Incentive pay sweeping across corporate America

Incentive pay sweeping across corporate America

Nearly six in ten US companies operate incentive plans for non-managerial employees, and four-fifths have increased the target pay-out opportunity for staff over the last three years, according to a survey by human resource consultants William M Mercer.

Mercers new national survey of more than 1,500 organisations offers some fascinating details on emerging practices in human resources:

• Competency-related pay — a reward programme that focuses on the behaviours involved in performing a job in addition to what is actually accomplished.

  Nearly a fifth of survey respondents (19%) now use competency-based pay, up from 7% three years ago. A further 17% are considering doing so.

  The use of competency-based performance management has grown from 20% to 28% over the same three-year period, and another 20% are considering it.

• Multi-rater feedback — whereby peers assess the job performance of their co-workers. Says Steven E Gross, leader of Mercer’ s compensation consulting in the US: With fewer levels of management and less overall supervision today, peers are often in a better position to gauge an employees performance.

  This technique has grown from 21% to 28% over the past three years. Another 18% of survey respondents are considering using this approach.

Want to know more?

Title: US Compensation Planning Survey 2001/2002, William M Mercer.

Survey sample: More than 1,500 US organisations participated in the survey, representing some 14 million workers.

Availability: To purchase the survey contact Mercer at www.imercer.com.

Read a summary of the research online at . . .

www.wmmercer.com/us-news

William M Mercer Companies is a worldwide consulting organisation with more than 13,000 employees serving clients in 135 cities in 39 countries and territories. The firm assists employers in the areas of human resource strategy and implementation. For more details visit . . .

www.wmmercer.com

Posted 24 August 2001