The Q2 2018 PayScale Index showed wages declined 0.9% in comparison to Q1 2018. The PayScale Real Wage Index, which measure wage growth in relation to inflation, dropped 1.8% over the last quarter – the biggest decline in seven years….
Wages, Pay, & Salary
When They Wear Two Hats, How Do You Decide Pay?
The competitive market pricing of jobs for an organization is relatively straightforward when looking at common benchmark roles – the ones that you can find in almost any organization. Administrative assistants, financial analysts, receptionists, help desk technicians, coordinators, etc. are…
Your Pay Program Has a Big Mouth
You have a not-so-silent partner in your compensation communication efforts. That partner? Your pay program itself. That’s because compensation itself is a powerful communication tool. In fact, everything we do in compensation is communication, so it’s critical that we consider the messages…
Why Does It Take You So Long to Pay Your Gig Workers?
With the rise of the gig economy and a wider swath of Americans defining work on their own terms, the assumption of slow payments isn’t as safe as it once was. Gig workers — the independent contractor crowd — are…
Instant Pay: A Trend That’s Helping with Recruitment, Retention
A startling 78% of full-time workers say they live paycheck to paycheck. It’s this trend that sets in motion a spiral into financial stress that includes overdraft fees, late bill fees, high-interest debt, and more. Which is why the ability…
Don’t Wait For December, Pay Bonuses Year Round
If you’re like most companies, you probably already give annual bonuses to thank and reward people for their work throughout the year. Except, there’s a problem: A yearly bonus isn’t always the best way to do that. For starters, it’s…
Help Your Employees to Have a ‘Line of Sight’ to Goals
Incentives remain one of the most powerful, and yet also one of the most misapplied, management tools out there. While research has shown that group incentives can deliver significant return on investment (CARS research showed a median plan ROI of 134%…
Keep Your Rock Stars Without Busting the Budget
Here’s a thought bubble: Say you have a “rock star” employee, highly satisfied with his/her job, who came in young and hungry, growing into a superstar over several years with incremental raises, and one day gets woke to the fact they’re…
The Gender Pay Gap Is Also an Opportunity Gap
The current business climate has created a new focus, and even spurred new laws aimed at achieving equal pay, but not enough progress has been made. PayScale’s new research found that the gender pay gap still persists into 2018. Looking…
What You Need to Know About Massachusetts’ Updated Pay Equity Law
Back in 1945, Massachusetts became the first state in the country to pass an equal pay law. But despite its efforts, the gender pay gap unfortunately persisted. According to Mass.gov, women working full time in Massachusetts earn, on average, about…
California Court’s Worker Classification Ruling Has Broad Implications for Gig Workers
A three-part test announced Monday by the California Supreme Court has far-reaching implications for who in the state can be classified as an independent contractor. The 7-0 decision in a case brought by drivers working for a delivery company squarely…
Disclosures Show Median Pay at Public Companies Higher Than Thought
In the aftermath of the financial crisis in 2010 Congress enacted a law requiring public companies to identify the compensation of their median-paid employee, compare that to the CEO as a ratio, and disclose it each year. As noted by…
Your Merit Pay Program Has a Fatal Flaw
It’s likely that your pay-for-performance program has a fatal flaw built into it; an inadvertent side effect of the design that, if ignored by management will almost certainly guarantee failure. But no one wants to talk about it. Instead, what…
New Tip-Sharing Rules for Tipped Employees
On March 27, 2018, President Donald Trump signed into law Congress’s $1.3 trillion, 2,232-page omnibus budget bill, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018. Notably, on page 2,025, Congress amended the Fair Labor Standards Act by addressing rules affecting tipped employees and…
5 Reasons Why Working Too Many Hours Is a Bad Idea
24-year-old copywriter Mita Diran’s last Tweet, several hours before she lapsed into a coma and died. One thing most millennials figure out faster than workers of older generations is that work/life balance isn’t just important, it’s crucial. While exceptions like Miss…
With Workers Coming In From the Sidelines, Hiring Could Get a Little Easier
If there’s one thing you can count on in a conversation with talent acquisition leaders, it’s hearing how hard it is to hire people. Last week, at the spring ERE Recruiting Conference, anytime two people would get together, the talent…
3 Simple Steps to Avoid Fighting With Hiring Managers Over Pay
Even though they are our daily bread and butter, recruiting and hiring remain very inefficient and time consuming processes. Because they take so much of our time and involve so many people, just the idea of making improvements feels stressful….
Top Organizations Do Pay Differently From Everyone Else
In the latest “Compensation Best Practices Report,” which gathered responses from 7,100 respondents on their pay practices, PayScale – the company where I work – took a look at what really sets top performers apart. In this report, top-performing organizations were…
Why a Compensation Strategy Is a Must
How many of you reading this article have a piece of paper that you can lay your hands on, one with the title, “Compensation Strategy”? Do you know if such a document exists in your organization? The common response at…
What Pay Range Data Can and Can’t Tell You
Many pay surveys routinely collect and report salary range minimums, midpoints and maximums. This data can provide helpful context, but it is also at risk for being misapplied by practitioners who haven’t the training or experience to correctly interpret the…