Compensation Philosophy
The New Focus HR Consultant will assist the executive management team with developing their compensation philosophy for the organization in coordination with the organization’s overall business goals. The Consultant will challenge the team to determine how the organization wants to pay their employees with regards to the market. Do they want to lead, lag or pay at market rates? Once this is determined a total compensation analysis may begin.
Job Audits and/or Job Descriptions
The New Focus HR Consultant will either spend time auditing jobs within an organization and/or employees who are currently doing the work may complete a job analysis questionnaire to start the process. Once the questionnaires are received by the Consultant, drafts of legally compliant job descriptions will be presented to the management team for their review. This process also helps with determining the most effective and efficient organizational structure for the organization. It is also the most important part of the compensation process in order to evaluate essential duties and responsibilities of each position.
Once complete, job descriptions are effective for:
- Sharing with potential new hires during the interview process to not only make sure that they have an interest in the job, but to also make sure that they are able to complete the essential duties and responsibilities according to the physical requirements and work environment sections of the job description.
- Sharing with current employees so that they know what is expected of them in their jobs as they will be held accountable for meeting the expectations of the job.
- Utilizing as a tool to make sure that the organization is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and its Amendments (ADAAA). Making sure that each job description has a physical requirements and work environment section is critical for compliance with the ADAAA.
- Utilizing as a tool to make sure that the organization is compliant with workers’ compensation guidelines. Making sure that the attending physician has a copy of the injured employee’s job description may help to get him/her back to work faster?
Competitive Market Data/Internal Hierarchy/Pay Grades/Salary Administration Plan
The New Focus HR Consultant will obtain competitive market data, i.e. salary survey data from reputable resources in order to compare base pay data for jobs within an organization to competitive market data. The Consultant will then determine the internal hierarchy of jobs within the organization with regards to skill, responsibility, financial impact and the complexity of the number of employees supervised. This internal hierarchy will be matched with the competitive market data to produce pay grades for each job and/or categories of jobs, e.g. exempt versus nonexempt, department versus department, etc. depending upon the compensation philosophy of the organization. A written salary administration plan will be provided to the organization so that they know how to maintain the program going forward.
Variable Pay Plans
The New Focus HR Consultant may assist organizations in writing formal commission, incentive and/or bonus plans for employees within their organizations. Note: Minus a written plan, some states require that agreed to money to be paid to an eligible employee be paid out when it is earned and not when monies are received by the organization. Let us assist your organization with making sure that you are compliant with compensation-related laws.
Wage and Hour Practices and Programs
The New Focus HR Consultant may assist your organization with compliance in regards to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Equal Pay Act, internship programs, and independent contractor status, to name a few. Does your organization have their employees classified correctly according to the FLSA? Is your organization following the guidelines as determined by the Internal Revenue Service with regards to independent contractors? If you are not sure, please contact us.