Elevated HR Solutions: Who says Compensation Can't Be Easy?

Who says compensation can't be easy? Pretty much every book you pick up on the topic - that's who.  Twenty-seven chapters later (and a background as an HR Professional)  I'm just as lost as the next guy.  And like most people - if you can't get it from a book, the next logical step is probably to hire a consultant. Look at all that potential compensation walking out the door!

However, I'm convinced that it's possible to make it simple and easy to follow and have been successful in doing so for my clients.  Considering there isn't a whole lot of help out there on the topic I figure now it's time to publish a resource that small business owners and entrepreneurs can pick up and implement - and not drown in a myriad of details.

Simply put, I'm writing the book and even have a publisher on side...that is IF I can prove I can do the above!  In other words - concept accepted but now I have to actually do something about it!

So I'm looking for the opinions from small business owners and entrepreneurs as well as HR professionals who work in organizations with 3 employees and beyond, in any industry, in any province or state.  All I need is a simple survey to be filled out that will most likely take 20 minutes of your time.  Quotes may be used in the book, ideas will definitely be used, and most importantly - the book will be targeted towards the feedback from the survey to help the intended audience of managers and HR professionals alike.  The end result - employers who have employees who understand how and why they get paid what they do (and therefore, that much more engaged!)

Do you have time to fill out a survey? If so, email me at michelleb@elevatedhr.com to let me know you're interested.

Here is the link to the survey: http://bit.ly/hz4FGA

Elevated HR: Determining the Salary Equation

Often when I am advising clients on their hiring strategy, I am also asked to help them determine what to pay an individual.  I always find it funny that the first question I am asked is, "What does the market pay for X?"  While a company certainly needs to be competitive, the first question any company needs to ask is "What can I afford in relation to the expected return on investment?"

Following that, 2 more questions need to be asked:

1.) What is the minimum education and experience needed to get this position off the ground and running?
2.) What is the performance I expect out of the first 90 days?

Then, it's time to ask what is the market paying and fit YOUR expectations into that range.

Here is an example:

I need to run pretty lean right now, but definitely need some administrative help to make sure my vendors get paid and my clients are paying me.  In addition to that, I need someone to send the initial teasers to potential clients and follow-up with thank-you's after pitches and finally schedule follow-up meetings with clients who have signed on.  This will allow me to focus more on sales and delivery, pitch to more potentials, therefore turning more potentials into clients, and turning more clients into lifers, therefore generating even more revenue.  By hiring this person, I would hope to triple revenue because I will have the time to do so.

If I'm currently bringing in $200 a month, by hiring this person I now make $600 a month, I decide I can afford $200 a month.  This includes vacation, health and dental benefits and sick benefits.  It does not include external training or the work/life balance options or the various creative options I will also offer the person.

Education isn't a factor (but basic skills like use of the Internet, grammar, reading, writing etc. is necessary - however the school, program etc. is not important to me).  I need them to somehow prove to me they can take an instruction and follow through.  They may not have direct office experience, but they need to know how to use Google and figure out the problem at hand (so if they have a degree and no experience, that would work to).   My expectation is that after two weeks, I'm not having to explain myself, they've got it and can run with it.  I may not always agree with their way of completing the task, but customer service must always be first.  First impressions and follow-up impressions will be something I look for.

If I go to various websites on the web - I can see that the market is paying anywhere between $50 to $350 a month for the same position.  I can't go above the $200 mark, so I look for less education and less experience.  I do need someone to be smart, and stay for at least 6 months, so instead of paying the bottom, I pay $100 and set performance measures during the first 90 days to get them to the $150 mark.  If they don't meet my expectations, they don't have a job, but I also didn't overpay them in relation to my budget either.  My benefits package and work/life balance also makes up for the other part of the total salary package - which I don't offer until after the 90 day mark. 

And this is how I determine the salary equation.  What can I afford vs. the projected return vs. education vs. experience vs. external market.  I want to be fair - but I need to do what's right for the business.

http://www.elevatedhr.com/

Positive Reinforcement - Can you compensate for a lack of compensation?

Without fail, I have always managed to meet a line manager who felt he or she could not compete with other organizations because the organization we worked for paid too little.  And over the last 2 years, not being able to increase salary, not having bonuses, and in some cases, decreasing salaries meant managers felt even more pressure to try and keep staff engaged (it's not that they were leaving necessarily, but just because their body showed up did not mean their head or spirit was into it). 

That said, it doesn't matter if we are in a down economy or an inflated economy - salary is not the only thing that keeps an employee motivated or retained for that matter.

Positive reinforcement, a term often associated with the process of behavior modification, is quite honestly the easiest, cheapest and fastest way to ensure you keep your staff fully engaged.  It can be as simple as a verbal "Thank You - I like how you did X", to pointing out the individual in a team meeting, to an email that clearly outlines the behaviour you liked and how it made an impact, to a hand written note indicating same.  The trick - provide the reinforcement almost immediately after you see the behaviour you like occurs.  The chance of the behavior repeating itself is enhanced, the employee learns what you appreciate and in return, the employee stays engaged and continues to find new avenues of reinforcement.  It's all about being creative, being in the moment and following through with some positive actions of your own!  Salary can't compare to a positive environment!

http://www.elevatedhr.com/