Today is the first day back to work for many of us after the Memorial Day holiday in the U.S.

 Do you have four days of work expected from you this week or five?

 My guess is five days.

1.      Creates an organizational language and terminology to consistently define and categorize jobs.

2.      Provides a way to effectively communicate career path and total compensation opportunities.

3.      Improves trust and the ability for an employer to attract and retain talent.

Recently, I posted a LinkedIn poll and asked: What factor is most important when deciding what to pay someone?

101 people voted. Here are the results:

50% - Merit / Performance

One of the best ways to mitigate the risk of being laid off is to ensure that your results are aligned to the way your employer defines success.

And then you need to ensure that you aren't humbly keeping those results quiet. Share the impact your work is having on others and the strategic goals your employer is focused on.

I talked to a pay negotiation coaching client recently. It is obvious that his employer is focused on short-term compensation decisions and not long-term compensation strategy and impact.

The employer has more than 2,000 employees but no compensation expert on staff. There are HRBPs, HRGs, HR Directors/VPs, a HRIS person, and a Benefits person but no one with a Compensation title. (I looked up all the employer’s employees on LinkedIn that had HR related job titles.)

When an employer decides to be more open and transparent about their pay decisions, the first step is to communicate their pay or rewards philosophy. Here is an example:

“Company ABC is committed to aligning total compensation opportunity to the external market which is defined as what other competitors for talent are paying for substantially similar work. Our compensation philosophy is designed to attract, engage, and retain talented employees who support the organization’s mission and values and drive our success.

Most HR and Compensation professionals know that salary surveys and conversations about pay with peers in other organizations can violate the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Employers must avoid acting in a way that could be interpreted as trying to “fix” salaries at certain levels.

The U.S. Justice Department has published antitrust guidelines on how employers can exchange salary data and information without breaking the law. If you are a business leader, you need to know these rules.

Imagine a man and a woman both hired at the same time. The man is earning $85K and the woman is earning $70K.

The man earns a 3 (meets expectations) on a 5 point performance rating scale every year. This leads to a 3% merit increase every year.

The woman earns a 5 (outstanding) on a 5 point performance rating scale every year. This leads to a 3.75% merit increase every year.

In today's competitive job market, attracting and retaining top talent has become a key challenge for every organization.

Step 1: Offer competitive salaries and incentives. Offer benefits that meet or exceed the standard provided by other firms.

Step 2: Focus on relationships. Foster a culture of appreciation. Do your employees feel seen and heard? Are they valued and appreciated?

Negotiating a pay increase can be a nerve-wracking endeavor. And yet it is an essential skill to master if you want to be fairly compensated for your effort and results.

You can increase your chances of getting the pay increase you deserve by following these steps:

How many duplicate job titles (different job titles for the same job) do you have in your organization?

The standardization and elimination of duplicate job titles in the system is one of the steps in a Job Architecture project.

Of course, you have to have job descriptions to go with the standard job titles so managers and employees can help you determine if the work being performed by one employee vs. another is actually the same.

There are more than 25 U.S. states or municipalities that have salary history bans. Most of these laws were enacted after 2017.

There are hiring managers and some in HR that are still asking this question, “What are you making now as a Job Title at Company Name?”

We assign meaning to job titles.
We assign meaning to pay.
We assign meaning to vacations that people take.
We assign meaning to having a corner office.
We assign meaning to how someone dresses at work.
We assign meaning to someone’s Zoom background.

I remember the first time I got a pay increase as a twenty something year old after college. It was meaningful because it wasn’t a merit increase but an out of cycle increase.

My manager said something like, “I’m excited to share with you that you are getting a pay raise of X%, and this means your annual salary is going from $X to $Y. You’ve consistently been performing in your job and have exceeded my expectations. I wanted to ensure that we are paying you more competitively. ”

It took courage for the three women to sue Goldman Sachs for discrimination.

And then it took 13 years for this class action case to be settled.

Goldman Sachs will pay $215 million. $71 million of which will be going to legal fees.

Occasionally as I am coaching someone through a job offer pay negotiation, I find that the internal HR person is not willing to negotiate.

They may be from Talent Acquisition or Compensation, but their attitude is the same. They have a number in mind for the “right” base salary and they are not going to give any more.

Every time I go to a conference, I wear layers because the rooms are either too cold or too hot. I’m sure I am not the only one mentioning this on the feedback form that the organizer receives after the conference.

It is one of the reasons why I like working from home. I can make my office as warm or cool as I want without impacting anyone else except my dog. And Cody’s good at getting up and leaving the room if he’s not comfortable.

You are here to live.

Not to earn. Not to stress.

You are here to connect.

Job architecture projects are challenging and complex for any organization. They have the potential to improve employee attraction, engagement, and retention.

Employees don’t just want to be paid what they are worth. They also want a clear understanding of how they can grow and develop their career.

Pitfall #1 is governance.

A pay equity audit involves analyzing compensation data to identify and address any disparities in pay based on factors such as gender, race, or age.

It is essential to have a backbone and a budget before beginning the audit.

Having a backbone means having the courage to stand up for what is right, even in the face of resistance.