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12 Case Studies of Companies that Revised How They Compensate Employees

S HRM has partnered with ChiefExecutive.net to bring you relevant articles on key HR topics and strategies.

Higher compensation is part of the ransom for dealing with the pandemic for most American companies and industries. So salaries, wages, benefits and perks will cost them more—perhaps a lot more—in the year ahead.

The way CEOs and CHROs can make sure the Great Raise works to their companies' advantage is to be proactive, creative and equitable about it. Yet they also must weigh strategically the demands of the moment with their long-term compensation strategy.

"This is a time for real balance when it comes to how you deal with retention and attraction," said Paul Knopp, chair and CEO of KPMG US. "We all have to make sure we meet the market when it comes to base compensation, but the market has changed in a way that you also have to look at those benefits that are most attractive to employees for their careers."

While median full-time earnings of $1,001 per week in the third quarter of 2021 were nearly 9% higher than two years earlier, according to the Labor Department, expectations for 2022 remain frothy given the tight market for talent, the free-agent ethos encouraged by remote work, the geographic reshuffling of workers and decades-high inflation. U.S. wages will increase by 3.9 percent in 2022, according to the Conference Board, the highest rate since 2008.

The compensation surge is occurring at the high end, at a low end that's getting higher and everywhere in between. Goldman Sachs, for example, is offering paid leave for pregnancy loss and expanding the amount of time employees can take for bereavement leave while also boosting its retirement-fund matching contributions for U.S. employees to 6% of total compensation, or 8% for those making $125,000 a year or less.

Meanwhile, at Tyson Foods' chicken-processing plant in New Holland, Pa., the company has started offering a three-day workweek, plus pay for a fourth day that retains employees' status as full-time workers. Just for good measure, Tyson has created a $3,000 sign-on bonus for new hires.

"We're in a bidding war for talent that will go on for a long time," said Alan Beaulieu, president of ITR Economics.

For CEOs and CHROs, several new factors demand their attention along with the overall spike in compensation. They include:

• The end of retention. The "idea of a long-term commitment to one employer has been dead for a while, but it's really dead now," said Dave Roberson, CEO of the RoseRyan financial consulting firm. "You must have a stream of people. Assume you're going to be replacing people. So how do you keep the people you have, if you can, but also bring the next group in?"
• High-balling. A deal to recruit someone may not really be a deal these days. "You've made an offer and you think you've got a hire, and then they're asking for $5,000 or $10,000 more," said David Lewis, CEO of OperationsInc, an HR consulting firm. "Now you have to ask yourself what makes more sense strategically: say no and hold the line and lose the candidate and restart the process, not knowing how that will work out? Blow up your compensation structure? Or as a Band-Aid, give that person a sign-on bonus in hopes that the package will get them in the door?"
• Need for equalization. Recruiting with higher compensation also requires boosting pay and benefits for retention. "You need to be mindful of what you're paying others in the organization and understand the detrimental impact it will have when you bring someone in alongside a tenured employee," Lewis said. "Operate on the idea that everyone's salary is basically posted on the pantry door in your office."
• A focus on mental health. The pandemic, anti-contagion measures and the takeover of remote work has left many Americans isolated, confused, lonely—or at least disjointed. And they expect their employers to help them cope and adjust.

"Mental health is a real thing, regardless of how [a previous generation of leaders] feel and what we did," said Jeffrey Immelt, former CEO of General Electric. "Particularly post-Covid, it's something worth your time to try to understand."

Many Fortune 500 companies already offered mental-health benefits, but by now "mental health is just a place setter: You've got to have it in place to be competitive in the market today, across the board," said Richard Chaifetz, founder and CEO of ComPsych, a large provider of employee-assistance programs. "Companies understand the importance of keeping their people functioning at the highest level."

Codility, for example, has begun supplying all employees with 27 days of paid time off per year plus four mental-health days, which don't have to be approved. "We're offering these days in addition to personal-time-off days to recognize and bring to light the importance of mental health," said Natalia Panowicz, CEO of the platform that evaluates the skills of software engineers, with its U.S. hub in San Francisco.

CHRO360.com asked a dozen CEOs, CHROs and other top executives about their compensation strategies and practices for 2022. Here are some of their ideas:

Let Them Name Their Salary

Chris kovalik, ceo, rushdown revolt, a video-game maker in new york city.

We started as 12 part-timers, mostly people who were giving me their moonlight hours. That's not a lot different from now, except now we have 75 people. The magic of what we do is that we don't recruit anybody. We're just a magnet. We let people come to us.

When it comes to compensation, some say they wanted to volunteer, that they weren't expecting compensation. But we never, ever allow people to volunteer their time for us. So we say our company minimum wage is $15 an hour, and if you insist, we can pay you that per hour.

But generally people come to us with an expectation of compensation because they see that we're making money. When compensation came up, we'd say, "I don't know what your skill set is. I've never hired you before. How much do you think you're worth, and how much do you need?"

If every hour we're compensating them for the amount of money they want and need, if someone is part-time and only giving me 10 hours a week, I'd argue that they're giving me their best 10 hours. Because they're getting paid what they want and doing things that they want to be attached to and be part of.

There's no pattern to the compensation requests. If their number is too low, we'll say, "Are you sure? Are you just giving me a low-ball number I'll say yes to?" If it's high, I don't talk them down, but I ask them to justify it, and if the justification isn't adequate, what I say is, "How long do you think you'll need to prove that justification? Two to three weeks? Then let's pay you two-third to three-quarters of what you asked, and if you prove it, we'll go up to whatever you said."

Tailor Package for Youth Appeal

Ronald hall jr., ceo, bridgewater interiors, an auto-seat maker in detroit.

We enjoyed very low turnover pre-Covid, but during the last two years we have had to replace probably one-third of our workforce at our largest facility, about the same number from termination as voluntary. So we've had to work harder than ever to recruit.

Our most-tenured employees, who are the most highly trained, have had to pick up the slack, working record amounts of overtime and less-predictable production schedules.

In our upcoming negotiations with the United Auto Workers, we're trying to emphasize short-term bonuses rather than wage increases that get baked into our costs. But we have continued health insurance through the pandemic as well as our tuition-reimbursement program, and many employees have thanked me for that.

What I am hearing from new employees is that they're not as interested in benefits but rather in higher cash wages. We've long touted benefits like our generous 401(k) matching and better medical coverage versus our peers, but we're finding that doesn't resonate as readily now as it did a decade ago. So I've asked my team: Should we be looking at some kind of hybrid model of offering higher wages to people who want those and move those dollars from the benefits side to the wages side?

We've also looked at providing childcare in a partnering arrangement where there could be a center developed near our facilities, and we would arrange for some sort of company subsidy or guarantee some level of attendance. The challenge with that is the auto industry runs around the clock, and you'd need a daycare provider who'd be committed to opening around the clock and provide legal, regulated, benchmark-standard levels of care to all those children in the off hours.

Equalize as You Acquire

Diane dooley, chro, world insurance, a business and personal insurer in tinton falls, n.j..

We onboarded about 800 employees in 2021 through acquisitions of small agencies and organic growth, but there had been no compensation modeling. Now we're building out our compensation philosophy with commission plans, incentives and bonuses, centralizing components and ensuring we have the right framework.

When we do an acquisition, we might retain their compensation model for a year or two years then slowly migrate, but make sure employees aren't taking a cut in pay. We are also capitalizing commissions into base compensation—identifying what commissions would have been and what they will be, and recognizing roles that are moving away from a commission base.

Some agencies we acquire are smaller and may be below-market for total compensation. Now we're addressing those concerns. They need to be more front and center. We must do everything to retain our employee population. If they're woefully underpaid, or not at market, we risk losing people, and we don't want to do that.

Educating the owners of some of the agencies [we acquire] is a piece of this. As we partner with them, we are evaluating them and asking, "Did you give people an increase this year?" We're not telling them what to do but providing guidance about what to do.

We're also modifying and increasing our benefits, such as giving employees pet insurance. And making counteroffers is a critical piece today, usually for high-end employees. They work better than they used to because not a lot of people really want to make a move in this environment.

Innovate for the New World

Jason medley, chief people officer, codility, a provider of skill-evaluation software in london.

We really have to step back and be innovative and force ourselves to change. The companies that are going to win are going to be more progressive early and not fighting what's happening.

One thing we've done is change our outdated compensation models that give higher pay to employees living in tech hubs like San Francisco and New York and lower compensation for areas inside the coasts. Now, we've created a United States-wide salary band, so no matter where you live, the compensation is based on the role, not the location. You can go live and work wherever you want to.

We decided to approach compensation through a very human lens. People have seasonality in life, and maybe they are caregivers at different moments and want to live in different places. We want to be as flexible as possible, and this country band gives us that flexibility.

We are starting to see the same thing in Europe, where we have our headquarters in London and offices in Berlin and Warsaw, and employees all over, especially in Poland. People are wanting to live in the countryside of Spain but demanding a London salary. So we are transitioning to one European Union band and saying, "Here is your rate—live where you want to."

We are also seeing that with global warming, it's harder to get work done for people on the west coast of the U.S. and in Europe, because they didn't build homes with air conditioning. If you're sitting in a house at 90 degrees with no air conditioning, there's no way your performance is the same as someone with AC. Supplementing air conditioning isn't something we thought about before, but now we're very much having to look at those things.

Stay Ahead of Expectations

Traci tapani, ceo, wyoming machine, a sheet-metal fabricator in stacy, minn..

Our wages have gone up by about 20% for the typical worker. When I found people I could hire, I knew they were being brought in at an hourly rate that was too high for what I was paying my incumbent workers.

My strategy has been to be proactive about that and not wait for [existing] employees to say something about it or give them a reason to look for another job. We're proactively making wage adjustments to make sure our incumbent workers are in line.

Employees will leave for more money, so they're very appreciative of it. But in my shop, I also know that people like working here, and I know they don't want to leave. I don't want to give them a reason. If they can get an increase in pay that's substantial, I know that I can cut them off at the pass. Retaining my workforce is my No. 1 strategy. They're already here, and I'm going to do everything I can to keep them.

For that reason, we've also been more generous as time has gone on with paid time off, offering it sooner than we once would have, especially for new workers. We recognize that it's healthy for people to be away from work and also, in the pandemic, people need to be away from work. Knowing they have some paid time off makes it easier for them.

Leverage Benefits for DE&I

Mark newman, ceo, chemours, a chemical manufacturer in wilmington, del..

In general our company hasn't seen the Great Resignation. And in fact, we continue to believe our focus on being a great place to work is serving us well, along with appropriate benchmarking on compensation issues.

Chemours  is  a great place to work. We survey our employees every year, to improve our working environment from a compensation and benefits perspective. Also, from the [diversity, equity and inclusion] perspective, we're trying to make sure we tap into the full breadth of talent in our industry.

That means, for instance, we are helping people more with college loans. We are offering same-sex [marriage] benefits. We are providing more family leave for people who have kids. There is clearly an aspect of our benefits package that is evolving to be consistent with our strategy of making Chemours a great place to work.

Overall, we view compensation as something where we want to be either in the median or upper quartile. It's something we're very focused on from both a wage as well as benefit level. From Covid, there's been no fundamental change as it relates to us wanting to be in the median to top quartile.

We've had to make some local adjustments where the labor market is more super-charged. For example, we see a lot of that in the Gulf Coast region, especially with oil prices coming back, and petrochemicals and refining. But it's very much a regional factor. So if industries are moving to a certain region, like the South, you have to make sure you stay current with local benchmarks.

Offer Skin in the Game

Cesar herrera, ceo, yuvo health, a healthcare administrator in new york city.

We're a year-old company that provides tech-enabled administrative solutions for community health centers across the U.S. that are specifically focused on providing primary-care services for low-income individuals. We have a team of about 10 people right now, and we have a number of open roles and positions where we're likely going to be tripling the size of our team in 2022.

Google can compensate well above the market rate. We don't have that since we're an early-stage organization. What we do have as levers aren't up-front financial compensation but equity, support in your role and a relatively flat organization where you can have significant autonomy.

A lot of individuals are going to be driven by the mission; that's the case with the entire founding team. We've made sacrifices to create this organization. So you can come in at a meaningful position with a lot of decision-making.

But one of the biggest carrots we can give is, if you accept the lower pay and the risk that comes with an early-stage organization, you can have meaningful equity in the company. We have an options pool which is not to exceed 10% ownership of the organization, and as we grow and scale, we increase that options pool. For senior-level leaders, we do expect to be able to distribute up to 10% of the company to them.

Pay Extra for Continuity

Corey stowell, vice president of human resources, webasto americas, a maker of automotive sunroofs in auburn hills, mich..

We had to recruit for several hundred new openings at a brand-new facility right at the beginning of the pandemic. So we instituted an attendance bonus. For those who worked all their hours in a week, we paid an additional $3 an hour. We really had to keep it short-term, so we paid it weekly. If you wanted to pay it every month, you couldn't do it, because people needed that instant gratification.

Otherwise they could get it on unemployment. With our pay rate, they could earn more to stay at home and collect unemployment, a significant amount more than they could earn than working for us. So we also had to increase our wages, and we increased them by more than 20% in some classifications [in the summer of 2020].

We've filled all of our positions, but it's still a challenging market. We've had to increase all our wages, with the lowest for a position being $17 an hour, on up to $30 an hour.

We also have offered stay bonuses of $500 a month for three consecutive months, up to $1,500. And for hourly employees we've instituted a different attendance policy, where they can earn two hours of paid personal time for so many hours that they work consecutively with no attendance issues.

The key is the schedule—we can prepare and get someone to cover. That's easier to do than just managing whoever's going to come in today. In this environment, that really has changed with our workforce, and it's tough to rely on our current workforce.

Give Them the Keys

Elliott rodgers, chief people officer, project44, a freight-tracking software provider in chicago.

We have equipped and subsidized a van that we call Romeo, which employees can use to combine work with personal uses like family road trips. We cover the cost of the rental. It's a luxury van that comes equipped with a bed, a toilet and shower, Wi-Fi, device charging and a desktop workspace. And it's pet friendly.

We started it as a pilot project and reservations were full within 10 minutes of when we posted it internally. Then we extended it into 2022. By the end of 2021, more than 20 unique team members completed or nearly completed reservations. They've ventured out to places spanning Mount Rushmore and the Badlands; Rocky Mountain National Park; Salem, Mass.; and Pennsylvania. A pretty broad number of places.

It's something we're really proud of. It allows our team members the opportunity to work in a lot of different places while still being connected to us. And they've appreciated the opportunities to stay connected, but also be connected in other ways with nature and other places in the world. They can maintain their perspective while also continuing to contribute to their role in a productive way.

When you place a team member at the center of what they'd want in an experience like that, the value of it answers itself. It creates a comfort level where it provides the necessities for you to be able to continue to work, and you can work from anywhere. It's the best of both worlds. It's one thing to find that on your own but another to have that accessible to you via work, but done in a way that caters to you.

Help Them Come, Go—and Stay

Aamir paul, country president - u.s., schneider electric, a maker of electrical distribution and control products in andover, mass..

With our knowledge workforce, it's been about intentional flexibility. So, for instance, we launched a "returnship" program for women who'd left the workforce but might want to come back even at reduced hours. That means 20, 30, up to 40 hours a week, and we're finding some incredibly talented people who haven't been in the workforce.

This program is available to men as well. If there's a field engineer who's been in the electrical industry for 35 years and he's now retiring, but he's five years from getting his medical benefits, we say: Don't retire. Go on the program. Work 20 hours a week. Work from home. We'll reduce your pay proportionally, but we will couple you with three university hires, and they will call you on Microsoft Teams and show you what's happening on the job site, and you're going to walk them through it. Work just three days a week. We'll cover your benefits.

We've also expanded the parental leave policy, which already was one of the best in the industrial sector. And we created a way for people to buy more time off without having to leave their positions. They apply for more unpaid time off and we allow them to retain their position and seniority and allow them to work through whatever life event it is.

We landed on six weeks for the maximum. In the most intense industries—such as a fighter pilot or a surgeon—they've found that six weeks of being out of the rotation allows them to re-set. So that's what we did. Before, the limit was two weeks.

Give Sway to Local Management

Tom salmon, ceo, berry global, a maker of plastic packaging in evansville, ind..

We've got to be competitive in all the geographies we serve. We have 295 sites around the world and manage our employees in those sites geographically. Every geography will be a different labor environment. There are different criteria that employees are looking for. It's not just about wages but taking everything into consideration.

We let local management handle things with their insight about wages and competition. They're hearing directly from employees about what they like and don't like, what they want more of and less of. It's a site-by-site discussion.

For example, at some sites, it may be important for employees to be able to access the internet at lunch; at other sites, they may not value that as much. Some want a more advanced locker facility, with different shower facilities. That includes the southwestern United States, where the temperatures are warmer; but in New England, some might not want that.

In any event, if you treat these things locally, you're going to be able to affect that local population and address the need of that geography. If you blanket something across our entire plant population, you may provide something that's not desired or needed.

We depend on our local management to respond to the different demands in terms of compensation and benefits at their sites. The better the front-line leadership is, and the more satisfied their team is, the higher our retention rate and productivity and safety performance. So these leaders participate in profit-sharing plans for those respective sites, because they have a great influence on the success of a given facility.

Focus Benefits on Flexibility

Paul knopp, chair and ceo, kpmg us, a financial consulting firm in new york.

We announced a new package of enhancements to our benefits and compensation, tied to mental, physical, social and financial well-being. These increases are the biggest in the history of the company. You have to make sure your base compensation meets the market, but you also must have attractive benefits.

For example, we cut healthcare premiums by 10% for 2022 with no change in benefit levels, and we introduced healthcare advocacy services. We are replacing our current 401(k) match and pension programs with a single, automatic company-funded contribution within the plan that's equal to 6% to 8% of eligible pay.

As part of this, we're focusing on the crucial element of ensuring that employees know you're watching out for them. They also are looking for flexibility—you don't want to under-index on how important that is. So we also are providing up to three weeks additional caregiver leave, separate and apart from PTO. And all parents will receive 12 weeks of paid parental leave, in addition to disability leave for employees who give birth, allowing some up to 22 weeks of paid leave. We also have expanded our holiday calendar to now include Juneteenth.

Dale Buss is a long-time contributor to Chief Executive, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and other business publications. He lives in Michigan.

This article is adapted from www.ChiefExecutive.net with permission from Chief Executive. C 2022. All rights reserved.

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Editor's Note: Last summer we posted an announcement from Gerry Ledford (one of our profession's leading scholars) introducing a new academic study focused on leading edge performance management practices and an invitation for any qualified organizations to participate. Do the data indicate that the hype is warranted?

Where Are We Headed After Covid in 2021?

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They walk through a case study of a company deciding whether they need to change job pricing as a result of increasing remote work. One of the insights: "While the talent pool is becoming broader and more fluid, most companies still target compensation based on geographic pay zones.". She is a member of U.S. Masters Swimming.

New Guide: Choosing Employee Performance Software To Ease Common HR Pain Points

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To get you started, we’ve compiled a comprehensive HR Buyer’s Guide to help you search for and select continuous performance management software that fits your company philosophy and specific needs. Employee Compensation and promotion. Annual performance review alternative. So let’s use it! Productivity.

11 HR Analytics Courses Online

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The Carlson School offers five courses that cover the basics of the people management process. The courses range from recruitment to hiring, onboarding, performance appraisal and compensation management . The course includes several case studies that can be uploaded for review.

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These benefits are awarded beyond their traditional compensation package and contribute to the best environment in the organisation. Non-financial incentives Non-financial incentives are rewards that are beyond monetary compensation and play a vital role in the satisfaction of employees.

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Anchoring performance management to a philosophy that unites your employees. In fact, developing and adopting a new approach to performance management took the company two-and-a-half years. Today, Gap’s review process is called “GPS” – which stands for Grow, Perform , Success – for two main reasons.

What Are the Best HR Courses On Coursera?

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The course also provides practical tools and resources to help you create a successful talent management strategy. The course also includes case studies and real-world examples to help you understand how to apply the concepts in your own organization.

A new era for human resources: Systemic HR™ has arrived

HRExecutive

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Advertisement - HR’s role has expanded beyond basic recruiting, payroll and compensation . In the rapidly evolving business landscape, where talent is scarce, employees are empowered, and transformation is the norm, a company’s human capital has become the most crucial competitive advantage.

Ready for Cutting Edge Communications?

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It got me wondering when, and from where, will the cutting edge improvements in compensation communications be coming? So are we just going to let compensation communications be left in the dust? So are we just going to let compensation communications be left in the dust? What if you could innovate without changing your budget?

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Using candidate feedback for recruiter reviews and managing recruiters is fast becoming standard practice these days. In fact MOST Survale clients use some form of candidate and/or hiring manager feedback in quarterly or annual recruiter reviews, incentive compensation or other systems for managing recruiters’ performance .

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The human resource course is a structured program designed to teach theories and practices needed to excel in the field of human resources management . The course focuses on several HR functions such as hiring processes, administrative services, performance management , staff administration, and training.

Don't Look Now, Our Job Descriptions Have Changed!

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I think this is exciting stuff, so I thought I'd highlight three of the case studies from the HBR article to illustrate how HR mindsets are beginning to align with the Agile model -- and HR influence has flourished as a result. Salary adjustments occur twice a year, if needed, to align with the market and recognize performance .

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These functions include (among others): Recruitment and hiring Onboarding Compensation and benefits Performance management Training and development Employee relations When these functions are working together in harmony, they promote employee engagement.

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Accreditation from Certification Institute (CI) , signaling the company meets all industry professional risk management best practices, strives to foster safe work environments, and effectively manages workers’ compensation losses.

Can You Believe What the CEO Pay Ratio Is Teaching Us?

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Well, the Compensation Cafe's predictions have come true. Bloomberg does a great job with a case study about Coke. Margaret O'Hanlon, CCP brings deep expertise to discussions on employee pay, performance management , career development and communications at the Café. Not to worry, though.

The Dynamic Organization: 6 keys for success in the post-industrial economy

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SAP set out on a journey to be the model for fair pay for its 105,000 employees around the world, relentlessly mitigating biases in all talent processes, considering pay equity first when allocating compensation budgets and fostering teamwork across siloes for more innovation and inclusion.

#BersinIMPACT: Blowing up performance reviews

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I only managed to catch the final session yesterday but it was a good one. We started with Bersin’s research suggesting that 70% of companies follow a coaching and development vs a competitive assessment approach to performance management . Kelly had previously put too much focus into PMP – performance management ‘process’.

10 HR Analytics Courses Online To Check Out in 2024

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The course also covers case studies and practical exercises to help participants develop actionable insights from HR data. The future of HR data analytics is poised to be transformative, driven by advancements in technology, evolving organizational needs, and the recognition of the strategic importance of human capital management .

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This is not me

Case Study: Nexthink

It is difficult for business leaders to make key decisions surrounding employee compensation without the ability to view detailed data in a way they need to see it. This was the challenge Nexthink, a leader in digital employee experience management software, was faced with solving.

       Download the Case Study

Nexthink is no stranger to understanding the power of technology-based solutions.

After all, its own software solutions provide IT leaders with unprecedented insight into employees’ daily experiences with technology assets at the device level. This frees IT teams to progress from mere reaction-based problem solving to proactive optimization. For more than 1,100 customers, Nexthink’s software ensures that nearly 15 million of its clients’ employees have better digital experiences.

The Quest for the Right Compensation Management System

Miguel DaFonseca

As the Head of Global Total Rewards and Technology,  Miguel DaFonseca  is in charge of overseeing Global Compensation and Benefits strategies, HR technology, Global HR Operations, Compliance and Global Payroll for Nexthink and its almost 1,000 employees (and growing). These employees are scattered globally, with nine offices worldwide and dual headquarter locations in Lausanne, Switzerland and Boston, Massachusetts. One would expect a leader in digital technology to have its thumb firmly on the pulse of employees’ compensation management, with a wealth of robust data available to make decisions around merit-based raises, bonus distributions, pay equity, and the value of total rewards. But even technology-focused companies can’t always find a compensation management solution that is both robust and configurable enough to meet the diverse needs of both its leadership and distributed global workforce. Like many companies that started small and grew rapidly, Nexthink was still using mostly manual processes for compensation management and review (aka Microsoft Excel spreadsheets). This led to cumbersome data collection processes, time-consuming report gathering and distribution, and an overall lack of visibility for business leaders who needed information to make effective decisions for the people they manage. DaFonseca and his team which included Chief People Officer,  Meg Donovan , Senior People & Talent Systems Manager,  Mikki Ngo , and Senior Global Compensation Consultant  Zeynep Inanc  set out to find a solution that could offer the same kind of detailed insight its own software provided to IT leaders; in this case, the need was a solution to help manage compensation for Nexthink’s own employees. The evaluation team also included Nexthink’s People & Talent Business Partner Manager  Eric Bertolotti  and Senior People & Talent Business Partner,  Gabi Tofani . Together, they worked to find a solution that could offer detailed compensation information that could be easily accessed and analyzed to provide strategic insight into employees’ compensation details, no matter where the employee or business leader reported to work. It wasn’t just about being sure that payroll, deductions, and spiffs were accurate and distributed on time (although that is always a priority, of course). It was also about having the information needed to see things from a big picture hierarchical view, or by diving deeply into highly detailed analyses designed to evaluate compensation bias or pay equity. They also needed insight into market data, and the ability to streamline employee information to create compensation packages that both attract and keep top talent. Simply put, Nexthink needed a solution that could provide these detailed insights and also enable the kind of global communication necessary to inform managers to make effective decisions for the company and its employees. The extremely competitive job market for companies recruiting digital and IT professionals only made these needs all the more pressing.

Evaluating Options

Before deciding to use CompLogix, DaFonseca said he and his team evaluated a number of solutions. While most had positive reviews and provided the basics needed for the company’s compensation management needs, few actually offered the flexibility required to configure compensation strategies to Nexthink’s specific needs.

“I found CompLogix to be much more developed with a very clean user interface, robust analytics and more flexibility to tailor to our compensation strategies at Nexthink,” said DaFonseca.

In addition, because of the rapid growth Nexthink was experiencing, and due to continually changing job roles and structures, they were especially appreciative of CompLogix’s flexibility and adaptability.

 “We didn’t have to build a structure to administer the compensation programs that some well known HCM system with compensation modules require,” he added.

Fonseca said they were also able to utilize the built-in 9 box calibration tool for reviews which allows Nexthink leaders to make better decisions based on long-term performance and potential assessments.

Seamless Integration & Measurable Results

When it came time to transition from manual spreadsheets to CompLogix’s software solution, DaFonseca found the entire process to be completely seamless. “We had a fully functioning Strategy and System within a month’s time,” he said. “The CompLogix team continues to be great partners; they are extremely responsive and supportive of our needs.” Along with a quick transition from manual spreadsheets to the digital compensation management environment, Nexthink also saw quick results to reinforce they had made the right decision in choosing CompLogix as a solution partner.

“Almost immediately, we saw a reduction in questions from the business leaders, as everything from market compensation to pay history was now available at their fingertips,” said DaFonseca. He also noted a reduction in time required to upload and prepare the data for analysis.

According to DaFonseca, administration was “tremendously streamlined” by managing decisions and recommendations collaboratively with business leaders in real time, accelerating hierarchical reviews and approvals. DaFonseca summed up his thoughts about the quest to find a compensation management solution that could be configured to Nexthink’s needs and reiterated the value of CompLogix’s system.

“CompLogix provides a unique ability to streamline global compensation programs and decision-making through a modern platform with robust analytical capabilities. Their capacity to be ‘system agnostic’ allows the platform to work with all market-tiered HRIS/HCM systems, both cloud or on-premise.”

See for Yourself

Ready to learn how CompLogix software suite can help you to work smarter?

When Outsourcing Works

An ICM Managed Services case study of the Wacker Neuson Group

This case study documents the journey of the North American operation of German-based manufacturing company Wacker Neuson as they sought a better solution for managing their incentive compensation.

Industry: Manufacturing

Want to read a summarized version of this case study?   Click Here.

The Challenge:

An ICM process hanging on a single thread

Wacker Neuson first worked with OpenSymmetry in 2013 on the implementation of their original incentive compensation management (ICM) system – Varicent, now IBM ICM – to replace a web of spreadsheets and manual sales commission calculations. This ICM system, however, hung on a single thread – a sales compensation administrator who possessed all of the knowledge about the system and processes. She had structured the payouts and reports in a way that she understood but was not easy for others to pick up, due to a lack of ICM system process documentation.

Ultimately, Wacker Neuson recognized that they were carrying too much risk with the existing program and conducted an internal assessment, with the end goal being to improve their ICM solution.

Wacker Neuson turned to OpenSymmetry for help evaluating six key areas of their existing ICM solution:

1. Process efficiencies 2. System efficiencies 3. Data integrity best practices 4. Reporting and communication best practices 5. Program management best practices 6. Cost efficiencies

The Solution:

Outsourcing management of all ICM

In the fall of 2015, Wacker Neuson invited OpenSymmetry to lead an onsite workshop for a full review of their ICM system in order to start addressing the challenges and opportunities for improvement uncovered during the evaluation.

The workshop deliverables included:

• Detailed documentation of “as is” process • Process improvement recommendations • System mapping • System configuration update recommendations • Reporting enhancements

After considering their options, Wacker Neuson made the decision to outsource the operation of their ICM program through OpenSymmetry’s managed services offering, OS Edge .   An OS Edge team was trained on Wacker Neuson’s system, checking it for redundancy and ensuring that it utilized the most efficient resources and processes to reduce costs. The OS Edge team developed Standard Operating Procedures and took over management of the following aspects of the Wacker Neuson ICM process:

• Regular status reporting • Transactional processing • Accrual processing • HR update processing • Commission processing • Reporting and communication management • Customer and product updates/maintenance • Year-end processing and set-up • Incident management • Continuous improvement identification and execution • Quarterly business reviews

The Result:

Freedom to focus on impactful business drivers

By inviting OpenSymmetry to assess, improve, and own their ICM program, Wacker Neuson saw improvements in each of the six key areas initially evaluated:

1. Process Efficiencies: By applying best practices such as automating HR updates in the ICM system, OS eliminated unnecessary manual processes. Additionally, by configuring the native ICM password functionality, OS streamlined a once inefficient process of managing ICM passwords outside of the system. 2. System Efficiencies: By identifying key areas to streamline the technical configuration, OS made recommendations to reduce IT dependencies and quickly and easily make small plan changes. 3. Data Integrity: By aligning data fields and making recommendations to update SAP queries, OS increased the accuracy of customer and transaction data that was loaded. OS also made recommendations to automate data imports for a streamlined process. 4. Reporting and Communication: The OS team gave recommendations to improve real-time reporting, giving Wacker Neuson the ability to make better informed and more timely decisions. They also identified an opportunity to streamline communication for faster and easier commissions processing and approvals. 5. Program Management: By identifying additional resources and setting up a comprehensive documentation process, OS reduced the risk that once came from having just one compensation administrator hold all the keys to the ICM system. 6. Cost Efficiencies: By outlining best practices for managing exceptions, OS made the ICM program more efficient and decreased program management costs that once came from having a compensation administrator who spent countless hours configuring unwieldy rules to catch each and every uncommon exception.

Partnering with OpenSymmetry’s OS Edge team to operate their ICM program empowered Wacker Neuson to focus on their core business. They can focus on high priority organizational initiatives while having complete confidence that they have a best-in-class and cost-effective ICM solution.

If you’re interested to learn more about how OS Edge can help you take control of and get the most from your ICM solution, please email us at [email protected]

Want a summarized version of this case study?   Click Here.

ABOUT WACKER NEUSON Headquartered in Munich, Germany, Wacker Neuson designs and manufactures a comprehensive range of light and compact equipment and serves the global construction, agriculture, landscaping, oil and gas, and municipal industries. The company has corporate sales and service organizations in more than 35 countries, as well as nine plants around the world and an extensive dealer network. Behind the brand stands the Wacker Neuson Group, a corporation with around 5,500 employees and revenue of EUR 1.53 billion in 2017. OpenSymmetry partners with Wacker Neuson’s sales affiliates in the USA and Canada.

ABOUT OS Edge Managing incentive compensation is a continuous process that doesn’t end once an incentive compensation management (ICM) technology is deployed. OS Edge, OpenSymmetry’s managed services offering, was born out of our clients needing operational support beyond deployment.

The consulting team at OpenSymmetry delivers a full suite of ICM managed services . This empowers businesses to focus their efforts on what’s most important — their core business.

Wacker Neuson

Want The PDF Version?

DOWNLOAD CASE STUDY

OpenSymmetry enables clients to achieve greater operational efficiency and get better sales results. We are a global consulting company specializing in the planning, implementation, and optimization of industry leading technology suppliers of sales performance management solutions.

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• Case Study: How a compensation model ensured zero attrition in this company

The Elgi Blue-Collar Compensation Model is a framework to calculate wages scientifically by taking into account workers’ needs and aspirations. Elgi’s HR team partners with the factory worker representatives to decide on a ‘cost of living basket’ of goods.

• Hemanshi Tewari ,
• Updated On Jul 26, 2022 at 08:47 AM IST
• The entire compensation system for blue-collar employees is driven by co-created baskets that reflect the standards of living.
• The cost of the basket is then reviewed against an ‘affordability value’, which is a pre-defined share of the company’s revenue.
• Elgi has almost zero attrition among its blue-collar employees.
• While unions have become a vogue, especially in manufacturing firms, Elgi Equipments has zero unions.
• Since the launch of the compensation plan, not a single work hour was lost due to unrest.

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