August 18, 2021
Consider one of your roles that has been difficult to recruit for and even more difficult to retain; one way to keep that employee engaged is creative compensation strategies. What do I mean by that? Simply put, look at the job description and consider it carefully; figure out how you could reduce the workload by a significant percentage, say… 30%. Likewise, reduce the pay so that the reduction in labor is reflected. Set benchmarks that should be met each quarter and once they are achieved, the employee receives an incremental salary increase or bonus. These are some of the employee compensation strategies that you can use.
So, what does this do? On one hand, using creative compensation strategies enhances employee engagement by giving the perception that the employee is constantly being rewarded for their hard work. This is especially true with Millennials, who now make up one-in-three American workers. In a certain news article, the CEO of Twilio, a cloud communications company in San Francisco, was being questioned about managing millennial workers. In the interview Lawson said that (more or less) millennials enjoy constant feedback because they always want to be learning and growing. Here is a particularly interesting quote.
They’re not looking for constant praise, he says, but rather they want to “keep score” on how they’re doing in all aspects of their career. “[They] never want to have a surprise,” Lawson says.
Millennials grew up with the Internet, which offers instant gratification and quick feedback, and they expect that in other aspects of their lives. “That’s just part of the changing ethos, especially with younger workers,” Lawson explains. “If you get into the habit of regular feedback, it’s not confrontational; it’s just the ebb and flow of conversation and a constant tweaking of how you work with somebody.”
Ideally, the perception that the worker has from constant pay raises and bonuses is “Wow! I am doing an awesome job! Look at all these raises and bonuses I’ve received in such a short period of time. This is the best company ever.” Such sentiment would surely be reflected in social media thus, promoting your brand and aiding your recruitment efforts.
An added bonus for the company would be some form of savings. How? Remember, the salary was adjusted from the onset in reflection of the reduction of duties. So, as you have workers achieving benchmarks, they are actually moving towards hitting the rate you would have been paying initially anyway. Make sense? Try these innovative compensation strategies today!
If you are facing an employee retention challenge, perhaps we can help. We offer services related to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, learning and development offerings as well as coaching and advisory services. Click here and let’s chat about it.
