Number of the day: salary increases

New survey data released by executive compensation consultancy Pearl Meyer show that 70% of organizations implemented larger salary increases this year compared to 2021, with 21% reporting “significantly higher” levels. When polled in November 2021, companies expecting larger increases indicated an average of 4.2%. The data show actual implemented increases were even higher than anticipated at 4.8%. READ MORE

Creating a Motivational Cash Compensation Program

Variable pay incentive bonuses are becoming a larger part of employee compensation, but that doesn't mean organizations can ignore their base pay salary structures.

Before paying bonuses, organizations "must first have appropriate base pay as an anchor," said John A. Rubino, founder and president of Rubino Consulting Services, a global HR consulting firm based in Pound Ridge, N.Y. He spoke June 14 at the SHRM Annual Conference & Expo 2022 (SHRM22) in New Orleans. READ MORE

Stock market's fall has wiped out $3 trillion in retirement savings this year

The U.S. stock market rout that has put U.S. equities in a bear market isn't just reducing the net worth of billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. It's also taking a toll on Americans' retirement savings, wiping out trillions of dollars in value.

The selloff has erased nearly $3 trillion from U.S. retirement accounts, according to Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. By her calculations, 401(k) plan participants have lost about $1.4 trillion from their accounts since the end of 2021. People with IRAs — most of which are 401(k) rollovers — have lost $2 trillion this year. READ MORE

Senator bristles at FDA commissioner over nine-figure payment to CEO

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., during a Senate committee hearing on the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic, brought up a nine-figure "golden parachute" payment that Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel received, criticizing the huge sum that came after the vaccine developer received billions in government funding.

Sanders was not just upset about the payment itself, but about how FDA Commissioner Robert Califf was not aware of it. When asked about the payment, Califf said he was "not aware of that," as it was  "not something I would keep up with" in his job. READ MORE

How To Disclose Salary On Job Postings

At what point in your life do you learn to negotiate? As a child in a military family, I think they skipped over that lesson. No one who went to Boot Camp negotiated with a three-year-old afterwards. That’s just not how we handled tiny terrorists in the military. My childhood was non-negotiable.

In all fairness, negotiation was not the more important career skill to have – as a child or for my parents as soldiers. In the military, you get what you get. Based on a formula consisting of location, time, education, and a few other variables, pay is calculated. There’s a compensation plan. READ MORE

California Bill Would Require Pay Range in Job Ads

A proposed bill in California would make pay more transparent. Under the bill, employers with 15 or more employees would have to include pay range in all of their job postings and publicly report how much certain groups of employees are paid.

"I give the bill a moderate chance of passing," said Anthony Zaller, an attorney with Zaller Law Group, based in El Segundo, Calif. "If passed, it would be one of the strongest pay transparency laws in the country. Not only does the bill require employers to report wages for employees across race, gender and position in the company, it also proposes to publish each employer's information on the Internet." READ MORE

Microsoft to Begin Disclosing Salaries, Drops Non-Compete Clauses

Microsoft has announced a raft of beneficial new employment policies. The biggest change is it will begin divulging salary ranges for open positions. Microsoft isn’t being benevolent — this will be required by Washington state law starting in 2023. However, the company has also announced three other changes to its employment policies. Given the competitive nature of the tech market, it might just spur other companies to do likewise. READ MORE

Executive compensation, earnings best practices, corporate access and IR salary & career research findings revealed

Turning to executive compensation in North America, IR Magazine’s spokesperson said a higher proportion of North American companies, compared with companies in other regions, report that no one from the board speaks to investors about executive compensation. ‘But 52 percent of global investors say they expect the board to discuss this with them,’ the spokesperson said. READ MORE

A Job Applicant Is Not An Employee For Compensation Purposes

The Ninth Circuit recently concluded that job applicants are not entitled to compensation for time devoted to pre-employment drug tests because an employment relationship has not yet been formed. The Ninth Circuit held that the “control test” does not apply to job applicants, and that, under California contract law, the applicants had no contract for employment until they passed the pre-hire drug tests. Johnson v. WinCo Foods. READ MORE

Examining the Potential of New Executive Compensation Structures

The core responsibility of designing compensation plans that attract, retain and motivate the right CEO and his/her executive team requires new levels of creativity and flexibility — more customization to each organization’s unique circumstances than ever before. 

We’ve all heard the expression “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” But even if something isn’t broken, it may not be functioning optimally. This certainly applies to executive compensation plans, which overall have become relatively stagnant. READ MORE

Washington to Require Salary Ranges in Job Postings Starting 2023

Effective January 1, 2023, Washington employers with at least 15 employees must affirmatively disclose the wage scale or salary range and a general description of all benefits and other compensation being offered when posting job openings, regardless of whether such information is requested by the applicant.

Washington joins the growing number of states requiring employers to include salary ranges and benefits offerings on job postings. READ MORE

Engineering Candidates Most Often Decline Job Offers Due to Low Base Salary

Despite signs of an economic slowdown in tech, high-growth companies are still looking to fill crucial technical roles this year while conserving spend in a volatile market. According to new research from compensation intelligence provider OpenComp, engineering candidates most often decline job offers due to low base salary, which means hiring managers will need best-in-class data to ensure offers are competitive in the market without spending beyond tightened budgets. READ MORE