Closing the gap: Examining executive compensation packages for women

While women have made progress with representation in the C-suite and on company boards, there is still a big gap. According to McKinsey & Company's 2020 Women in the Workplace Study, the number of women serving in the C-suite has increased from 17% in 2015 to 21% in 2020. However, when you look at the top C-suite roles, named executive officers (NEOs) for proxy reporting, the gap enlarges to seven to one, according to Morningstar research on proxy disclosures of the Russell 3000 companies. READ MORE

New Legions of Remote Workers Puts Geographic Pay Policies in the Spotlight

Geographic pay policies, a.k.a. localized compensation, are in flux. Of the 62% of organizations with existing geographic pay policies, 44% are considering modifying or have recently modified their policies due to the increase of full-time remote work, according to WorldatWork's Geographic Pay Policies Study. With 67% of employees expecting their compensation to reflect their location, geographic pay is a critical issue for employers 1) striving to improve the workforce experience and 2) recruiting/retaining top talent. Pay policy prevalence, geographic pay philosophies, determinants of employees' geographic pay location, modification approaches, remote work flexibility, and limiting factors, among other variables, were measured. Organizations and employees were surveyed separately. READ MORE

Executives' Pay Deters Big Oil From Acting On Climate Change

The way executives at large oil companies are paid encourages these companies to extract more fossil fuels, a study has suggested, as reported by The Guardian, who said it was given exclusive access to the findings.

The study came from the Climate Accountability Institute, an organization that says about itself that it "engages in research and education on anthropogenic climate change, dangerous interference with the climate system, and the contribution of fossil fuel producers' carbon production to atmospheric carbon dioxide content." READ MORE

5 Tips For Mastering Pay-For-Performance Compensation

The concept of “paying for performance” is central to sales and service organizations. Examples include paying retail associates based on product sales, trainers based on number of classes taught, salespeople based on quota achievement, insurance agents for policies sold, and so forth. Trillions of dollars are spent every year on commission-based pay. Research suggests this is money well spent. Except when it isn’t. To quote Dr. Barry Gerhart, “Pay-for-performance seems capable of producing spectacularly good results. It can likewise produce spectacularly bad results.” READ MORE

Meet the Highest Paid CEO in S&P 500, Paycom’s $211 Million Man

Move over, Elon Musk and Tim Cook. There is a new name breaking into the list of the highest-paid chief executives: Chad Richison, the founder and CEO of payroll processor Paycom Software Inc.

The Oklahoma City billionaire last year was awarded compensation valued at $211 million by Paycom, the company disclosed in the annual proxy statement it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week. READ MORE

CEO Hits Back At Fox News After They Derided Him For Offering $70,000 Minimum Salaries

Back in 2015, the tech entrepreneur shocked the business world by slashing his own $1.1 million pay package to help fund a minimum “living wage” of $70,000 for all workers at his credit card processing company Gravity Payments.

Price’s decision led to him being heavily criticized as a “socialist” on Fox News and Fox Business. In addition, some clients dropped Gravity for reasons that included fears the salary hike would cause their rates to rise.  READ MORE

Early Say on Pay Trends Show Tide Turning Toward More Shareholder Dissent

Marking its 10th anniversary this year, Say on Pay has been trumpeted as a critical voice for shareholders to rein in rising, outsized levels of executive compensation. Yet since the provision was enacted in 2011, median CEO pay has increased nearly every year while the percentage of companies that receive overwhelming approval on this measure has been consistently high. There's been a question as to whether this non-binding vote actually works toward its intended purpose, and perhaps that it even has additional unintended consequences. READ MORE

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