Compensation trends: Modern perspectives on pay

Workplace Behavior Ethics

<h1 class="subhead">How to Promote Positive Ethics in the Workplace</h1><br />Ethics is a fundamental business term because it can and does apply to all workplaces. Regardless of the organizational function, employees who fail to maintain an ethical standard in their workplace can raise the possibility of not only organizational corruption but also legal liabilities. In any role, it is vital that employees conduct themselves in accordance with both workplace policies, as well as applicable state and federal laws. The fallout of ethics failures can be seen daily on the news, i.e. Enron, and those colossal failures remind us that the collapse of workplace behavior ethics has the potential to damage and even destroy organizations.

Why Develop a Competitive Compensation Plan

Employee Competency Checklist

<h1 class="subhead"><a href="http://blogs.payscale.com/compensation/2010/01/employee-competency-checklist.html" style="FLOAT: left"><img alt="employee" border="0" checklist="checklist" competency="competency" src="http://www.payscale.com/content/employee-competency-checklist-01.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 5px 5px 0px" /></a>Employee Core Competencies&#0160;-&#0160;A Proven Tool for an Organization&#39;s Success</h1> <p>“Hi, you got a minute?” It’s your fourth interruption this morning. It’s Sally, the Operations Manager. You know when she says, “Do you have a minute?” it usually means, “Do you have a half hour?” She comes in and sits down in your guest chair and you figure that you can spare a half hour before your next meeting. You’ve been the HR manager for your company now for five years so you can tell that Sally really needs to talk to you and it’s about one of her employees. You can probably guess which one, but you let her tell you. </p> <p></p> <p></p>

HR Guide to Holiday Parties

<h1 class="subhead"><a href="http://blogs.payscale.com/compensation/2009/12/hr-guide-to-holiday-parties.html" style="float: left;"><img alt="HR Guide to Holiday Parties" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341bf85853ef012876485840970c " src="http://www.payscale.com/content/blog/images/a6a00d8341bf85853ef012876485840970c-800wi.png" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="HR Guide to Holiday Parties" /></a> 9 Tips to Limit Holiday Office Party Legal Exposure</h1> <p></p> <p>‘Tis the season for holiday parties and the spreading of good cheer in the workplace. Unfortunately, though, too much cheer can cause liability. If your plans include serving alcohol at holiday parties or even sponsoring department “happy hours” at a local pub, your organization could be at risk for legal liability if a drunken employee harms himself or others. </p>

Temporary Employee Laws

<p> </p><h1 class="subhead"><a href="http://blogs.payscale.com/compensation/2009/11/temporary-employee-laws.html" style="float: left"><img alt="Temporary Employee Laws" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341bf85853ef0120a74512c5970b " src="http://www.payscale.com/content/blog/images/a6a00d8341bf85853ef0120a74512c5970b-800wi.png" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px" title="Temporary Employee Laws" /></a> Legal Smarts: Hiring Temporary Employees</h1> <p></p> <p>The holidays are coming up, which can mean hiring temporary workers in retail and other industries. Do you know how to protect yourself against claims of unfair pay, benefits requests payments, and other temporary employee legal issues? Temporary employee laws abound so it’s important that you’re well informed. Here are some of the A-B-C’s of law relating to temporary employees that will help keep your company off of Santa’s “naughty” list this season. </p> <p></p>

How to Conduct a Compensation Analysis and Move Salary Ranges

<h1 class="subhead"><a href="http://blogs.payscale.com/compensation/2009/11/how-to-conduct-a-compensation-analysis.html" style="float: left"><img alt="How to Conduct Compensation Analysis" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341bf85853ef0120a6bdc1f0970b " src="http://www.payscale.com/content/blog/images/a6a00d8341bf85853ef0120a6bdc1f0970b-800wi.png" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px" title="How to Conduct Compensation Analysis" /></a> How to Conduct a Compensation Analysis and Move Salary Ranges</h1> <p>In a previous post we reviewed why performing compensation analytics can provide value to an organization. In this next post on compensation analytics, we’ll look at how it is used to review salary ranges.</p> <p>At many companies, the assumed answer to the question, “Do our compensation ranges need adjustment?” is usually, “Yes.” Compensation ranges are often adjusted every year to match industry trends and economic ups and downs.&#160; But, is it really smart planning to assume that you need to adjust your salary ranges every year – no matter what? I suggest that a key to long-term success is stepping back and having a conversation as a company about, “Do we need to move our salary ranges this year?”</p>

How to Create an Effective Employee Compensation Policy

<p></p> <h1 class="subhead"><a href="http://blogs.payscale.com/compensation/2009/10/writing-an-employee-compensation-policy.html"><img alt="Writing an Employee Comp Policy" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341bf85853ef0120a668ec4f970c " src="http://www.payscale.com/content/blog/images/a6a00d8341bf85853ef0120a668ec4f970c-800wi.png" title="Writing an Employee Comp Policy" /></a> Writing an Employee Compensation Policy</h1><br />For legal protection and good business sense, every company should have an up-to-date employee compensation policy. What is the status on yours?<br /><br />An organization should not wait for dire circumstances, such as a pay inequity lawsuit, to write down or update their employee compensation policy. All organization leaders should create a written policy document or refresh their existing one for legal protection, and as a guideline or framework for the company’s compensation program.<br /><br />Below is a list of helpful tips and tools for creating an effective employee compensation policy that is specific to your organization.

What is a compensation philosophy? How to write one

A compensation philosophy provides overall direction for how you intend to use your compensation budget. It answers how you will prioritize your compensation spend, based on a set of principles and values that are important to your business. In other words, your compensation philosophy serves as a mission statement for your compensation plan.

Variable Pay Compensation

<h1 class="subhead"><a href="http://blogs.payscale.com/compensation/2009/08/variable-pay-compensation-strategy.html" style="float: left"><img alt="Variable Pay Compensation" border="0" class="at-xid-6a00d8341bf85853ef0120a57958ce970c " src="http://www.payscale.com/content/blog/images/a6a00d8341bf85853ef0120a57958ce970c-800wi.png" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px" title="Variable Pay Compensation" /></a> Implementing a Variable Pay Compensation Strategy: What to Beware Of </h1><br />How do you reward top performers and keep employees loyal during tighter times? In a previous post I suggested a <a href="http://blogs.payscale.com/compensation/2009/08/innovative-salary-programs-variable-pay.html">variable pay program</a> as a way to incentivize your employees to stay with the company and help it reach its goals. From profit-sharing to discretionary bonuses, there are a variety of options.

Determining Supervisor Pay Grades

<h1 class="subhead"><a href="http://blogs.payscale.com/compensation/2009/08/determining-supervisor-pay-grades.html"><img alt="Determining Supervisor Pay Grades" border="0" class="at-xid-6a00d8341bf85853ef0120a547e07e970c " src="http://www.payscale.com/content/blog/images/a6a00d8341bf85853ef0120a547e07e970c-800wi.png" title="Determining Supervisor Pay Grades" /></a> What Is Fair? Supervisor vs. Employee Pay Grades</h1><br />In my time both in the military and civilian workforces, I’ve always been curious to know more about what weighs on my supervisors from day to day. Such things as scope of supervisor responsibilities, everyday demands, and supervisory skills required for them do their job. Sometimes I’ve wanted to know this information so that I can better support my supervisors. Other times, I’ve been in the mind frame that, “Heck, I could do their job.” And it comes down to, “Well, how much money do they make?”

Non-Monetary Compensation

<h1 class="subhead"><a href="http://blogs.payscale.com/compensation/2009/08/non-monetary-compensation.html" style="float: left"><img alt="Non-Monetary Compensation" border="0" class="at-xid-6a00d8341bf85853ef0120a547dc8b970c " src="http://www.payscale.com/content/blog/images/a6a00d8341bf85853ef0120a547dc8b970c-800wi.png" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px" title="Non-Monetary Compensation" /></a> Non-Monetary Compensation and the Essentials of Developing a Total Compensation Policy</h1><p>They say cash is king, but in today’s economy employees know that there is more to the story than cash alone. Today’s job seekers and your employees have become more savvy about non-monetary compensation. And there is a good reason they are paying attention to it. </p>Good health insurance and a generous retirement plan benefits are becoming more and more elusive. Employers who offer these non-cash rewards stand out among their peers.

Accounting Salary Guide

<h1 class="subhead"><a href="https://www.payscale.com/content/blog/images/a6a00d8341bf85853ef0115705786ab970c-pi.png" style="float: left"><img alt="Salary Range for an Accountant" border="0" class="at-xid-6a00d8341bf85853ef0115705786ab970c " src="http://www.payscale.com/content/blog/images/a6a00d8341bf85853ef0115705786ab970c-800wi.png" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px" title="Salary Range for an Accountant" /></a> Need to Set a Salary Range for an Accountant? PayScale Fills in Your Compensation Data Gaps</h1> <p>We have received numerous questions from HR professionals and business owners wondering what people in various job positions and industries are paid. So, with this post, we offer you the second in a series of analyses and up-close views we’ll be taking of the salary ranges for many different jobs. </p>