The Carnival of HR is a bi-weekly event which features recent blog posts from leading HR blogs.
The April 28th version of the Carnival is now available on Tushar Bhatia’s Talent Junction Blog. Be sure to check it out — there are 29 links to some of the best HR blogs out there.
Author:
George Bashaw – Atlas Global Benefits
It is time to unlock the power of hidden benefits. Each year when preparing to communicate new benefits changes, we tend to get bogged down in the delivery of rising medical costs and medical benefit changes. Understandably, medical hits the company’s bottom line and the employee’s wallet the hardest. This singular focus on medical benefits causes us to neglect the communication of other valuable benefits that may directly or indirectly save money for the company and your employees. Prior posts in this series include Enrollment and Billing Audit, Dependent Eligibility Audit, Know Your Claims and Duplication of Coverage.
Secret Five: Hidden Benefits
Hidden benefits are services and benefits that your employees may not fully understand or have no knowledge they exist. They could be stand alone plans or riders on policies. Either way, they have a purpose and can be very useful.
They key is identify your hidden benefits and communicate them properly. Here is a list of typical hidden benefits and some additional information about them:
The importance of an international EAP plan could merit several blog pieces on its own. The obvious benefits of EAP are credit, substance, marital, emotional counseling, and the list continues. Take anyone one of these common issues and multiply the stress of being a thousand miles from home and your support group and you have a serious problem. A problem that needs to be addressed by someone who can support the cultural issues, language barriers, and the exponential stress associated of being abroad. Not utilizing a good EAP plan can create loss of productivity and maybe the loss of your expat.
Some international medical plans come with EAP riders and other useful riders like medical evacuation and repatriation. You have to determine if the rider is adequate for your needs compared to a standalone plan. Either way, it is important employees understand their benefits and how they can utilize them.
Communication
Make sure you take the time to communicate all your benefits each year and not just the changes. Ensure that everyone has a summary of the plan in an easy to follow handbook that can be accessed via the internet. Additionally, you should issue new cards each year for wallets and purses.
My final recommendation on communication is bit outside the box but I have seen very positive results with my clients. I recommend you consider inviting spouses to the meetings or at least include them in the communication. In every home, you have a quarterback on issues like benefits and half the time it is the spouse. Effectively communication with the spouse may pay off in the long run.
Good luck unlocking the power of your hidden benefits. I would love to hear your thoughts on this issue.
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Posted in Benefits, Expatriates, Insurance, International Benefits
Tagged expatriate, Global HR, International Benefits
Author:
Chuck Csizmar – CMC Compensation Group
“What is the competitive market price for a particular position?”
It’s a simple question. If you work in Compensation, this is what you do. And if you’re in the US, the survey sources you can call upon are numerous and well-stocked with participating companies and benchmark matches – the blessings of a large country. In fact, it is a common practice to segment the data (report separately) on the basis of industry, revenue size, or geographic region. In some instances you can further refine your analysis by operating budget, staff size or even years of experience.
For those accustomed to such robust analysis it can be a real wake-up call when asked to conduct a similar analysis for operations in another country. Suddenly your content-rich environment has disappeared, and in its place you find that the availability of good information can no longer be taken for granted. Now what do you do?
Your large country database is gone. Instead, you face a limited selection of survey sources and each offers only a fraction of your normal participant count – a far cry from business as usual.
Such is the key challenge when pricing international jobs – the limited number of companies included in surveys, even by the major vendors. For example, Mercer Netherlands has 81 participating companies. So it is not unusual for a market pricing analysis to include only 4 – 5 “matches” – but is that representative of common practice?
If you’re the one on the asking end of the original question, let me share the challenges your analyst is likely to encounter.
Impact of Reduced Participation
What to do?
Frustrating, isn’t it? You can’t very well throw your hands into the air, complain about poor survey quality and move on to something else. The limitations are there and you have to play with the cards you’ve been dealt. Management is waiting, wondering what is taking you so long.
Working with limited resources is a test. Your challenge is to balance an understanding of the subject position, the industry and the vagaries of limited data points in order to determine which figure best represents your position’s competitive value.
To succeed you must utilize subjectivity and your professional judgment to consider the available data and gauge which figures best reflect the job under review. The correct answer will no longer jump off the page at you. Compensation has become an art, not a science.
All this subjectivity means that your judgment might suffer from more skepticism, even criticism, as you cannot simply point to a survey page and say, “there it is.”
Does all this subjectivity ruin the value of your analysis? Not at all, as long as you inform management about how limited survey resources have impacted your analysis. They expect an answer to their question (market value?) and you need do the best that you can with the resources you have available.
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Author:
Warren Heaps – Birches Group LLC
I read an article today from the Wall Street Journal by Dr. Samuel Culbert of the Anderson School of Business at UCLA. In the article, the author states:
“This corporate sham [performance appraisal] is one of the most insidious, most damaging, and yet most ubiquitous of corporate activities. Everybody does it, and almost everyone who’s evaluated hates it. It’s a pretentious, bogus practice that produces absolutely nothing that any thinking executive should call a corporate plus.”
I recommend you read the rest of the article. You also might want to refer to this video interview with the author from 2008 – you can find it here.
It is true that most folks dislike the performance management rituals that exist in their organizations. For the most part, few managers are very good at providing meaningful feedback, and there is a “check the box” attitude from managers and staff alike. And the problem is with the whole concept — it’s not just a question of making a better form, or applying the latest Web 2.0 technology to automate a bad process. That just results in a very efficient, but no more effective, bad process.
I will leave it to Dr. Culbert to describe what else is wrong with performance appraisals. Instead, I would like to challenge you to think about a couple of concepts which could actually improve performance management for everyone.
At Birches Group, we did some research a few years ago for a client, which involved interviewing staff in every corner of the world about their company’s performance management system. We asked employees if they liked performance appraisals as they were conducted in the organization; they did not. Then we asked if they could identify the “good” and “bad” performers; without exception, they could. So we started investigating how it was possible they could figure out who was a strong performer and who was not, despite the formal performance management system they disliked so much.
The answer was incredibly simple. For the “good” performers, the answers to these questions were YES:
That’s it. Our research indicated that if we could answer these four questions we would have enough information to evaluate the performance of an individual in any organization.
Think about it. Apply it to your company. Does it work? Can you think of anyone in your company that can answer yes to all of these questions? Are they a good performer? Imagine the implications of such a simple approach.
We built a system, called Community™, which is based on this simple model. With just four questions to evaluate performance, we gather feedback from employee, manager and peers (inside or outside the company). The system is straightforward and requires no training (it has to be, since non-employee peers are invited to participate in the process, and there is no way they could be trained). And, surprise, it actually works!
Another key issue with performance management is how it is used in tandem with rewards – usually merit pay and short-term incentives. “Pay for Performance” is the rule now in most organizations, but stop and think about how performance really influences pay.
In most companies, salary ranges or bands are defined using a combination of external market data and internal equity issues. Once these bands are defined, the range of base salary is locked in. Performance management is then used to help determine the following:
Should all staff be treated equally when it comes to performance management? Certainly all employees should receive feedback on their performance from their supervisor. But should performance ratings be used for “pay for performance” across the board?
We sometimes think about this as a wedding cake. As you know, the base of a
wedding cake is tall and wide. Additional tiers of the cake are shorter and narrower, and as you go higher and higher up the cake the tiers get even smaller. We can draw an analogy between a wedding cake and broad organizational categories.
For example, the lowest tier might correspond to support staff, for whom rewards could easily be designed based primarily on basic metrics such as attendance, coupled with tenure-driven increases. Yes, a lot like civil service, but perhaps more appropriate for these positions.
The next level of the cake covers core professionals. For this group, the primary reward mechanism could be related not to attendance or tenure, but the demonstration of new competencies related to their job requirements. This group would benefit from clearly defined competency milestones and peer feedback, for example.
The next level (or two) would be reserved for managers and executives – the folks who are managing the business operationally and strategically. For this group of staff, some pay should be at risk, and rewards should be based on how well the company does in meeting it’s overall performance objectives. Primarily financial objectives, but also consideration of leadership strengths and other key decisions made by the management team need to be considered. Clearly, though, it is these groups that have the most direct influence over company results. In other words, perhaps when it comes to pay for performance, one size does not fit all.
All employees deserve regular, constructive feedback about their performance. This is not a function of the system you use or the form design; rather, it needs to be embedded into the culture of your organization, to encourage frank conversation, open and honest exchanges between managers and staff, with the aim to celebrate the good (as opposed to focusing exclusively on the best). Rethinking how performance ratings are used to administer pay and rewards is long overdue in most organizations.
What do you think? Please share your comments and thoughts!
More About Warren
Developing Markets Compensation and Benefits Group on LinkedIn
Author:
George Bashaw – Atlas Global Benefits
Need to find some savings without cutting something? Pull out your bills and perform an enrollment audit. This blog is part four in a series of simple ways to save money without altering your current benefit design or carrier. Prior posts in this series include Dependent Eligibility Audit, Know Your Claims and Duplication of Coverage.
Secret Four – Enrollment and Billing Audit
I know it’s not very sexy but a sharp eye can find a few bucks with four simple steps.
Step One: Active Employees
Make sure only active employees are on the bill. When an employee leaves make sure they are immediately removed from your plan. If they wish to continue coverage, make sure they are enrolled in COBRA (if applicable).
Step Two: Enrollment Errors
Verify that each person is enrolled in the plan they selected during enrollment and the carrier is billing you correctly. Some plans have more than one medical choice and many plans have various levels of life insurance options where mistakes are easily made.
Step Three: Billing Errors
Once you have determined that everyone is enrolled correctly, make sure you are correctly being charged for every selection. Despite all you hard efforts to renegotiate your insurance rates, you may find out the changes did not make it to the carrier’s billing system, or they were entered incorrectly.
Step Four: International Employees
You may be getting billed for employees who are not covered for thier specific region. It is important that you understand the contractual provisions of all your plans. If you are covering local employees on an international plan, make sure the carrier is aware of their locations and they are included in the plan. I have seen many plans (EAP, long term disability, medical, life, and most importantly war risk) that have country specific coverage exclusions.
I hope you four-step your way into some savings. Please share your thoughts.
More about George:
Comments Off on Five Secrets to Reduce Benefits Cost, Part 4
Posted in Benefits, Expatriates, Insurance, International Benefits
Tagged Benefits, Global HR, International Benefits
Authors:
Han van der Pool – TNT N.V.
Lex Lindeman – HRBoosters
Globalization, demographic developments, the credit crisis and global warming have all created the need for a shift in strategic management. Organizations are now faced with the need for continuous adaptation to changes in the markets and the world in general. Leadership is the most important condition for success in organizations. Organizations which treat development of executives and managers as an integrated part of company strategy have a distinct advantage over those that do not manage leadership development actively.
Together with Dave Ulrich of the RBL Group, Hewitt Associates examined how successful companies structure their management development practices and identify and develop their current and potential future managers and leaders. This research is carried out once every two years, and the outcome and the rankings were published in Fortune Magazine in November, 2009.
A closer look at the research shows a nice overview of the practice of leadership development and the importance which global companies attach to it. The inventory of the programs and instruments used by an array of companies operating globally was compared with the financial results of those companies, and gives some insight into the most effective approaches. The “Top Companies for Leaders” are the most advanced in talent management and leadership development, and have a real leadership culture, according to the researchers.
Over five hundred companies have taken part in this research. Every company completed an exhaustive questionnaire, which was analyzed and compared to other companies by the researchers. Afterwards, a selected group of companies was more closely studied through interviews with HR professionals and top managers. To see profiles of the Top Ten, click here.
Main Conclusions
The research shows clearly that successful companies continue to invest in leadership development despite the economic situation and the enormous strategic issues which companies face. Here is an overview of the most important elements which make a difference at “Top Companies for Leaders.”
Author’s Observations
Based on the findings of the Hewitt/RBL Study, we at Human Resources Boosters have developed a model to achieve excellence in integrated talent management. This model comes in three phases:
Conclusion
Hewitt showed with this research that companies, even in time of great uncertainty, are able to counter market and economical challenges by maintaining or even increasing efforts in talent management. Most of the companies even invested anti-cyclic, i.e., when markets were relatively calm companies invested more time and resources in people development. This also anticipates better times.
When talent development is really embedded in the organization and seen as an ongoing rhythm, the total processes in an organization will not only run more smoothly, but also more effectively, generating shareholder and stakeholder value. To become a top listed company may be a bridge too far for some organizations. However, with relatively simple actions, some investments, and strong convictions that people development should be part of your routine activities, your company will develop in a sustainable way.
More About Lex:
More About Han:
Author:
Warren Heaps – Birches Group LLC
Alan Freeman and I both had the pleasure recently to attend the Houston International HR Conference sponsored by the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC). This is the second in a series of posts summarizing the proceedings of the conference. We hope this will allow our readers to benefit from the learnings of the conference, even if you were not there personally.
Here are some highlights of some presentations at the conference that touched on various aspects of Expatriate Program Management.
Reducing Expatriate Program Costs
Expatriate program costs are an important topic for discussion whenever international HR folks get together. A presentation by Morgan Crosby and Harry Gram of Airinc focused on two areas that have a big impact on program costs – Housing and Alternative Policies.
Expatriate Housing
Housing is one of the most costly elements included in an expatriate package. It’s not uncommon for rental amounts to reach $4,000 to $5,000 per month, or more, and that’s not including the associated tax gross-up costs. In assignment locations with a broad range of acceptable housing for expatriates, the reason for such high costs is often the standard used. By standard, we mean the size and quality of the property, and most importantly, the neighborhood.
Morgan gave an example for London, where a company could save about 15% per year by substituting high quality housing in the London suburbs for apartments in the most prestigious locations such as Belgravia and Knightsbridge. This usually means that expats will have to commute a bit longer to work, and occassionally, it may mean they will be further away from international schools. But the housing in the alternative locations is perfectly acceptable and compares favorably to many different home country housing standards.
Alternative Policies
Another opportunity for cost savings is the use of reduced or modified policies in certain situations. Many companies are introducing development programs to offer staff the opportunity to gain international experience early in their careers. These employees are often very willing to take assignments with fewer of the ‘bells and whistles” associated with full expatriate packages.
Companies can respond to this by offering “reduced” expatriate packages. For example, a lower housing standard; reduced relocation assistance; and efficient purchaser COLAs. And, since the target population for these development programs are frequently young people, they often do not have school-age children, and some may be single, reducing the cost for spousal benefits and education assistance to nil.
Summary
There is an ever-increasing effort to reduce the cost of expatriate programs. These suggestions are just two of the alternatives companies may consider when looking to generate savings.
More About Warren
Developing Markets Compensation and Benefits Group on LinkedIn
Author:
Warren Heaps – Birches Group LLC
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure to attend the Houston International HR Conference sponsored by the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC). The conference was well-attended; over 150 delegates, both corporate staffers and suppliers were there. My colleague and contributing editor, Alan Freeman, was also there. We would like to share some of the highlights from the conference proceedings. We hope this will allow our readers to benefit from the learnings of the conference, even if you were not there personally. This is the first installment of our report.
Global Wellness
One of the most interesting and innovative topics at the conference was Global Wellness. Two companies, Chevron and Intel, presented their experiences with the development and implementation of wellness programs in the US and in various global markets. While each company took a slightly different approach, there were many similarities in their experience.
Chevron’s Experience
Chevron is one of the world’s largest integrated oil companies, with operations in over 100 countries. The company identified cardio-vascular health as a primary risk factor in their population and decided to focus on health awareness and improvement programs to address this risk. Chevron began their program with pilot tests in the US, Nigeria, Angola and Thailand, among others.
The wellness program consists of a health assessment conducted by a third-party, measuring basic health statistics such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, body fat index, and similar risk factors. Employees are then provided with coaching on lifestyle and behavioral changes they can adopt to reduce their risk for cardio-vascular disease. Some of the changes are typically smoking cessation, exercise, weight reduction, stress reduction, sleep and healthier food choices in their diet. In addition, the company worked with it’s vendors in the the target countries to introduce heart-healthy options in their food service programs, introducing both new menu choices and some items with substitute ingredients or modified recipes, such as reduced sodium content.
The program has been a strong success, and is now being rolled out in additional countries. There were many learnings from the pilot experience, but here are a few that I thought were particularly powerful:
The Intel Experience
Intel Corporation is the world’s largest manufacturer of semi-conductors. They rolled out a wellness program in the US and several overseas markets, including Malaysia, Israel, Costa Rica and China. Initially, Intel staff examined several years of health surveillance data to confirm that staff were properly protected from the chemical processes used in the semi-conductor fabrication process. The study indicated there was no effect from the work environment, and that rather, lifestyle behaviors were the larger risk areas for Intel employees.
Some stress-reduction programs were introduced, but it wasn’t until Intel CEO Andy Grove had a medical event that the focus on wellness was renewed and elevated in the company. Building on a substantial array of existing services, such as occupational medicine, on-site clinics and various online resources, Intel began to introduce a more dynamic program to help improve employee wellness.
The Intel program is a 3-Step Wellness Check, including a Biometric Health Check, a Health Risk Assessment, and Wellness Coaching. The Coaching is provided face to face in most major locations. In China, the coaching is provided in person by prominent local physicians. Follow-ups are also integrated with the local EAP. These design changes were made based on the recommendation of the local committee responsible for implementation of the wellness initiative in China. It has proven to be very effective, and Intel plans to continue rolling out the program to additional locations over the next few years.
Observations
I was quite impressed by the efforts of these two prominent global companies in the area of employee wellness. In both cases, the companies have a long-established focus on employee safety; the wellness initiatives are consistent with this focus and enhances this commitment.
What is especially impressive is the success in introducing the program not only in the United States, but also in overseas markets, mainly in the developing world. While it’s still too early to draw any major conclusions about the long-term impact of these programs on company health care costs, other related items such as absenteeism, and overall impact in the community, the preliminary data indicates positive impact for the companies, their employees and the community.
What Are You Doing to Promote Employee Wellness?
Global Employee Wellness is a new area of focus for companies, and there is a lot still to be learned. What is your company doing in the area? Please share your comments and experiences with us!
More About Warren
Developing Markets Compensation and Benefits Group on LinkedIn
Author:
Megan Wu, GMS – Santa Fe Relocation Services (Shanghai, China)
[Editor’s Note: We are delighted to feature this article about Third Culture Kids by Guest Author, Megan Wu. Megan is herself a Third Culture Kid, and is now raising one of her own in Shanghai. In addition, she serves as Relocation Services Manager for Santa Fe Relocation, a leading relocation provider.]
The business of global mobility is all about helping people who find themselves in a foreign country and a different culture. Many assignees are families and with that comes a lot of worry on how the children will adjust to the move and the new surroundings.
When a child is moved from one culture to the next they instantly begin forming their own “third” culture to incorporate all the new and the old that they come in contact with, making them “third culture kids” (TCKs). A third culture child is someone who has grown up in a culture not their own. They feel that they no longer can completely assimilate with their home culture, and as they are a foreigner, cannot completely assimilate with their host culture; therefore forming their own third culture. How each child handles this cultural jumble does of course depend on each child’s personality, duration of stay, age, parental attitude, etc.
I am one such TCK, after moving to Shanghai in 1998 at the age of 15. I have lived in Shanghai for 12 years. Now that I am the mother of a 3 year old girl and facing questions on how to best raise my daughter in Shanghai, I have thought a lot about the importance/disadvantages/advantages of being a third culture child. Since my daughter is growing up raised by an American parent, living in China, she is very much growing up in the “third” culture that I myself have created. and all the benefits and challenges that come along with it.
Cultural Acceptance and Diversity
Growing up abroad has given me a greater understanding of other cultures. I have had the chance to come in contact with children from different cultures in school, and now in an international work environment. My friends and colleagues are from many different countries around the world, opening my eyes to different cultures. I have become more aware of the fact that there are different ways of celebrating, smells, tastes etc. This has given me the flexibility and a sensitivity that can be more difficult to obtain when living “at home”.
Learning and hearing foreign languages is also an important factor in the cultural growth of TCKs. The hopes of many parents is that the children will be able to learn at least one or even more languages while being abroad. This is not so easy. After several years in China, I did not speak more than basic Chinese, as most of my world was based in English – at home and in school. My understanding was more than basic, as Chinglish (Chinese and English mixed) was a common “language” at school and I achieved some comprehension of the language this way. It was not until I began studying Chinese seriously at University that I could combine all the conscious and subconscious knowledge I had to actually advance to fluent Chinese.
Based on my personal experience, and similar experiences of friends, I believe it is critical for parents to ensure that there is some aspect of the TCKs life that is submerged in the language they should learn – be that extra language lessons, a special activity or even just spending time with a maid/nanny that does not speak your own language.
Cultural Roots
The flip-side to being culturally aware and flexible is a sense of lacking cultural roots. Growing up, I was asked if I felt rootless every time I returned home for the summer, but could not quite understand the implications until much later. I always felt that I had stability of where I came from and what I stood for. This may not have come from my culture but rather from my family. Wherever my family was – this was home and I know what social/cultural rules applied. To me this has emphasized the importance of having consistency in the home environment – not only in terms of rituals, but also in terms of rules and values.
It was only upon my return to the US after graduating from high school in Shanghai and starting US University that I discovered what the effects were of my overseas experience. My lack of understanding of common conversations such as TV shows and politics was embarrassing. My gap of knowledge in the modern culture with regards to TV shows, commercials, programs/activities growing up, and that my peers did not understand my experiences, was a constant reminder of my time away from “the norm”. Reverse Culture Shock does exist and in my case, resulted in my decision to embrace my overseas experiences, return to my life a nomad and move back to China. Every child deals with reverse culture shock differently, of course. Some will see their return “home” as yet another adventure.
Social Skills
Going to school in a foreign country puts great emphasis on your social skills but also builds you empathy. At any international school around the world, each student will have been “the new kid” at one time or another. Generally I have found that TCKs will have a sense of openness and confidence in handling new situations simply because they have to! During school they will inevitably say many goodbyes to good friends; they have to make new friends continuously. This can lead to many good friends all over the world that will last for a long time, but can also create a situation where a protective mechanism is built up where “out of sight is out of mind”, leaving the TCK with few friends from a specific period in their life.
Reflections
Looking back I do feel that the advantages of being a TCK far outweigh the disadvantages. I will always be unique. In my role as a relocation professional, I will always have a different way of perceiving the world and a different understanding of the challenges that face our clients, especially the children.
Resources
There are plenty of resources either from the web or books where you can better understand your Third Cultural Kid. Here are a few websites that might provide you with more insight:
Whatever you do as a parent, the most valuable suggestion I can give you is: Tell your child that their life will be different, the lessons they learn along the way as a TCK will be valuable tools in their adult life, and most importantly they are not alone.
More About Megan
Posted in Cross Cultural Insights, Expatriates, Global HR Expertise, Relocation, Repatriation
Tagged expatriate, expats, international hr
Author:
Chuck Csizmar – CMC Compensation Group
Many companies with international operations are reluctant to purchase compensation surveys covering their multiple countries, on account of the cost. To them it’s like having to survey multiple USAs, no matter the headcount involved. As discussed in an earlier post, Shock and Awe, the cost of these international surveys can be prohibitive.
For example, if the US-based Acme Manufacturing Company has operations in Germany, India and Argentina, survey costs for these three countries would be 2-3 times the cost of comparable US surveys. As most compensation experts recommend using multiple sources to better gauge market trends, the cost factor very quickly becomes an eye opener. The more countries you operate in – well, you get the point.
Hence the hesitation.
However, is putting off a competitive pay analysis a good business decision? What is gained by keeping ignorant of whether your compensation packages are competitive or not? Of course, by happenstance you may be lucky and are already providing compliant and competitive rewards. More likely though, the odds favor that you’re either overpaying or underpaying your employees.
Long term Impact of the Status Quo
Let’s look at the scenarios that can be playing out while you remain unaware.
Over Payments:
If you’re overpaying, but don’t realize it because you haven’t obtained credible survey data, you will likely presume that everything is okay. In other words, you’ll think that your pay is on par with the market, when in fact you are paying at above market rates. How much money (the differential) will you be needlessly paying out on account of this presumption? Chances are, the cost of finding out – of potentially identifying a key problem – would be a small fraction of the money being misspent. Is this an efficient use of your reward dollars? I don’t think so.
Underpayments:
If you’re underpaying, but don’t realize it because you failed to obtain credible survey data, you may also blindly consider that everything is okay. After all, anyone who leaves does so for more money, right? But doesn’t everyone? So you may not learn much through staff defections. Have you considered the annualized cost of losing just one experienced staff member? And should you lose more?
Choosing instead a course of hesitation and delay will not rectify any festering issues; they don’t go away or fix themselves. Instead, your inaction will worsen the situation and make eventual corrections more painful.
Cost of doing business
Do you remember that ad line, “you can pay me now, or pay me a lot more later”?
While squirming to avoid costs the company might try to obtain free data off the internet. Good luck there. Pundits will tell you that the value of free data, even if available is usually less than what you paid for it.
Instead, ask yourself if you would spend a dollar today to save three tomorrow? That’s the question you must answer, to gauge the economic value of knowing the competitive position of your international employees.
Your financial folks might see it another way. They might see only a finite dollar amount being spent, against a “maybe” savings estimate. They will ask you for guarantees you cannot give. It’s not like buying a machine that will increase productivity, lower production costs, raise profit margins and lower the cost of sales – all measurable.
Would you pay to learn how competitive are your services and product lines?
To make informed and effective business decisions, management requires knowledge of present circumstances, the challenges being faced, the import of the status quo and the implications of change. When dealing with the single greatest cost to your organization, employee pay, it would be well worth your effort to spend what is necessary to give senior management the proper ammunition for decisions that could drive the business forward.
Yes, it would be well worth the cost.
More About Chuck:
Comments Off on Sometimes You Have to Spend
Posted in Compensation, Global HR Expertise, International Expertise
Tagged Compensation, Compensation costs, Global HR, international hr, managing pay, salary surveys
