Before You Make an Employee a Salary Offer, Consider What They're Really After

Despite what you might hear, compensation is not the primary motivator for most people. Sure, as I have written about before, some people are what I call "coin-operated." These are the folks that make great salespeople because they are motivated by making more money.

But many people aren't like this. You can think of their motivation as a thermostat. They don't want it too hot or too cold--most people want to be paid at a level that seems fair to them. There are other intrinsic factors that are more important to high performers, like the company mission. READ MORE

Jim Cramer Says He Would 'Absolutely' Take Compensation in Bitcoin

Stock market expert and television pundit Jim Cramer was asked this morning if he would be willing to take compensation in Bitcoin while talking about the news of MicroStrategy (MSTR) paying board members in the crypto.

"Yes absolutely. I think it is a store hold of value. I think this is a $2 trillion market cap maybe going to $3 trillion," said Cramer during an interview this morning on CNBCs Squawk Box.  READ MORE

Illinois Employers Must Report Gender, Race, Ethnicity and Compensation Data and Practices

Under amendments to the Illinois Business Corporation Act and the Illinois Equal Pay Act, certain corporations will be required, beginning in 2023 and continuing thereafter, to report data concerning the gender, race, and ethnicity makeup of their workforces, along with information about their compensation practices and efforts to comply with equal pay laws. Much of this information will become public, and failure to report the necessary information can lead to significant penalties. READ MORE

CEOs of public U.S. firms earn 320 times as much as workers. Even some CEOS say the gap is too big.

Last August, Jamelle Brown, a technician at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri, contracted Covid-19 while on the job sanitizing and sterilizing rooms in the facility's emergency department. Luckily, his case wasn't severe, and after having quarantined, he was back at work.

Upon his return, Brown was named Employee of the Month in his unit and given a gift voucher for use in the hospital cafeteria. The amount: $6. READ MORE

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's base pay stays at $1, but total compensation rises to $25.3 million

Facebook Inc. F, -0.72% Founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg's base pay in 2020 remained at $1, which it has been since 2013, and he again received zero in bonuses and stock awards. However, his total compensation rose 8%to $25.29 million from $23.42 million in 2019, with all but $1 of that total being in the form of "all other compensation," according to the social network company's proxy statement filed late Friday. For Zuckerberg, all other compensation includes $13.44 million for costs related to personal security at his residences and during personal travel, a $10.00 million allowance to cover additional costs related to personal security for Zuckerberg and his family, and $1.85 million for costs related to personal use of private aircraft. Facebook's stock, which fell 0.8% in morning trading Monday, has rallied 23.4% over the past three months while the S&P 500 SPX, -0.20% has tacked on 8.4%. READ MORE

Masters 2021: Here's the prize money payout for each golfer at Augusta National

The spoils of winning the Masters are numerous and overwhelming, as 2021 champion Hideki Matsuyama is about to find out. There’s the green jacket, of course, and the Masters trophy, plus the chance to tee it up every April at Augusta National for the rest of your life. You have a seat reserved at the Champions Dinner each year and a space in the Champions locker room whenever you’re back down Magnolia Lane. Oh, and your golf legacy is fairly secure, “Masters champion” mentioned any time you’re introduced in public. READ MORE

Revisiting withholding on equity compensation

Employers have various tools to attract and retain talent: cash, equity, fringe benefits, and others. Equity compensation has dual benefits of tying key employees' compensation to the company's performance while often offering such employees a tax deferral. Many employers may have looked to equity compensation during the COVID-19 crisis to retain valued employees who are vital in helping the company rebound from a downturn, while also benefiting the company's cash position. READ MORE

Don’t Let Misalignment in Executive Compensation Create Your Own “Black Sox Scandal”

In many companies, executive compensation is determined or negotiated according to an established compensation structure that is derived from their talent acquisition and retention strategy which in turn is driven by their business goals. Typically, a company would identify key growth indicators and ensure that each key executive’s incentives are aligned with company success. READ MORE

New Analysis Reveals 20 Years of Stagnant Wage Growth

American workers have seen their real earnings grow by less than 10% over the last two decades, with a growing racial gap where gains by Black workers are half that of their White counterparts, according to new earnings data released by the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity (LISEP).

LISEP today launched a new measure of economic performance called the True Weekly Earnings (TWE) report, which is designed to provide a clearer picture of worker earnings than the Median Weekly Earnings Report released quarterly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Unlike the BLS report, LISEP includes all members of the workforce – including unemployed and part-time workers – to arrive at a more realistic measure of worker median earnings and their growth over time. READ MORE