How to Establish Salary Ranges

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Every organization requires a salary range for each position. The salary range defines the minimum and maximum pay rate that employees can earn for a given position or function. Employers set the range based on several factors, including the organization’s needs and industry trends. The ideal salary range must give the employees opportunities and motivation for career development. For instance, attaining higher education, experience, or additional skills should lead to a higher salary. Here are additional tips that will help an organization set the right salary ranges.

1. Set a Salary Policy

You have two major alternatives when setting the salary range in your organization. You can have a fixed base salary or a variable pay. The variable pay can be based on an employee’s working hours or performance. Alternatively, you can set a base salary for each position based on the current performance of the organization. Employees can earn bonuses when the revenues are high but during the low seasons, they will earn the base salary only. You can increase the base salary as the organization grows.

2. Consider the Organization’s Goals

Do you have clear short-term and long-term goals for your business? If yes, you need all your employees working towards achieving those goals. The salary range should help the organization achieve those goals. You need a fair salary scale that will keep your employees motivated while checking the salary budget. Consider your human resource goals as well. Your employees will always discuss their salary and ask for more. Fairness and equality are important when setting salaries that will enhance employee satisfaction and motivation.

3. Check your Competitor’s Range and Industry Trend

One of the reasons why you need to keep your employees motivated is that you may lose them to your competitors. If your competitors offer better salaries to your best employees, they will resign and join your competitors. Hence, while considering the internal situation in your organization, check the average salaries in your industry. Websites like Salary Site compile salaries for different professions. If you are unsure about your competitors’ range, such websites will give you the average salaries in the industry.

4. Develop a Benefits and Bonus Policy

Keeping up with industry trends is sometimes difficult, especially for small businesses. Remember that your main goal is to offer fair salaries that will help you attract and retain the best talent. Bonuses and a benefits package will help you achieve this goal, even when your organization cannot afford high salaries. Most businesses do not have a clear philosophy on bonuses and benefits. Your employees need clarity on how they can qualify for bonuses and the benefit packages available for different positions. Be clear about the value of the benefits and bonuses.

Conclusion

The salary philosophy in your organization should not be a secret or mystery. Communicate the philosophy to all employees and explain the organizational goals they should help you achieve. Create a clear path on how to earn higher salaries or qualify for a promotion. Your best talents are likely to stay with you if they see clear opportunities for career development, even when the initial salary is low.

You Could Be The Key To Employee Motivation

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Maybe you can see that your employees aren’t motivated, or you’re just wondering how you can add a little extra oomph to their working day to make them feel like they can conquer whatever is on their plate. Do you realize that you could be the key to employee motivation? That’s right – the things you say and do could either psyche your employees up or make them feel demotivated.

Here are some key points that should help you motivate your employees:

Build Relationships With Your Employees

When you build better relationships with your employees, they will automatically want to work harder for you. If they think that they are just another face or number in your business, they are going to become demotivated eventually. Talk to them, tell them stories about when you were making your way up the ladder –  help them see that you’re like them. Don’t sit in your big office chair having somebody else carry your bags for you.

Praise Your Employees Regularly

Make sure you make an effort to genuinely praise your employees both together and separately. Let them know that you notice the hard work they’re putting in. Put it in emails, say it to their faces, put it on a noticeboard…find all kinds of creative ways to make them feel appreciated. This will give them an incentive to continue.

Make Employees Lives Easier

Do what you can to make their lives easier. For example, investing in a new program to help them save time. It not only makes their lives easier, it shows you care. If you don’t care for your employees, don’t be surprised if you end up with some of the following.


Get help with employee scheduling

Top 3 Reasons Why Happy Employees Are Good for Business

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Employees are your business’s biggest assets. Your company can only grow as rapidly as the growth of the employees that support it. In a market as competitive as today, employees also act as a competitive advantage.

Recent studies have shown that keeping employees happy is a great investment. Businesses whose employees are happy produce better results and can be more agile on the market. Aside from the boost in agility, there are other reasons why happy employees are good for business.

Higher Employee Engagement

Happy employees are 12% more productive according to a study by University of Warwick. The spike in productivity is a great thing for your business, especially when you take into account the collective effect that spike produces when the majority of the employees are happy.

It doesn’t stop at productivity either. Happy employees have higher employee engagement in general. This means they are more likely to take initiatives, come up with creative ideas and solutions, and make steps to further contribute to the success of the company.

Higher employee engagement also leads to lower friction within the organization. Engaged employees will speak up about issues they come across in an attempt to maintain a healthy and pleasant working environment. The business will run at a much higher efficiency this way; the 12% boost in productivity we discussed earlier will have an even bigger impact at this stage.

Fewer (Costly) Errors

The biggest cost for a business isn’t the cost of production or operations, but the mistakes employees make along the way. A simple mistake can lead to a much bigger cost too; when a sales officer failed to meet the customer’s deadline, for instance, the loss in sales can be catastrophic to the business’s growth.

This is where keeping employees happy comes into its own. Happy employees have better ability to stay focused. They are result-oriented and goal-driven too. Pair these traits with the higher employee engagement, and you have the perfect recipe for minimizing costly errors in business operations.

You can use online resources such as SalariesHub.com to find out more about what employees expect from a position or a career. Creating a better compensation package and providing employees with clear career paths are among the best ways to boost employee happiness and increase their ability to perform well at work.

Healthier Team

Lastly, there is the added benefit of having a healthier team when your employees are happy. Happy employees live better and longer. They tend to take fewer sick days and are more economical to insure too. These may seem like small advantages to gain, but they are advantages worth pursuing nonetheless.

The attempt to boost employee happiness can go hand in hand with that of creating a healthier team. By introducing a corporate fitness program, for example, you can help employees stay healthy and happy in the long run.

At the end of the day, you don’t need researches and studies to come to the conclusion that happy employees are good for business. Through a better working environment, a clear career path, and a supportive organization, the right investment in employee happiness can produce a great return for the business.

Your Workforce Will Be Happier If You Do These Things

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Every great business needs a happy workforce behind it. No business got off the ground or became successful with a team of grumbling employees who were resentful of the things they had to do. A happy workforce means a higher quality of work. How can you make your workforce happier? Do these things…

Be A Better Boss

A boss in this day and age shouldn’t be somebody who watches from the sidelines and gives people orders. It’s somebody who’s willing to get their hands dirty and go above and beyond for their team. It’s somebody who has an open door policy, listens, and wants to make things as enjoyable as possible for them. You need to genuinely care about your employees to be a great boss. They’ll be able to tell if you’re genuine or not too. You’re not going to get people doing their best work or building a great reputation if you’re only worried about yourself in business.

Make Their Lives Easier

How can you make your employees lives easier? Could you maybe ensure that they have the supplies they need to make lunch, with a microwave, refrigerator, and kettle? Could you ensure they have the highest quality equipment, as well as implement trustworthy programs to help them get things done faster? You can automate some processes, but with others, you’re going to need to find better ways of simplifying. There’s a reason programs like Excel are so popular. You can check out the infographic below if you think this is something you could use.


Credit to STL

Time to Let Someone Go at Work? Here’s How to Do It Properly

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If it’s time to let someone go at work, you may be wondering how to drop the bombshell without creating chaos. Firing an employee is easier said than done, and in some cases, there is more than dignity at stake, so it’s important to tread carefully.

Aside from the obvious discomfort of firing your problem employee, letting him or her go too hastily could be detrimental to your business. Those who feel they were mistreated could take legal action, so you need to make sure you’re following the necessary steps to avoid ending up in court.

With this in mind, here are four tips to help you lay someone off at work without creating unnecessary conflict.

Give Your Employee Time

If you have to let someone go from your business, it shouldn’t come as a shock. You should have been providing the employee with feedback throughout his employment and giving him chances to improve. If someone gets fired out of the blue, he is more likely to want to take action for wrongful dismissal.

Similarly, you should give your employee time to attend the meeting. Don’t schedule it for first thing in the morning, but don’t wait until the end of the day either. If you’ve planned a meeting, your employee probably knows what’s coming, so give him time to prepare.

Be Private

Respect your employee’s privacy by keeping his colleagues in the dark about his departure, so he doesn’t feel like he’s been shunned from all sides. When it comes to letting him go, make sure you do it in a quiet space away from other workers and give him a chance to leave unnoticed. Whatever the circumstances, your employee has the right to retain his dignity.

Be Kind, Not Condescending

There’s no reason to belittle your employee, no matter why they’re leaving the business. In fact, talking down to someone in this situation could come back to haunt you later down the line. Ex-employees talk to competitors and potential clients, and you don’t want your name dragged through the dirt.

To avoid getting a reputation as a poor manager, try to deliver the news as kindly as possible without being condescending. Offer to help the employee find a new job by pointing him in the direction of a free resume builder or providing a reference. Your employee may be upset or angry when you first lay him off, but over time he will remember those small gestures and speak of you more favorably.

Focus on the Facts

Don’t make excuses or come across too personal. It’s entirely acceptable to fire someone because he doesn’t fit in with your business, so don’t feel like you have to lie about budget cuts or pressure from above. Be honest and tell him it’s not a good fit, and try not to stray into emotional territory. Have an HR representative present with all the required documentation to hand, and keep the meeting formal but friendly.

Firing an employee is no one’s favorite job, but it does need to be done from time-to-time. Approaching the situation with humility and care will make the process smoother for everyone involved, so be sure to follow these four steps.