HR Pulse - Fall 2007 - (Page 34)

5. Moving to more transparency creates a much higher level of expectation of manager compensation literacy. 6. It might also constrain necessary discretion by managers; managers might resist this incursion. 7. Therefore, you must make sure that your organization’s existing culture is “ready” for this level of openness and sharing. If the culture is not ready, transparency in this area might do much more harm than good. 8. Never insult an employee’s intelligence. 9. Never misrepresent any aspect of your compensation program; if you do not feel comfortable sharing an aspect of your compensation process, do not do so. This area of Human Resources practice is undergoing some fundamental changes now, and its continuing development is going to be great fun to watch! n Footnotes The writer would like to acknowledge the considerable and thoughtful contribution made by Paul Skiem, Vice President, Human Resources at Resurrection Health Care in Chicago, Illinois. For example, see “A New Era in Corporate Governance?” The McKinsey Quarterly, March 27, 2004, http://news.com.com/A+new+era+in+c orporate+governance/2030-1069_3-5178870. html. 3 http://marketplace.publicradio.org/ shows/2007/02/15/PM200702157.html, Marketplace, February 15, 2007. 4 5 6 2 1 Ibid. Ibid. “Range Width” is defined as the maximum of the pay range minus the minimum, with the result divided by the minimum. Thus, if your pay range had a minimum of $10 per hour and a maximum of $15, the pay range width would be ($15 - $10) ÷ $10 = $5 ÷ $10 = 50% pay range width. 7 John Sullivan put it this way: “If you’ve got something to hide, you’d better hide it.” He also referred to compensation practice itself as “the allocation of discontent.” 8 This can be a risky strategy. Talking about pay is “protected concerted activity” under our labor laws. If an employee is disciplined for discussing her pay, she might have a valid basis for an unfair labor practice charge against her employer. And, of course, this could become a cause celebre for a union. 9 10 34 HR Pulse Fall 2007 “Nimbleness” One more thing: class-action lawsuits were filed in 2006 against a number of hospitals in Chicago, Albany, San Antonio, Memphis and Detroit, alleging an inappropriate sharing of RN compensation information among competing hospitals. The asserted motive for this was to “fix RN pay.” Hospitals were effectively accused of collectively planning, in advance, RN wages so as to keep wage levels “artificially low.” This case is still pending. For this article, it must be assumed that the more-open sharing of compensation information with a hospital’s own staff does not, unintentionally, violate applicable anti-trust rules, but the legal status of this might change. One hospital uses this extrinsically in their recruiting—it’s a part of their “brand identity.” It sounds less outrageous than it might have in days before Salary.com… 11 12 Call us at 866-843-9555. www.constangy.com Class Action Defense • Litigation Prevention • Labor Relations • Employee Benefits OSHA • Wage Hour • Immigration • Affirmative Action John Bernat is the interim vice president of Human Resources at Exempla Healthcare, Denver, Colo. 319555_Constangy.indd 1 3/9/07 5:19:24 PM http://news.com.com/A+new+era+in+corporate+governance/2030-1069_3-5178870.html http://news.com.com/A+new+era+in+corporate+governance/2030-1069_3-5178870.html http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2007/02/15/PM200702157 http://www.constangy.com http://Salary.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of HR Pulse - Fall 2007

Contents Executive Director’s Letter President’s Message HR Leader Profile: Lisa McDaniel Spotlight on Community Citizenship Culture of Engagement How Transparent Should Healthcare Compensation Be? The Value of Assessment Testing in the Recruitment Process Technology Dramatically Changes FMLA Compliance Creating a Magnetic Culture™ Taking It to the Hill: An Advocacy Update 401(k) / 403(b) Fee Lawsuits – Are You the Next Target? Compensation Offers – A Better Process Find It Again Pulse Points Who, Why and Where Conference Highlights Schedule at a Glance Keynote Speakers Social Events Conference Sponsors Exhibitors Index to Advertisers

HR Pulse - Fall 2007

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