Tag Archives: Pay Scale

How Do You Build an Effective Compensation Plan? Six Suggestions

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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How Does a Small Company Build an HR Function? Four Thoughts

Situation: A small company has no formal human resources, pay scale or performance review systems. The CEO wants to create a structure to address these gaps, as well as to encourage employee feedback. How do you build an HR function for a company with under 20 employees?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Many small companies outsource HR services. There are a number of firms who provide outsourced HR services, and through them much of the HR activity can be conducted online. Examples include ADP, Administaff, Express Employment Professionals and PayChex.
    • These systems cover all of the mechanics of HR, and help to assure that the company is in step with changing regulatory requirements.
  • There are also a host of individual consultants who put together HR systems for smaller companies. These are most easily found using locally-focused Internet searches.
  • Employees in small companies are used to wearing many functional hats. Hire or assign a manager to create an HR system and implement it once it is set-up. This person will be in charge of the personnel review schedule, changes to regulations and contact with outside HR resources.
    • One company’s HR Manager has a one hour conversation with the company’s lawyers once a year to make sure that the company is up to speed on any regulatory changes.
  • Hire a Director of Operations and include HR in this individual’s responsibilities. This person can research options for discussion by the leadership team. Empower them to bring in resources that will meet the company’s needs.

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