A compensation philosophy is our north star for our compensation plans. It's a statement that outlines a company's approach to employee compensation. It helps align our comp practices with business goals so a business makes the most of it's biggest cost: labour.

I love a good guiding philosophy so was happy to have this discussion with Carolyn Kildare. Carolyn is the owner of Cadence Compensation Consulting. She worked for Mercer for 12 years and is the President of the Calgary Total Rewards Network.

These are just a few tips from our discussion:

💰 Compensation is a high stakes topic. Get your ducks in a row (reasonably) before something inevitably happens.

💰 Your compensation philosophy tells you who, what, when, how and how much.

💰 A theme from my show generally was reinforced: stop paying new recruits as much or more than your loyal employees.

💰 Are you getting FOMO so you pay more? It's like buying a house. It looks SO amazing so you pay the premium. And then you find out about the leaky roof and plumbing issues.

💰 A comp philosophy helps you put your money where your mouth is e.g. if you want a performance culture then your compensation should support it.

Compensation philosophy is important. It's high stakes but it doesn't have to be hugely difficult. Most employees will accept what is fair.

Find Carolyn at https://www.cadencecompensation.ca/or on LinkedInFind me as always: https://thehrhub.ca