Having a competitive compensation plan for your CT organization is important for many reasons – to recruit and retain employees, to keep company morale and productivity high and to keep turnover to a minimum. And compensation is not just about offering a good paycheck. A competitive compensation plan should also include other benefits like health insurance, retirement plans, profit-sharing plans, generous paid time off, flex work schedules and special perks like on-site daycare or concierge services.
How do you ensure you’re offering competitive pay in CT – and more important a competitive compensation plan that will attract the best job candidates in the state? Ask yourself these four questions –
Does Your Organization Have an Established Compensation Structure?
When it comes to paying your employees, make sure your organization has a compensation structure that clearly states how workers will get paid – whether it’s a salary, hourly rate, sales plus commission, etc. Pay grades based on experience – entry-level, intermediate, senior-level should also be clearly defined and leveraged appropriately when bringing on new hires. Make it known if there are other opportunities for increased employee pay through bonuses or promotions. Depending on your industry and the size of your organization, most if not all of these topics should be addressed in your compensation structure.
Do You Know What Other CT Employers Offer?
It is extremely important to have a pulse on what other employers in the state are offering their workers – salary and otherwise. Connect with other companies that are similar to you and find out what’s working and not working for them when it comes to their compensation plans. Employers can also leverage salary surveys to gauge what companies are paying their employees. Just make sure you’re comparing salaries by industry and geographic region, as the numbers will vary greatly based on those criteria.
Are Your Expectations Realistic?
Be realistic when it comes to determining salaries for employees. If you’re looking for a senior-level employee, then the compensation must reflect that. Just like a job candidate shouldn’t have unrealistic expectations for the pay they’ll receive, an employer should not have unrealistic expectations for what kind of pay they can offer a new employee.
Have You Conducted an Employee Compensation Survey?
Not sure how your employees feel about your current compensation plan? Survey them. Online survey tools make it easy to pull together a comprehensive survey that can easily be distributed to employees. Find out how they feel in general about their current compensation plan, and then drill down into each category and measure their satisfaction when it comes to their pay and other benefits like healthcare, paid time off, work schedules, etc. Their valuable feedback can help make your compensation plan more competitive and successful than ever.
Looking to grow your company with the best talent in CT? A.R. Mazzotta can find you the right people! We can help you recruit for direct hire, contract staffing positions and more. And we’ll make sure that your compensation plan is on the right track. Contact any of our offices today.