This is intended to help anyone new to compensation but also to clarify some terms that can be confusing or that have multiple interpretations that we should be aware of. If I am missing anything or need to clarify further, please let me know in the comments below. For considerations on salary structure approaches, take... Continue Reading →
Hybrid approaches to salary structures
"One does not simply build a salary structure" Following up on my previous posts on the differences in globally graded vs traditional salary structures and job-based approaches vs salary structures, I'd like to add one more piece to make it a trilogy. But hopefully a good trilogy like the Before trilogy or Lord of the... Continue Reading →
Job-based Salary Ranges vs. Salary Structures
“Things are always happening to me. I’m that sort of bear” A while back I wrote a bit about the differences between traditional salary structures and global grading systems as a means to manage base pay. In this much-anticipated1 follow-up, I'd like to write a bit about how job-based ranges differ from salary structures, the... Continue Reading →
Let’s start embracing Pay Transparency
There are plenty of articles out there on how to prepare for pay transparency legislation, including this one by my colleague Gerry Murphy at Nua which sets out some tangible steps you can follow. I wanted to write a bit about, not how we can prepare for transparency, but why we should embrace it. It... Continue Reading →
Six initiatives to combat inflation in 2022
Originally posted on the Nua Blog: Inflation is the new hot topic among economists. Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicates the cost for all consumer goods rose by 0.8% in November and called into question the notion that 2021 price increases were only a temporary spike. While economists debate whether inflation will continue to rise and... Continue Reading →
It’s toasted
Anyone who has watched Mad Men, will know that back in the 1920s, cigarette advertising was big business. The rival companies spent millions on advertising campaigns to persuade customers to switch to their brand. Famously (although I hadn't heard about it until Mad Men), Lucky Strike came up with the campaign slogan, "Its toasted" which... Continue Reading →
What do we mean by compensation cost of sales?
"Yeah, fugazi, fogazi. It’s a wazi, it’s a woozi. It’s fairy dust. It doesn’t exist, it’s never landed, it is no matter, it’s not on the elemental charge" It may seem like fugazi but Compensation Cost of Sales (CCOS) could be the difference between sales plan success and failure. In simple terms, CCOS is the... Continue Reading →
Data is as data does
Market data is great - I love it, you love it, everyone loves it. We love it because it informs us about the market and allows us to be more confident in making decisions. Problems with market data arise from over-reliance where it shifts from informing decisions, to making them. If we have 50th percentile... Continue Reading →
You say SPIFFs, they say SPIVS, I say spiffs, let’s call the whole thing off
Actually, no, let's not call the whole thing off, let's clear this up once and for all. Many people capitalize spiffs claiming it to be an acronym for "Special Purpose Incentive for Field Force" or any one of several possible acronyms. Let's be clear - it does not stand for ANYTHING. At best it is... Continue Reading →
Job architecture – what is it and why do we need it?
"You are the eventuality of an anomaly, which despite my sincerest efforts I have been unable to eliminate from what is otherwise a harmony of mathematical precision." The architect of The Matrix speaking to a rogue job in his HRIS system. Job architecture is a simple concept - It is a systematic way of organizing... Continue Reading →