Snell bohlander aise_ch09

Managing Compensation Human Resource Management Snell • Bohlander

Objectives After studying this chapter, you should be able to: Explain employer concerns in developing a strategic compensation program. Indicate the various factors that influence the setting of wages. Differentiate the mechanics of each of the major job evaluation systems. Explain the purpose of a wage survey. Define the wage curve, pay grades, and rate ranges as parts of the compensation structure.

Objectives (cont’d) After studying this chapter, you should be able to: Identify the major provisions of the federal laws affecting compensation. Discuss the current issues of equal pay for comparable worth, pay compression, and low wage budgets.

Compensation Pay is a statement of an employee’s worth by an employer. Pay is a perception of worth by an employee.

Total Compensation Bonuses Gainsharing Security Plans Pensions Employee Services Educational assistance Recreational programs Commissions Wages / Salaries Insurance Plans Medical Dental Life Time Not Worked Vacations Breaks Holidays Direct Indirect

Compensation Management and Other HRM Functions Pay rates affect selectivity Selection Selection standards affect level of pay required Pay can motivate training Training and Development Increased knowledge leads to higher pay Training and development may lead to higher pay Compensation Management A basis for determining employee’s rate of pay Aid or impair recruitment Recruitment Supply of applicants affects wage rates Low pay encourages unionization Labor Relations Pay rates determined through negotiation

Strategic Compensation Planning Strategic Compensation Planning Links the compensation of employees to the mission, objectives, philosophies, and culture of the organization. Serves to mesh the monetary payments made to employees with specific functions of the HR program in establishing a pay-for-performance standard. Seeks to motivate employees through compensation.

Linking Compensation to Organizational Objectives Value-added Compensation Evaluating the individual components of the compensation program (pay and benefits) to see if they advance the needs of employees and the goals of the organization. “How does this compensation practice benefit the organization?” “Does the benefit offset the administrative cost?”

Common Strategic Compensation Goals To reward employees’ past performance To remain competitive in the labor market To maintain salary equity among employees To mesh employees’ future performance with organizational goals To control the compensation budget To attract new employees To reduce unnecessary turnover

Strategic Compensation Policy Concerns The rate of pay within the organization and whether it is to be above, below, or at the prevailing community rate. The ability of the pay program to gain employee acceptance while motivating employees to perform to the best of their abilities. The pay level at which employees may be recruited and the pay differential between new and more senior employees. The intervals at which pay raises are to be granted and the extent to which merit and/or seniority will influence the raises. The pay levels needed to facilitate the achievement of a sound financial position in relation to the products or services offered.

The Pay-for-Performance Standard Pay-for-Performance Standard The standard by which managers tie compensation to employee effort and performance. Refers to a wide range of compensation options, including merit-based pay, bonuses, salary commissions, job and pay banding, team/ group incentives, and various gainsharing programs.

Designing a Pay-for-Performance System How will performance be measured? How will monies to be allocated for compensation increases. Which employees will be eligible? How will payouts be made? How often will payouts occur? How large will the payouts be? Will employees perceive the rewards as valued?

Motivating Employees through Compensation Pay Equity (also Distributive Fairness) An employee’s perception that compensation received is equal to the value of the work performed. A motivation theory that explains how people respond to situations in which they feel they have received less (or more) than they deserve. Individuals form a ratio of their inputs to outcomes in their job and then compare the value of that ratio with the value of the ratio for other individuals in similar jobs.

Expectancy Theory and Pay Expectancy Theory A theory of motivation that holds that employees should exert greater work effort if they have reason to expect that it will result in a reward that they value. Employees also must believe that good performance is valued by their employer and will result in their receiving the expected reward.

Motivating Employees through Compensation Pay Secrecy An organizational policy prohibiting employees from revealing their compensation information to anyone. Creates misperceptions and distrust of compensation fairness and pay-for-performance standards. Arguments against secrecy: Knowledge of base pay is the strongest predictor of pay satisfaction, which is highly associated with work engagement Knowledge of base pay more strongly predicts pay satisfaction than does the actual amount of pay received by employees.

The Bases for Compensation Hourly Work Work paid on an hourly basis. Piecework Work paid according to the number of units produced. Salary Workers Employees whose compensation is computed on the basis of weekly, biweekly, or monthly pay periods.

The Bases for Compensation (cont’d) Nonexempt Employees Employees covered by the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. They must be paid time and one-half their regular pay for all work performed after forty regular hours of work in a workweek.

The Bases for Compensation (cont’d) Exempt employees Employees who not covered in the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Managers, supervisors, and white-collar professional employees are exempted on the basis of their exercise of independent judgment and other criteria.

The Wage Mix—Internal Factors Employer’s Compensation Strategy Setting organization compensation policy to lead, lag, or match competitors’ pay. Worth of a Job Establishing the internal wage relationship among jobs and skill levels. Employee’s Relative Worth Rewarding individual employee performance Employer’s Ability-to-Pay Having the resources and profits to pay employees.

The Wage Mix—External Factors Labor Market Conditions Availability and quality of potential employees is affected by economic conditions, government regulations and policies, and the presence of unions. Area Wage Rates A firm’s formal wage structure of rates is influenced by those being paid by other area employers for comparable jobs.

The Wage Mix—External Factors Cost of Living Local housing and environmental conditions can cause wide variations in the cost of living for employees. Inflation can require that compensation rates be adjusted upward periodically to help employees maintain their purchasing power.

The Wage Mix—External Factors Collective Bargaining Escalator clauses in labor agreements provide for quarterly upward cost-of-living wage adjustments for inflation to protect employees’ purchasing power. Unions bargain for real wage increases that raise the standard of living for their members. Real wages are increases larger than rises in the consumer price index; that is, the real earning power of wages.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) A measure of the average change in prices over time in a fixed “market basket” of goods and services

Job Evaluation Systems Job Evaluation The systematic process of determining the relative worth of jobs in order to establish which jobs should be paid more than others within an organization.

Different Job Evaluation Systems JOB AS JOB PARTS BASIS FOR A WHOLE OR FACTORS COMPARISON (NONQUANTITATIVE ) (QUANTITATIVE) Job vs. job Job ranking Factor comparison system system Job vs. scale Job classification Point system system SCOPE OF COMPARISON

Job Evaluation Systems Job Ranking System Oldest system of job evaluation by which jobs are arrayed on the basis of their relative worth. Disadvantages Does not provide a precise measure of each job’s worth. Final job rankings indicate the relative importance of jobs, not extent of differences between jobs. Method can used to consider only a reasonably small number of jobs.

Job Evaluation Systems Job Classification system A system of job evaluation in which jobs are classified and grouped according to a series of predetermined wage grades. Successive grades require increasing amounts of job responsibility, skill, knowledge, ability, or other factors selected to compare jobs.

Point System Point System A quantitative job evaluation procedure that determines the relative value of a job by the total points assigned to it. Permits jobs to be evaluated quantitatively on the basis of factors or elements— compensable factors —that constitute the job. The Point Manual A handbook that contains a description of the compensable factors and the degrees to which these factors may exist within the jobs.

Work Valuation Methods Work Valuation A job evaluation system that seeks to measure a job’s worth through its value to the organization. Jobs are be valued relative to financial, operational, or customer service objectives of the organization. Considers that work should be valued relative to the business goals of the organization rather than by an internally applied point-factor job evaluation system. Work valuation serves to direct compensation dollars to the type of work pivotal to organizational goals.

Job Evaluation for Management Positions Hay Profile Method Job evaluation technique using three factors—knowledge, mental activity, and accountability—to evaluate executive and managerial positions.

The Compensation Structure Wage and Salary survey A survey of the wages paid to employees of other employers in the surveying organization’s relevant labor market. Helps maintain internal and external pay equity for employees. Labor Market The area from which employers obtain certain types of workers.

Collecting Survey Data Outside Sources of Data Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) National Compensation Survey State and local wage surveys Online survey data Problems with Surveys They are not always compatible with the user’s jobs The user cannot specify what specific data to collect.

Collecting Survey Data (cont’d) Conducting Employer-initiated Surveys Select key jobs. Determine relevant labor market. Select organizations. Decide on information to collect: wages/ benefits/ pay policies. Compile data received. Determine wage structure and benefits to pay.

Characteristics of Key Jobs Key Jobs Jobs that are important for wage-setting purposes and are widely known in the labor market. Characteristics of Key Jobs They are important to employees and the organization. They contain a large number of positions. They have relatively stable job content. They have the same job content across many organizations. They are acceptable to employees, management, and labor as appropriate for pay comparisons.

The Wage Curve Wage Curve A curve in a scattergram representing the relationship between relative worth of jobs and wage rates. Pay Grades Groups of jobs within a particular class that are paid the same rate. Rate Ranges A range of rates for each pay grade that may be the same for each grade or proportionately greater for each successive grade. Red Circle Rates Payment rates above the maximum of the pay range.

The Wage Curve (cont’d) Competence-based Pay, (also skill-based pay or knowledge-based pay) Compensation for the different skills or increased knowledge employees possess rather than for the job they hold in a designated job category. Greater productivity, increased employee learning and commitment to work, improved staffing flexibility to meet production or service demands, and the reduced effects of absenteeism and turnover, Broadbanding Collapses many traditional salary grades into a few wide salary bands.

Government Regulation of Compensation (Federal Wage Laws) Davis-Bacon Act 1931 Required minimum wage, prevailing wage rates, 1 ½ overtime premium payments by federal contractors. Walsh-Healy Act 1936 Required overtime payments after 8 daily or 40 regular work hours for workers on federal contracts. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) 1938 (as Amended) Interstate commerce clause used to cover workers except agricultural and exempted (managerial) employees, child labor (under 16) is prohibited.

Highlights in HRM 5 The Federal Minimum Wage Poster

Exemption from FLSA Overtime Provisions Fair Pay Rules (2004) Were implemented to strengthen overtime protections and redefine the job requirements for exempt groups of employees. Overtime must be paid to employees earning less than $455 a week, or $26,660 annually. A new “standards test” is used to determine whether employees who earn between $26,660 and $100,000 annually are excluded from overtime requirements. Administrative personnel to be exempt must have primary duties that include the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance.

Significant Compensation Issues Equal Pay for Comparable Worth The concept that male and female jobs that are dissimilar, but equal in terms of value or worth to the employer, should be paid the same. Wage-Rate Compression Compression of pay differentials between job classes, particularly the pay differentials between hourly workers and their managers. Low-Salary Budgets Current wage budgets reflect the general trend toward tight compensation cost controls.

Reducing Wage-Rate Compression Give larger compensation increases to more-senior employees. Emphasize pay-for-performance and reward meritworthy employees. Limit the hiring of new applicants seeking exorbitant salaries. Design the pay structure to allow a wide spread between hourly and supervisory jobs or between new hires and senior employees. Provide equity adjustments for selected employees hardest hit by pay compression.

Snell bohlander aise_ch09

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