What’s the best way to hold on to your leading employees?
The answer is simple: Treat them right. This includes providing competitive wages and benefits. You never want to be in a counteroffer situation, where an employee comes to you with news of a better salary package presented to them by one of your competitors. Even if you match or top it, things will never be the same. Your employee will feel let down and they had to threaten you in order to get a raise.
Build a Plan That Reflects Your Employees’ Value
A robust compensation plan enables you to evaluate the current market, see an accurate value of jobs, and pay employees fairly and consistently, so you keep them on board. In a recent survey, 47 percent of top-performing companies reported they had a compensation strategy in place. Don’t be surprised to see this number grow at a rapid pace.
Here are some tips to keep your plan on track:
- Initiate transparent conversations with your employees. Discuss the market picture, what they currently earn, and what you can afford to pay. Be honest about your budget parameters. You may learn it’s not as much about exact dollar amounts as it is about people knowing you truly care about them and want to treat them well.
- Know where – and why – you are experiencing churn. What factors are contributing to turnover within your company? Where exactly is it happening? Get your employees’ take on the issue, and don’t be surprised if it varies from your own theories.
- Understand your competitive position. Know who you’re competing against for talent, as well as how you want to reward people via pay and benefits. Look both within and beyond your own industry.
- Align employee compensation with your business plan. Lay the groundwork by getting buy-in from senior management. Resources must match organizational goals and objectives. Let the overriding philosophy be that your employees are your company’s most valuable asset, so you have to pay them consistently and fairly.
- Align roles company-wide. This is important for benchmarking purposes. Emphasize education, training, years of experience and required job skills.
- Develop policies and procedures around compensation increases, new hires, promotions, performance outliers, raise eligibility and job vacancies. Determine how often you will evaluate compensation and how much input managers at various levels will have in related decisions.
- Be sure the message cascades through your entire organization. Keep your message points consistent. Every good employee should feel valued and they’re being paid fairly, at or above current market rates. When it comes to this topic, perception truly is
Do you need guidance as you build your successful compensation strategy? PrideStaff Modesto can help you identify and address the unique needs of your organization and develop a plan to ensure the integrity of your winning workforce. Contact us today so we can tell you more.
