70% of Employees Have Discussed Personal Salary With Co-Workers

Salary transparency, an issue that has taken political and legal strides in the workplace, is now making its way into conversations between co-workers. The frequency of these conversations has risen alongside the increase in negotiations in the hiring process, and laws mandating companies provide salary ranges in new job ads. 

The efficacy of these salary transparency conversations is up for debate, but according to a survey from invoicing solutions provider Skynova of just over 1,000 full-time employees, these interactions are taking place at a presumably unprecedented pace. Seventy percent of surveyed employees said they have taken part in conversations in which they shared how much money they made with their co-workers.  READ MORE

Pay transparency cuts turnover risk — except for Gen Z

The study results come as new laws requiring companies to disclose salaries when hiring job candidates have been enacted across many states. As of Jan. 1, California and Washington became the latest to require pay ranges to be disclosed with job postings, CFO Dive previously reported. The new regulations and the resulting corporate policies are part of a broader push for pay equity and it is also shifting the balance of power in salary negotiations. READ MORE

5 negotiation tips to maximize your salary (even when hiring managers want to pay less)

When applying for a job, there are lots of variables that impact your decision-making: the location, flexible working, and day-to-day responsibilities. But ultimately, salary is always one of the biggest deciding factors.

Too often, employers will dictate lower salaries in a bid to save money. This is one likely reason why employee turnover is so high today. According to Pew, 63% of workers who quit their jobs do so because of low pay. READ MORE

Pay transparency has left middle managers unprepared to defend salary discrepancies

As more cities and states implement salary transparency laws, it's falling on managers to deal with a barrage of questions, concerns and frustrations this new knowledge can reveal. 

Currently, seven states as well as individual cities across the U.S. have salary transparency laws in place that require an organization to include the minimum and maximum pay ranges in job postings. But while 92% of employees are in favor of transparency laws, 63% say these policies will cause problems among coworkers, and 5% would quit if they found out a coworker made more than them, according to data from Resume Builder.  READ MORE

Bill seeks recouping executive pay following bank failure

U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) has joined a group of colleagues to introduce legislation that would authorize efforts to recoup executive pay when a bank failure occurs.

Bill proponents noted the Failed Bank Executives Clawback Act would, among other provisions, require the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to regain up to three years of compensation received by bank executives, board members, controlling shareholders and other key decision makers. READ MORE

Tying executive compensation to ESG metrics is pointless and ridiculous

As virtue signals go, environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives are a popular and noisy bandwagon that companies are jumping aboard to show how much their brands care about things that often have little or nothing to do with their bottom-line business success.

An increasing number of companies are even taking the window dressing of doing good to an absurd and sometimes reckless level by tying executive compensation to leadership’s performance on these feel-good metrics. More than 70 per cent of Fortune 500 companies now have baked – or are considering baking – some ESG elements into their executive-compensation formulas. READ MORE

Executive Compensation and Stakeholder Capitalism

Addressing the needs of a range of stakeholders has long been a part of managing a company, though explicit “stakeholder capitalism” has grown in influence in recent years following Business Roundtable’s updates to “The Purpose of the Corporation” in 2019. While the broader stakeholder focus is growing, shareholder value creation is still the primary company objective, implying that financial and shareholder value metrics should remain the most prominent incentive tools for executive pay programs. With the ongoing market evolution, many companies are more actively contemplating broader stakeholders and considering direct adoption of ESG metrics in pay programs. In these cases, many enduring principles of executive compensation should be applied to ESG metrics, including considering the alignment to company strategy and values and the incentive value that a broader view of performance can provide. READ MORE

For the few women who sit atop S&P 500 companies, thinner paychecks as median compensation slips

Last year was a mixed bag pay-wise for the women who run companies in the S&P 500 -- compensation increased for more than half of them, but the median pay package fell 6%.

Of the 343 CEOs in the compensation survey of S&P 500 companies done by the AP and Equilar, only 20 were women. Because they are a small group, changes in pay for only a few can easily skew the overall figures. READ MORE

How HR can make the most of working with a compensation consultant

Among the many tasks CHROs often face, helping the company’s board of directors shine before shareholders can be one challenging area, especially as it relates to your investors’ “say on pay” vote for executive compensation packages. Because, ultimately, if shareholders don’t approve the compensation strategy, it can give the board, and HR, a black eye. 

Take Netflix, for example. Its board of directors encountered an embarrassing situation as shareholders withheld their support during the “say on pay” vote at the company’s annual shareholders meeting last week. Fortunately for Netflix and other public companies, such a vote is advisory only and not binding. READ MORE

Netflix shareholders reject multi-million dollar compensation package for executives

Netflix (NFLX) shareholders rejected a multi-million dollar executive compensation package on Thursday that includes the pay of co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters. The company spent an estimated $166 million on its executive pay package last year.

The non-binding vote comes against the backdrop of the Hollywood writers' strike as members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) encouraged shareholders to vote against the package earlier this week. READ MORE

How to Conduct a Pay Equity Analysis

As more organizations embrace the hybrid workplace, the need for fair pay policies becomes increasingly important. Ensuring that employees receive equal pay for equal work not only fosters a healthy working environment but also promotes diversity, inclusion, and employee satisfaction. As such, conducting a pay equity analysis is a crucial step in identifying and rectifying any pay discrepancies. READ MORE

HR leaders lack data access for pay equity

Of those surveyed, more than a third (35%) of senior HR leaders do not have enough data on pay, half (50%) lack employee self-identification data, and three in five (59%) are without data on employee demographics.

Alongside significant data gaps, there is a reliance on legacy technology and out-dated, manual internal processes, which makes pay equity analysis much more challenging and ultimately less effective. Most organizations outsource pay equity analysis to external consultants, but for those that manage it in-house, the most common tool reported by senior HR leaders is spreadsheets (59%). READ MORE

EEOC Title VII: What It Means for AI & Pay Equity Compliance

Employers that use AI and automated systems such as pay equity software to streamline workplace processes have received a stark reminder about potential employment discrimination violations.

On May 18th, the EEOC released a technical assistance document outlining the application of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to automated systems incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) in HR-related uses. The document aims to prevent discrimination caused by AI to job candidates and employees, including areas affecting pay equality. READ MORE

Around 79% of American workers believe AI will threaten their salary and lead to pay cuts, new survey finds

American workers are concerned about the adoption of AI in the workplace, especially the prospect of wages declining across the country, a new survey found.

The survey, carried out via survey platform Pollfish and commissioned by employment screening service Checkr, polled 3,000 employed American workers between April 27 and 28, 2023. An equal number of Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials, and Gen Z were surveyed as part of the report. READ MORE