How current and future potential employees view your Middle Market organization should carry a lot of importance. Your employer brand and ranking in the list of potential employers shapes your workforce. And, your ability to attract the best and brightest in your industry.
A key part of your branding is how the workforce views your compensation. To be an employer of choice, your compensation must be on par with your competition. Or, it will need to be offset by tremendous strengths in other areas. Few companies would outright admit their compensation isn’t great. However, many organizations miss the mark and lose out on great employees. So, you can’t bankrupt your organization to have fantastic compensation packages, but you do need to remain competitive.
What does your Middle Market firm need to know about compensation to make sure you retain your top performers?
What’s Happening In The Marketplace?
Knowing the industry averages for different jobs is great, but only a small part of the picture. Averages across an entire industry don’t factor in many things like location, cost of living and individual performance. Therefore, go beyond an average number and dive deeper into your market and region. The going rate for similar roles within your town, county, state, and region gives you a more robust picture.
Beyond information for your area, you should also have a very clear idea of what your direct competitors are doing. Now, it can be difficult to obtain this information. So, aim for having at least a sense that you are staying completive. When prospective employees turn you down, you should work to ensure your compensation and benefits weren’t a determining factor.
Work with local job service organizations or recruiters to determine where you fall in line with your competition. Stay informed – it can be the difference between keeping and losing your star performers.
Take Your Internal Temperature
Being blindsided by losing a top employee can shake any organization. In the Middle Market, losing a key person can be terribly detrimental, so you should always have a good idea of what your employees think about your organization – including your compensation.
Figure out a way to regularly get feedback about pay rates and your compensation procedures. Make sure your employees know they are valued and you show it through regular communications and evaluation processes. Ask for and listen intently to their honest feelings about your compensation.
Realize that money is not the be all and end all of job satisfaction, but employees who feel they are grossly underpaid will eventually leave, even when they enjoy many parts of their jobs. If you repeatedly hear complaints about your pay, you should make sure you do something about it – sooner rather than later.
Make Great Compensation A Part Of Your Retention Strategy
Paying well is a great way to attract and keep star employees, but it is only part of the picture. Just like you can’t keep great talent with severely depressed pay and a fantastic environment, the converse is true. Placing so much focus on pay, to the detriment of your work environment isn’t the answer.
Your Middle Market organization needs to integrate competitive salary with an internal environment employees are fulfilled and successful in.
Staying on top of compensation trends and what your employees want is essential for improved retention.
So what’s in the Mighty Middle Market for me? — get it right now at www.Go4ROI.com.