professionals from the UK refer to their “Shareholder Spring” of 2012. The reference is to the raising of voices from shareholders. While we all love a little hyperbole, I believe that their Shareholder Spring was barely a fling. The UK’s Shareholder Spring led to a lot of posturing, but as of yet, the player and rules of the game are still familiar.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, blogging4jobs

Technology is rapidly changing the face of HR. It impacts the way businesses are organized and is a big influence on how people define work. With more pressure on becoming mobile, social, automated, cloud-based and overall tech friendly, Human Resources must stay on top of the changing trends and demonstrate value. No longer is the Human Resources department where you go to just get benefits information, but it’s the department that drives the value of the company through recruitment and employee retention.

Laleh Hassibi, PayScale.com

Want to price your jobs more accurately, and get the most return on your labor budget? With the Winter 2013 Edition of PayScale Insight we're making compensation management easier than ever before. 

Laleh Hassibi, PayScale.com

The times are always changing, but we uncovered some interesting tidbits about exactly how things are changing for 2013 in our weekly review of the blogosphere. Here are our top five picks from the week:

Jessica Miller-Merrell, blogging4jobs

Every year on the first work day of January, your co-workers return to their desks with a new plan to transform themselves via their New Year’s Resolution. Maybe they are mixing health shakes in the breakroom in place of their lunches, walking through the halls (or up and down the stairs) in lieu of their typical breaks to sneak in some exercise or madly chewing nicotine replacement gum to kick the smoking habit. Whatever their goal might be, their intentions are good. But, this year, instead of (yet again) resolving for your health, consider the best New Year’s resolution of all: resolve to find more time.

Evan Rodd, PayScale.com

As many businesses gravitate towards a stronger software presence, the demand for tech-savvy employees is growing larger every day. 

It can be challenging enough to secure customers, especially if software is an imperative aspect of your services. When that software needs some TLC, you want the best and brightest in the business. Top companies like Google and Apple offer the incentives and company culture that many techies gravitate towards. When you are trying to stay afloat in a competitive tech marketplace, what can you do to secure top tier techies?

Laleh Hassibi, PayScale.com

Editors note: this is a new feature in our blog that you'll find every Friday. Look for our five favorite stories, infographics, or blog articles of the week. 

1. Success Means Learning to Let Go
   Geoffrey James, Inc.
   Geoffrey James gives us timely advice for this busy chaotic season that mimics the message behind that old Bob McFerrin classic, "Don't Worry, Be Happy." A key to success is to learn to let go of our frustration about those items on our to-do lists that are driving us crazy because we have no control over them. Instead, we'll do better by saving our energy for the things that really matter to us. 

Incentive Stock Options are a great place to start talking about equity compensation. ISOs are “appreciation-only” vehicles, meaning they have direct value to employees only if the stock price appreciates above the initial grant price. Other common appreciation-only instruments include NQSOs and SARs (to be covered in future posts). If you understand ISOs, you can easily understand other appreciation instruments.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, blogging4jobs

Uncovering the History of the HR Algorithm

The term HR algorithms was all the rage when Google announced it was turning to a mathematically sound and logical approach to analyze HR data. Google is renowned for blazing the trail of innovation, and if any company was going to crack the code of better understanding and even predicting employee trends and turnover, it was Google. The internet search engine giant announced it was inputting employee reviews, promotion histories and pay and other similar data into a mathematical algorithm in an effort to mitigate “brain drain,” the disengaged employee and turnover. That was May 2009.