Editor's Note: Motivation is a key objective for many of the plans and programs we devise.  But how well do we really understand and work to appreciate the variations and complexities of motivation?  Jim Brennan share some insights and conclusions in this Classic post. No one can motivate... Read More

Editor's Note:  Truly Classic (and invaluable) advice from Dan Walter.  Pay attention! A friend recently updated their status with the title to this article. Ironically, I saw it just as I got off a call with a client who  was explaining that somehow she was expected to serve as both the... Read More

Editor's Note:  With today's Classic serves up a call to walk the talk - or at least honestly talk the walk - when it comes to annual bonus awards. It's a common lament this time of year.  In organizations with annual bonus "plans", whether paid out at year-end or early... Read More

Editor's Note:  Compensation and HR staff are spread mighty thin these days.  In today's Classic post, Dan Walter asks: Is everything you do necessary?  Is everything you do making it easier to get important work done?   Is everything you do necessary? Perhaps, I should ask the... Read More

Editor's Note:  Chuck Csizmar raises this Classic question and urges us to take an honest look in the mirror to discover the real answer. Have you ever been asked this question at work? Or perhaps looked at yourself in the mirror one morning and asked yourself? My belief is that we... Read More

As an independent advisor, I have often been called in to help with situations where compensation has become a very emotional and even intractable problem.  Having the opportunity to work with -- and through -- a lot of these situations over the years has taught me a few things. The biggest lesson... Read More

Experimentation, it seems, is on a lot of our minds lately. As one example, check out Mercer's great piece on Cultivating a Lab Mindset.  I agree with the direction of this thinking, that moving compensation (and all HR) programs and practices forward, at the ground level where most of us... Read More

I caught up recently with an old friend who works in an administrative position for a large professional services firm.  When I told her a little about what I do, she brought up a pet pay peeve of hers:  salary range maximums.  Having been in her role for nearly a decade, her salary has reached... Read More

Article after article tells us that we should halt our use of incentives because people aren't motivated by money.  Or because they are motivated by money, but to do the wrong things. I can't help feeling that many of them are missing the point. Many of the incentive... Read More

Humor is a powerful tool.  Wielded well (particularly in a self-deprecating manner), it can help defuse tension, build rapport and boost morale.  But who would have guessed it had particular application to salary management? Apparently a good joke can pay off.  In simulations conducted by Todd... Read More