Base Salary

Does your base pay program allow you to attract and retain employees? Are salaries competitive with the market? Is there internal equity in how people are paid? Do you need job descriptions? Are you able to keep your top performers with your current salaries? Is base pay linked to performance results?

One of the key strengths of our firm is our depth of experience in developing base pay programs.

An aligned base pay program has competitive salary ranges that allow you to attract and retain employees, respond to changes in the market, ensure internal equity, and comply with employment legislation. The following five step process is typically used to build a base pay structure:

1. Establishing competitive positioning - What companies constitute the competitive market? How will you position your base salaries relative to the market? What data sources will we use?

2. Job Analysis - Gather current, up-to-date job information regarding job accountabilities and competencies. Our job analysis process is linked to the method of job evaluation selected by our clients.

   Job Descriptions - Using the job data and information from the job analysis process, a set of current and accurate job descriptions may be developed. These job descriptions could serve as the foundation for all other human resources programs, such as recruitment and selection; compensation; performance management; and career development.

3. Evaluate jobs using a job evaluation process - establish a hierarchy of jobs.

   HRP has extensive experience in developing job evaluation plans for a wide range of public and private sector organizations. We can develop a job evaluation plan that is customized to your organization and the range of jobs within it. Alternatively, we can work with our established HRP Job Evaluation Plan as an "off the shelf" job evaluation plan.

   Examples of job evaluation processes used by Human Resources Partners Inc. are:

   • Market driven evaluation
   • Point Factor Job Evaluation (Using traditional and competency based factors)
   • Career based Role Slotting Guide

   We work with you to select the job evaluation process that is most appropriate for your needs. We develop the Job Evaluation process, assist in evaluating jobs, and help to ensure integrity of the final results.

4. Salary Surveys/Market Pricing - Is total cash compensation competitive with the market and industry where you compete for employees? Competitive salaries are researched through salary surveys. Then, an analysis of the competitive positioning of your base salaries and total cash compensation in relation to the market can be made. This information will also be used in the next step to create competitive salary ranges.

5. Build the Salary Structure - Once a hierarchy of jobs/roles is built, using either job evaluation and/or competitive market data, the salary structure is built. The salary structure may involve any of the following options:
   • Traditional salary structure, consisting of grade levels and salary ranges
   • Broader Bands, consisting of fewer grade levels and broader salary ranges

   We will work with you to develop policies and procedures related to salary administration.

"Merit Pay"/"Pay for Performance"

Are high performers rewarded through base pay increases? Do all employees receive the same or similar increase across the board? How should performance be recognized? A well-developed "pay for performance" salary administration process ensures that base pay increases are contingent upon performance results and competency development.

Incentive Pay

Does you organization make effective use of a variable pay program? Does your variable pay program instill a sense of accountability and ownership? What measures are most effective to align employee efforts to achieving business results? How can linkages be made between variable pay payouts and financial results? How can employees be more engaged in the business? How can employees become business literate? Types of variable pay programs include:

• Management Incentives
• Annual Bonus
• Team or Small Group Incentives
• Gain Sharing
• Profit Sharing
• Retention Plans

Benefits

While employees may not leave an organization strictly due to benefits, it is still important that benefit programs are competitive and aligned with the needs of employees.

Recognition Programs

Do you have a way of recognizing employees who go "above and beyond" the call of duty? Recognition can come in many ways - through cash rewards (e.g. spot bonus) and non-cash rewards (e.g. tickets to an event, time off).

A recognition program shows appreciation and recognition for the efforts and achievements of employees in quality of work, cost savings, productivity, customer service, or personal sacrifice.

Retention Programs

The issue of retaining key employees keeps many CEO's awake at night. Special retention programs customized to the specific needs of each employee can be developed to keep core employees from considering other options available to them.

Long Term Incentives

Are your long term incentive programs being used as the appropriate lever to engage employees as "owners", and focused on the big picture?

Work Environment and Employee Engagement

Engagement of employees depends on the "intangible" elements found within the work environment. Human Resources Partners Inc. (HRP) considers all of these elements as part of our consulting work. They include:

• The opportunity for growth, recognition and advancement
• Trust in leadership and credibility of leadership
• Relationships with co-workers, managers and customers
• Interesting work
• Supportive culture
• Belief in organizational values and behaviours.