Webcast to discuss importance of effective communication to increase employee satisfaction, engagement

Sycamore, IL (PRWEB) June 18, 2009 — In an upcoming Webcast, KnowledgePay compensation experts will discuss how organizations can benefit increasing their communications about pay, essential to keep employees committed and engaged.

While the term may evoke apprehension in some corporate minds, pay transparency does not mean that every person in a company knows what the other people are making. Every company operates on a continuum of transparency – ranging from absolute secrecy to full disclosure. Where the company falls is often a function of the organization culture.

The Webcast, scheduled for Wednesday, June 24 at 2:00-3:00 p.m. EST with registration athttp://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/607883377, will provide some practical guidance in implementing a more transparent approach to communications about pay and includes:

• Defining Pay Transparency
• How companies can convert their compensation data into meaningful knowledge
• How organizations can leverage pay transparency in a tough economy
• Steps companies can take towards great transparency

“Information about pay is everywhere,” said Chris Kelley, founder and chief executive officer of KnowledgePay. “The question is – how accurate is that information people are blogging, chatting and Twittering about? A company will only benefit by increasing their communications about pay and their basis for compensation decisions.”

Management can increase operational efficiency, save time and money, as well as increase revenue by being more communicative about pay. Employees who understand the foundation of their company’s compensation plan, how they fit within it, and how their pay stacks up relative to other alternatives are more committed to the company and more engaged in their work.

Improved communication is vital. Citing foundational research in the Knowledge of Pay Study, Kelley shows that “organizations that are perceived to pay less competitively achieve higher organizational effectiveness when they share more knowledge about pay and pay processes.”

To register for the webinar, go to http://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/607883377.

About KnowledgePay
KnowledgePay delivers enterprise HR software with a relentless focus on compensation intelligence. KnowledgePay’s innovative on-demand technologies help organizations and their people succeed by maximizing engagement, alignment, passion and productivity. KnowledgePay solutions integrate all sources of job and compensation data with groundbreaking analytic tools to drive HR productivity and business results.

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Contact: Gail DeLano
Fisher Vista/HRmarketer
(831) 685-9700
gdelano(at)fishervista.com

New white paper demonstrates that effective communication about compensation can increase employee satisfaction, engagement

Sycamore, IL (PRWEB) May 19, 2009 — A new white paper from KnowledgePay suggests companies may benefit from increasing pay transparency. Approached correctly, increasing communication about pay can provide a more committed, engaged workforce, essential in this struggling economy.

In “Pay Transparency: The Future of Compensation Management,” Chris Kelley, KnowledgePay founder and chief executive officer, traces the growth of pay transparency over the last decade and the advantages available to companies that understand and manage compensation within this new milieu. The paper is available for downloadhere.

“Organizations have to face it – compensation is no longer a secret,” said Kelley. “Yet the question really is, ‘how reliable is the data about pay that employees chat, blog, Facebook and Twitter about?’ Clearly there’s no way to know how valid it is.”

Kelley is quick to point out that pay transparency does not mean that every person in a company knows what everyone else is making. Rather, it means that every employee understands the foundation of their company’s compensation plan, how they fit within it, and how their pay stacks up relative to other alternatives.

Every company operates somewhere on a continuum of pay transparency – from absolute secrecy to full disclosure. An organization’s culture determines where it will fall on the continuum. Wherever that may be, targeted actions by management to increase the degree of transparency can result in more efficient operations, savings in time and money, and increased company revenue because employees are more engaged and satisfied in their jobs, and offer their discretionary effort.

Improved communication is vital. Citing foundational research in the Knowledge of Pay Study, Kelley shows that “organizations that are perceived to pay less competitively achieve higher organizational effectiveness when they share more knowledge about pay and pay processes.”

In addition, knowledge of pay increases employee trust in management and reduces turnover — a huge competitive advantage with the current economy.

Those interested in more information on pay transparency and its implications for employees, compensation management and organizational success can download the white paper, “Pay Transparency: The Future of Compensation Management,” here.

About KnowledgePay
KnowledgePay delivers enterprise HR software with a relentless focus on compensation intelligence. KnowledgePay’s innovative on-demand technologies help organizations and their people succeed by maximizing engagement, alignment, passion and productivity. KnowledgePay solutions integrate all sources of job and compensation data with groundbreaking analytic tools to drive HR productivity and business results.

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Contact: Gail DeLano
Fisher Vista/HRmarketer
(831) 685-9700
gdelano(at)fishervista.com

Integrated data, analysis and metrics needed for optimal decisions

Sycamore, IL (PRWEB) April 30, 2009 – Within a tough economy, salary freezes, pay cuts and other severe measures are almost daily news. In a new podcast, KnowledgePay founder and compensation expert Chris Kelley advises companies to make compensation decisions with a long-term perspective.

In “Managing Compensation Strategically,” a podcast available here, Kelley argues that a majority of companies lack an integrated, strategic view towards compensation – regardless of economic conditions

“The information that most companies need – job descriptions, job evaluation data, salary surveys – is often scattered throughout the organization in spreadsheets, word-processing documents, ad hoc databases, and even on paper,” said Kelley. “That makes it very difficult to make informed and effective pay decisions based on real analysis and metrics.”

While studies have shown that as much as 70 percent of a company’s operating expense is employee-related, ironically, there is a dearth of good software tools to bring together needed data to effectively manage this number one operating expense.

After spending years in compensation management for major corporations such as Sears, Grainger, and BP, Kelley launched a consulting business that focused on helping companies manage compensation strategically. Software Kelley created during this time became the basis for the KnowledgePay enterprise compensation software introduced earlier this year.

Citing the emerging trend towards salary freezes and even across-the-board salary decreases, Kelley argued that companies more than ever need good decision-making tools at their disposal. KnowledgePay helps companies optimize their decision-making capabilities to meet immediate bottom-line objectives in a fashion that makes sense for their business.

Organizations still need to make good pay decisions even when the economy is on the upswing. For more information on better compensation tools and a communications policy to empower managers and drive employee performance, download the complementary podcast here.

KnowledgePay’s “10 Tips for Managing Compensation in a Down Economy” is also available here. Those interested can subscribe to the KnowledgePay podcast series in iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/knowledgepay-podcast-series/id313805963.

About KnowledgePay
KnowledgePay delivers enterprise HR software with a relentless focus on compensation intelligence. KnowledgePay’s innovative on-demand technologies help organizations and their people succeed by maximizing engagement, alignment, passion and productivity. KnowledgePay solutions integrate all sources of compensation and job data with groundbreaking analytic tools to drive HR productivity and business results.

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Contact: Gail DeLano
Fisher Vista/HRmarketer
(831) 685-9700
gdelano(at)fishervista.com

New KnowledgePay checklist helps decision-makers position companies to succeed when economy improves

Sycamore, IL (PRWEB) April 8, 2009 – Compensation is a hot topic, especially when economic times are tough. Compensation experts at KnowledgePay, Inc. have created a checklist of tips for decision-makers on managing compensation, available here.

“In challenging times, corporate managers sometimes have to make tough decisions to improve the bottom line,” said Chris Kelley, KnowledgePay’s founder and chief executive officer. “But, even now they can make compensation decisions that will help their company prosper when the economy recovers.”

An organization’s compensation philosophy is integral to its culture. Even when difficult decisions are necessary, remaining consistent with the company’s core values, mission and vision will go far to encourage employee loyalty and discretionary effort. Companies that have always linked performance to pay, for instance, should not change course and implement pay freezes, reductions or even layoffs based on unrelated factors.

Another tip from KnowledgePay is to manage compensation by facts, rather than fall prey to knee-jerk reactions. Managers with the discipline to rely on solid compensation data, rather than emotion or headlines, have the best chance of achieving positive, long-term business results

Organizations should also regard the current crisis as an opportunity to review their overall rewards plan, to be sure it encourages behaviors that lead to company success. Management should focus on what is most important for their business to achieve, use their rewards plan to encourage those achievements and try to eliminate unintended consequences.

Corporate compensation practices receive intense scrutiny these days, especially with the amount of pay information available online and increased career mobility among workers. Staying focused on future successes won’t make today’s difficult decisions any easier, but it can improve those decisions – consistent with company culture, based on facts, and focused on improving business results.

“No one knows how soon the economy will turn around,” said Kelley. “In the meantime, HR and compensation professionals will keep trying to turn lemons into lemonade. ‘Ten Tips for Tough Times’ is designed to help.”

This document and other information about strategic compensation management are available here free-of-charge at .

About KnowledgePay
KnowledgePay delivers enterprise HR software with a relentless focus on compensation intelligence. KnowledgePay’s innovative on-demand technologies help organizations and their people succeed by maximizing engagement, alignment, passion and productivity. KnowledgePay solutions integrate all sources of compensation and job data with groundbreaking analytic tools to drive HR productivity and business results.

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Contact: Gail DeLano
Fisher Vista/HRmarketer
(831) 685-9700
gdelano(at)fishervista.com

Trends towards pay cuts may question companies’ underlying salary foundations

Sycamore, IL (PRWEB) March 18, 2009 — Layoffs have been a traditional corporate response in navigating serious economic downturns. Organizations now are increasingly using salary freezes, and in an unorthodox turn, more are considering and implementing pay cuts.

What was previously out of the question for companies, employees and unions is now on the table. Yet companies considering reductions in salaries may be begging employee questions they’d rather not face-what’s the actual basis for my pay? How does it compare to the market?

Across-the-board cuts can be egalitarian, like the recent Acco Brands’ 47 percent reduction. Yet for some companies, it can often reveal a surprising level of “guesstimating” according to KnowledgePay, a Chicago-area based provider of enterprise compensation management software.

“Many corporations base compensation decisions on dispersed data, not sufficiently integrated to provide a clear basis for individual employee pay levels,” said Chris Kelley, chief executive officer. “No one wants their salary cut, but there are legitimate reasons why a company may consider reducing an individual’s or a group’s salary over another.”

While an organization may be paying their marketing group a salary commensurate with local competitors, they may be underpaying their IT group, Kelley explained. Across-the-board pay reductions can exacerbate those already out-of-balance levels. Instead, companies want to make intelligent pay reductions based on verifiable data.

Compensation takes into consideration not only job titles and responsibilities, but also individuals’ experience, seniority and performance, along with pay levels in the market. An employer may pay their engineer in Silicon Valley more than one based in rural Mississippi, but may also consider their relative value based on the scope of their role and their future potential.

In addition, companies need to consider what it will mean to replace the individual employee when economic conditions improve. Laying off an individual or a group not only immediately removes their expenses – it also eliminates their production. After a rehire, it might be years for the performance to reach that of the individual in that position.

KnowledgePay’s new compensation software lets corporations integrate into a single environment all sources of compensation data- independent market salary surveys, internal job analyses, job descriptions, organizational relationships, demographics, and other information about jobs and pay.

Compensation professionals can make better decisions with easy access to information and analytic tools. They can also provide employees verified information in context regarding any changes in pay.

About KnowledgePay
KnowledgePay delivers enterprise HR software with a relentless focus on compensation intelligence. KnowledgePay’s innovative on-demand technologies help organizations and their people succeed by maximizing engagement, alignment, passion and productivity. KnowledgePay solutions integrate all sources of compensation and job data with groundbreaking analytic tools to drive HR productivity and business results.

###

Contact: Gail DeLano
Fisher Vista/HRmarketer
(831) 685-9700
gdelano(at)fishervista.com