Improve Your Compensation by Embracing Change
We’ve Never Done It That Way
When you read the title of this post did you groan or light up? We’ve never done it that way before can either be the most depressing or most exciting phrase in the world. For many, this phrase is a defense mechanism against change. For others, this phrase is the spark that leads to change. The past year has included a lot of “never before” moments. Truthfully, change, even the best change, can create chaos and stress. Your attitude about “different” can be the deciding factor in whether the upcoming year or two will result in new successes or the repeat of past frustrations.
It can take years to create the processes, spreadsheets, reports, and system features that make your job predictable and efficient. Being asked to start over or simply do something differently can trigger an immediate aversion response. This can happen when a new CHRO or CEO asks the Compensation team to reevaluate just about anything. It’s understandable, but it can be truly counterproductive. Yes, change can be hard, but without it you simply cannot improve.
For those of you working at innovative, high-growth, or emerging industry companies, the response may be much different. “We’ve never done it that way before” can be the caffeine boost to create something new and more effective. If you think about the companies most of us look to as examples of “better”, they are also companies who do things differently. These types of change must always be tempered with realistic planning to create the capabilities and communications that will allow change to ultimately be successful.
If this past year has taught us anything, it has made it clear that we can adapt to far more change than we believed. It has also taught us that not all change is easy or even good. Working from home became a reality and for some roles, it will stay forever because it works better. For other roles, remote work was impossible or just made things harder. Where it was impossible, people, companies, and governments struggled to survive. Even where it was a good thing, it wasn’t an easy thing. New processes, tools, perspectives, and rules had to be created and will take months and perhaps years to perfect.
I get the aversion to even the best change. It’s hard to learn something complex the first time. It’s even more frustrating to have to learn it in an entirely new way (are any parents enjoying common core math?). The chaos created by change is unavoidable but short-lived when addressed head-on. The stress related to change is almost completely avoidable. New pay data? You’ve done it before. New CHRO wants a new pay structure? You know how to do that. Does your CEO want a new incentive plan that looks like the plan at his friend’s company? Just rip the band-aid off quickly and get started.
The only constant is change. Fighting against it will only frustrate you and wear you out. If you are lucky enough to be excited by change, the phrase “we’ve never done it that way before” can be the start of something amazing. If you don’t love change you may be in the wrong business. Change is coming. The upcoming year of hybrid work, returning to a new version of old normalcy, becoming good at paying and rewarding remote workers and so much more will challenge all of us. Embracing the new may be the thing that keeps you engaged and happy in a world where it is unavoidable. Contact the most reputable compensation consulting services to strategically examine your pay strategy.
