Situation: A CEO asks: How do you help people appreciate the difference between where they want to be verses where you need them to be? How do you help them understand the realities of career and financial potential that have been set for your company? What do you do to help your employees understand what has to happen before they get to the next step? How do you set appropriate expectations?

Advice from the CEOs:

• The current labor market has yielded a different employment environment compared with 20 years ago. Many new hires are either:
  • Young – without long term expectations or perspective;
  • Possess an entitlement mentality;
  • More seasoned and possibly looking toward retirement; or
  • Have personality challenges.

 This is just current reality and will last until the next contraction.

• If you have a clear policy on compensation and promotion you are way ahead of the game because you can communicate this clearly at onset of employment. If you don’t have this, create it and make sure that it is communicated consistently to new employees and during all employee reviews.
• Once you have established and communicated a clear policy on compensation and promotion the question becomes, on an individual basis, whether an employee “gets it” or not. If they don’t, perhaps your company is not for them.
• Is there value to stock options as a bonus?
  • If you are a public company, they have value because stock options are tradable within legal guidelines.
  • If you are a private company it’s a different matter. Other than as an emotional boost, without a liquidity event the stock has no value except for possible periodic distributions against shares held.

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