I share my house with five cats (a clowder, it's called) and it’s been that way for as long as I can remember. One or two fur balls has never been enough for us. I love them, they are part of my family, but I recognize that they are stubborn, stubborn, stubborn creatures, and at times it... Read More

Editor's Note:  Gender was a less polarizing topic a few years ago when I first highlighted the research noted below.  What are your thoughts on this Classic "gender and reward" post?  Would the findings of this research differ if it was conducted today? On the heels of the... Read More

"Remember, with great power comes great responsibility." ... who would have thought that a Marvel Comics superhero trilogy would impart such wisdom on how we approach our responsibility as Rewards Professionals in supporting first-time people leaders. The famous words from Spider-Man... Read More

Editor's Note:  It's a good day for a Classic reminder about the importance of gratitude and saying thanks.  Thank you, Derek Irvine. "Could I ask you a quick favor?" “Would you help me out on Project X for just a minute?” “You really know a lot about thingimajigs.... Read More

The stories my son Grey finds the most entertaining are those about my father’s legendary lack of direction. He loves hearing how Grandpa would regularly get lost coming home from work, a place we drive to every single day. My father would nearly always end up about seven miles from our house at... Read More

Performance management has evolved enormously over the years I've been involved with these programs. When I think about the situations where I saw performance management program have a real and tangible impact on the organization's success, however, there is one common factor.  What they... Read More

Jack Stack - author of The Great Game of Business and considered by many to be the father of open-book management - has this to say about discretionary profit sharing plans (drawn from an Inc. article The Problem with Profit Sharing): By profit sharing, I mean the practice of taking a... Read More

We in the profession like to use the acronym ROI (Return on Investment) in talking about the efficacy of our reward programs.  To really put this concept (and those reward dollars) to work, I find it helpful to look at total rewards as a portfolio.  Like the elements of a sound investment... Read More

Compensation professionals love to throw around the phrase "line of sight", particularly with respect to incentive pay design.  What do we mean when we use it in regard to rewards? And are we using it correctly in understanding reward effectiveness? Line of sight is an expression with... Read More

Research can be found everywhere and compelling research findings can make for profitable clickbait.  We in the HR space, however, would do well to become careful consumers of what is often presented as rewards and productivity research. One example would be an article with an attention-grabbing... Read More