Situation: A company hires and trains engineers from outside of their field. Their pay scale is typically below market for engineers in this field. Once the company trains them, these engineers are candidates for recruitment by other firms in the field that are considered premium employers. The CEO wants to address this situation. How do you build an effective compensation plan?

Advice from the CEOs:

• In addition to compensation, a high-quality workplace and work experience are equally important.
• Give the lead engineer or team compensation tied either to engineering charges or gross profit on successful projects. This can be a small percentage – but offers them a compensation upside that they are unlikely to find at another company.
• Create a peer-recognition award like another company’s RAVE Award (Recognition, Achievement, Value, and Enthusiasm). On a regular basis – perhaps quarterly – the engineering team has the opportunity to select one of their members for this award. Components of the award may include a plaque, a free dinner or massage, or something that team members value. Ask them what they would like to see as rewards within the program.
• A similar technique is a peer recognition box. Engineers nominate peers for recognition based on performance in a team project. At regular intervals, draw a name from the peer recognition box, with the winner receiving, for example, a gift certificate. The dollars are less important to the recipient than the recognition.
• Focus on making the company “the place for talented engineers to work.” This can be as much a cultural situation as a place to make a great salary. The more that the company creates a fun and personally rewarding culture, the more it builds “stickiness” into the job. Ask the team for their input to shape the team and work environment.
• Provide performance incentives for meeting quality objectives while exceeding time objectives. This beats existing cost estimates, so share some of the savings with the team working on the project.
• Make special company celebrations a regular part of the company culture – for example, evenings out at premium restaurants and including spouses or significant others. By treating significant others well, the company creates a disincentive for the employee to leave.

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