Commit

How is pay equity used in today’s workplace to balance compensation among workers?
Today’s pay equity gaps are on everyone’s mind and are being mandated in several states, especially because of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion movement.

Pay equity is described as equal pay for work of equal value as stated in the World at Work Handbook of Total Rewards, in which I contributed. The areas that are most looked at for pay equity are gender, race and age. Making sure that your current compensation programs maintain internal equity is paramount for pay consistency and decreases the opportunity for disparate treatment, while remaining competitive in the marketplace.

How can an organization retain key employees, besides monetary rewards?
Forward thinking organizations understand that to grow profitability they need to figure out how to grow employee performance. Retaining your key employees other than through monetary rewards revolves around creating a safe environment for candid and frequent communications, being a coach and mentor to key employees, and allowing employees to drive their own personal and professional development leads to engagement in the workplace.

Are performance evaluations really necessarily for small to midsize organizations?
Employees always want to know how they are performing and what areas they need to improve upon to grow and develop in an organization. Whether it is a formal performance evaluation process or quarterly meetings to discuss goals and objectives for moving forward, it is more about the ongoing communication between a manager and their employees that is necessary.

Performance evaluations shouldn’t rate an employee, add some verbiage around progress and then be put away for a year. To help avoid major issues, keep in mind that ongoing dialogue between the manager and employee is the most important aspect to managing expectations and performance.

What’s a work-related accomplishment you’re most proud of?
My proudest moment was when I attained the top human resource position within a company where I could implement meaningful programs and processes to attract and retain top talent to help the organization grow and become profitable. Watching my ideas develop to help change a work culture from entitlement to engagement was a truly proud time.