Horizon Point Consulting

Author: Mary Ila Ward

7 Things to Consider in Wage Fairness

Pay disparity has long been a topic, most notably with discrepancies in pay between women and minority groups. The #metoo movement and #blacklivesmatter movements have brought this issue even further to the forefront. And rightly so.

Payscale published its annual Gender Pay Gap Report in March, stating that, “Since we have started tracking the gender pay gap, the difference between the earnings of women and men has shrunk, but only by an incremental amount each year. There remains a disparity in how men and women are paid, even when all compensable factors are controlled, meaning that women are still being paid less than men due to no attributable reason other than gender. As our data will show, the gender pay gap is wider for women of color, women in executive-level roles, women in certain occupations and industries, and in some US states.”

The report is definitely worth a deep dive to read if you have a chance.

If your organization is concerned about pay disparity, what should you do? It starts with considering all the factors that go into determining pay:

1. Consider what your organization values. What creates value for your organization by creating a competitive advantage? These are compensable factors. As another Payscale report states, “It’s also perfectly reasonable to pay people in the same position differently as long as the compensable factors are justified and aligned with legal requirements.”

2. Consider time. Years of experience overall and tenure with the organization are important factors that affect pay.

3. Consider performance. Performance can and should affect pay. Make sure you have a documented and systematic way of measuring performance that can justify and backup pay differences.

Examine your wage data.

4. Conduct a pay equity analysis. A professional in the field can help you conduct regression analysis to see what factors are contributing to pay disparities if any, and if these factors are based on protected classes and/or on factors mentioned above like years of experience, compensable factors, etc.

5. Get your legal team involved. I know, I know, I hate to call the attorney too unless it is absolutely necessary, but it is necessary here. This can help you do a pay equity analysis under attorney-client privilege, and based on what you discover, help you chart the right path forward.

Finally, consider ways you can help to combat systemic issues with pay disparity:

6. Consider policies and “norms” that impact gender or other demographic factors like race differently. A documented reason for macro gender pay disparity issues is tied to women leaving the workforce altogether or seeking more flexible work opportunities to raise children. Considering how your organization can retain female talent during child-rearing years is an important consideration for individual organizations and for the entire economy on a macro level.

7. Teach advocating and negotiation skills to women and minority groups. I personally believe one of the reasons women and some members are of minority groups are paid less is because they don’t ask for what they are worth. There is evidence to support this (and there is evidence that contradicts it). Helping people understand the market for their skills and experience and giving them the confidence to stand for what they are worth and ask for it is empowerment at its finest. I’ve found that many people just don’t know what they don’t know when it comes to the knowledge and skills needed to advocate and negotiate, so they just don’t. Over a lifetime, this could mean a substantial difference in lifetime earnings.

Are you concerned about pay fairness and pay disparity at your organization?

October 1, 2020
8 Steps to Take if Your Compensation is Out of Line with the Market
2020 has been a year of polar opposite reports about compensation from our clients. Some have implemented hiring and pay freezes, even laid people off, while others have more business than they know what to do with and are concerned they are losing people because their wages are not competitive with the market.

So, what do you do if you are concerned about the market competitiveness of your wages?
1. 1. First, decide if you haven’t already, what your wage strategy is. Do you want/need to lead, lag, or meet the market? Knowing your destination before you take the journey is important. Several things weigh into this such are your budget, margins, industry, location, culture, and overall philosophy on compensation. There is no right or wrong answer, but the key thought in all this should be what creates a competitive advantage for your organization.
  2. Pull market data. Here is some information on sources for data. Not listed in this post as a source that we like to use now is Economic Research Institute (ERI)’s Salary Assessor. One of the things we like about ERI data is you can pull it by level (1,2,3) and by job title, which can help you hone in on comparing apples to apples with your organization’s wages. We suggest utilizing multiple sources.
  3. Based on your strategy, determine what is most important for you to focus on looking at the market data. If your strategy is to lag the market, look at the 25th percentile of market data as a benchmark. If your strategy is to meet the market, look at the midpoint (50th percentile) and an average of the data, and if your strategy is to lead the market, look at the 75th percentile of the market data for benchmarking.
  4. Ask yourself: Are you out of line with the market and your strategy?
  5. If you are below the market and your overall goal, consider how you can best bring your wages up and within the range of your market data. This could be a one-time salary increase for certain or all positions, a percentage increase across the board in your pay ranges/salary structure, or consideration of a variable pay system that includes other forms of compensation than base pay to bring your overall compensation in line with the market. Variable pay structures can help you bring in other considerations for payout like your overall profitability.
  6. Consider non-monetary rewards that align with your company’s culture and philosophy. Based on research, flexibility may be more valuable to people than monetary rewards. Can you implement more flexible work policies that combat recruiting and retention issues because of less than average wages?
  7. If wages are out of line with the market and your organization can’t meet the market in a way that aligns with your strategy in one overall step or change, consider a phased-in increase to your overall salary ranges across a set period of time like every six months or every year. This can be a way to move your overall comp strategy (not just a position here or there) to get to where you need to be.
  8. Evaluate your wages against the market more often. The organizations we see with the most trouble with their wages not meeting the market are ones that have gone five years or more without comparing their salary and structure to the market. The more you lag behind, the harder and harder it becomes to catch up. We suggest looking at overall compensation structure adjustments every two to three years unless there are large fluctuations in the market in a short period of time. You should look at individual wages for specific jobs more often, every year or so, especially if you are experiencing retention and or recruitment issues.
Do you need to take a look at your wage competitiveness?
September 29, 2020
Values Amidst the Storm
“Culture guides the team in their everyday work. It’s the foundation on which people make decisions and take actions.”

The Start-Up Playbook by Rajat Bhargava and Will Herman

I took my first flight in over six months recently. Headed to Orlando to speak at a conference, I booked a Delta flight connecting through Atlanta.

Before I left, my husband said, “Make sure you have your mask on the whole time during the flight. Delta has been blacklisting people for life if they refuse the keep their mask on.”

As their CEO Ed Bastian said, “If you insist on not wearing a mask, then we insist you not fly Delta.” Delta don’t play.

And neither was I going to risk not being able to fly on my favorite airline over keeping a mask on while in the air.

It was evident throughout the experience that Delta wasn’t playing in every aspect of their flight experience safety. Sanitizing wipes were handed out as you boarded. No more food and beverage service as usual- you get a plastic bag complete with a water bottle, napkin (a recycled one at that), cheese-its, and biscoff. There’s another hand sanitizing wipe in that packet too. The way they filter air through the cabins has changed as well as the way they clean and sanitize their planes. It’s called the Delta CareStandard.

But why does Delta do all this when it costs more money to do it this way in an airline industry that is fraught with more woes than almost all other industries because of the pandemic? On my flights of less than 1 hour each, couldn’t they just skip the food and beverage service and sighting safety reasons and over multiple flights save themselves a ton of money? They were close to losing $100 million A DAY in March and $27 million A DAY in June.

Well first of all, they are mandated to do some things, but in general, I think it is because Delta is governed by its Corporate Values.

These values are:
- Honesty
- Integrity
- Respect
- Perseverance
- Servant Leadership
They intertwine with the mission of “The work of an airline is, at its core, about connecting people with communities, with experience, and with each other. Making connections is Delta’s mission…”

Some things you see Delta doing show their commitment to their values because of the pandemic or what they’ve done pre-pandemic include:
- Blocking middle seats through January (booking only 60% full), not to mention all the other Delta CareStandard actions.
- Referring to their employees as, “Our family”
- Using the word “We” in much of their statements for example, “We- Delta’s employees, customers, and community partners…”
Delta isn’t perfect, but what they continually do pre and post-pandemic is seeking to live their corporate values through their behaviors, decisions, and actions. And sometimes our true values are best seen when things are at their very worst. It’s why they consistently earn top awards and have recently taken the number one spot on the list of the best airlines in 2020.

It’s why I’ll continue to fly Delta even if it costs a little bit more and even if I have to connect instead of flying direct. And it is why Delta, even though it is in the midst of a massive storm, will come out better than before. They are experiencing the opportunity of living out the value of perseverance here and now.

How is your company living out its values amidst the storm?
September 9, 2020
Career Change – Is it for you?

Have you been declared “non-essential” during the pandemic? Maybe you’re in a role that is or has been eliminated or just ready to try something new? Where do you begin?

First, a career assessment is a great place to start. My Next Move is a free one that can be completed online or we can help you with an in-depth assessment that examines your personality and desired skills and abilities.

Another great resource for making a career change is the internet. You can search for “in-demand” careers online. ONET is another great tool for researching careers along with salaries and provides career exploration tools.

Regardless of what career you currently have, if you are itching to make a change, examine the following as you begin:

What is missing from what I do now that I want to be able to do on a regular basis? What skills do I need to use on a regular basis to bring satisfaction?

What is it that I do now that I want to continue to be able to do? What skills that I want to continue to use are transferrable to other careers?

What type of environment do I enjoy working in?

What careers match the skills and abilities I want to use and are also in line with my work values? MatchFIT provides a framework for you to learn and understand what your workplace cultural preferences are, how to interpret and apply these preferences to your job search, and how to highlight and build on them for your own personal and professional development.

Research shows that better person-organization fit leads to employees who are more satisfied, engaged, successful, and achieve greater results for their organizations.

Finally, why not do a trial run before jumping into a new career? Job shadowing is a great way to try out a new career (or two) before you make a change. Read 4 Tips for an Awesome Job Shadow or Informational Interview before your first one. 4 Great Benefits of Job Shadowing for Grown-Ups offers more benefits of job shadowing for career changers.

July 21, 2020
Stop Selling When Interviewing Candidates

When I was a recruiter, interviews started off with a little overview of the organization. I’d tell them a little bit about what it was like to work for our company and also cover information about how the interview and hiring process worked before launching into questions.

I often had the chance to sit with hiring managers interviewing candidates as well. The difference in how the hiring manager handled the first part of the interview related to information about the company was always interesting. Some said very little if anything about the organization or their department and/or team, while others gave a dissertation on it all. Some bragged and bragged about how great it was to work at our company, others gave the good, the bad, and the ugly about what the work and the environment was like.

Turns out, there is a way to do this and a way not to if you want to hire the right candidates. According to research by Jennifer Carson Mar and Dan Cable on the effects of selling on interviewers’ judgements, it’s not so much on how the candidate portrays him or herself in the interview, it’s about how the interviewer portrays himself or herself and the organization.

Amy Cuddy describes the findings of the study well in her book Presence:

“The more the interviewers were focused on attracting candidates, that is the more they wanted to be liked, the less accurate they were at selecting candidates that would do well after being hired in terms of performance, good citizenship, and core values fit.

The takeaway is this. Focus less on the impression you are making on others and more on the impression you are making on yourself. The later serves the former.”

So, if you want to hire people who will perform well, get along well, and share the values your organization espouses, stop selling, and be authentic.

I wonder if the implications of this study extend to other areas of HR? When do we need to sell and when do we not?

When do you turn on your selling style and turn it off at work?

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June 30, 2020