What Does a Compensation Advisor Do?

After finding the right person for a job, the next question is, how do you make them work for you? And later, how do you make them stay?

Though job seekers consider many factors when accepting job offers from companies, one of the most significant considerations is the compensation package. Most companies know how much they can afford when hiring an employee, and that's what they offer job applicants. But there are more effective ways to get the best people for the job or position. 

Compensation consulting involves more than giving an applicant a figure you can afford. Companies who experience the challenges of compensation planning first-hand are looking to hire external help.

What does a compensation advisor do? And can they help with your hiring and retention issues? Read more to find out!

What is Compensation Consulting?

Compensation consulting is a type of HR service that focuses on planning, researching, designing, and implementing compensation plans. The objective of compensation consulting is to help companies stay on top of the hiring trends and maintain best practices when it comes to compensation. Experts can help you negotiate and develop the right compensation practices and incentive plans.

These are key to hiring quality applicants to fill their roles, keeping employees happy, and retaining top talent who contribute most to the company.

What Are The Responsibilities of Compensation Advisors?

Compensation advisors perform various tasks to help companies develop compensation plans that are attractive to job applicants and make employees happy and want to stay in the company. Check out the specific tasks compensation advisors do so you know what to expect when you hire one!

Evaluating and Developing Compensation Strategy and Policies

A compensation advisor first looks at the existing compensation strategy and policies you have in place and evaluates it against current best practices in the industry. They also check for their compliance with state and federal labor regulations. 

By looking at how you've handled compensation so far, the advisor can identify what's working and what's not, then provide advice on what to change or optimize to ensure your compensation packages and policies serve your company's objectives.

Evaluation of Roles and Job Descriptions

Each role and job description will have its relative value in your company. Some positions are more valuable, and some must be filled urgently. These determine how much to spend filling each role and keeping someone there. 

Market Research and Analysis

Your company's compensation program does not exist in a bubble. It will be evaluated against other companies, especially those in the same industry and location. A compensation advisor will help you stay competitive by running a thorough market analysis of other existing compensation programs, so you can have the right compensation plan that satisfies your hiring objectives while still staying within budget.

Designing a Comprehensive Compensation Program

A comprehensive compensation program involves base salary, bonuses, incentives, and other benefits. A compensation advisor will help you design a compensation program that balances all these to help incentivize certain behavior that will serve your larger strategy and remain sustainable.

Additionally, if your company has executives, compensation advisors will help you design, monitor, and maintain their executive compensation. This may involve the base salary, short-term and long-term incentives, and other job perks.

Creating a Performance Management Plan

Compensation is a great tool used to maintain performance. By devising a performance management plan for your company, a compensation advisor helps you identify high performers and incentivize their good performance. Not only will this encourage people to perform better, but it also helps maintain a meritocratic organizational culture. 

Communication with Employees for Continuous Feedback

You can only evaluate the effectiveness of your compensation strategy by communicating with your employees. A compensation advisor helps you establish a continuous feedback loop with your employees through surveys, coaching sessions, and email and chat support to help your company maintain a compensation strategy that satisfies the employees and fulfills the company's objectives. 

How to Hire Good Compensation Consultants

A good compensation consultant can look beyond the numbers and data and take a total rewards approach to your compensation strategy. 

At FutureSense, our human resources management and compensation consulting services help the companies plan, design, and implement comprehensive compensation plans. As a reliable compensation consulting firm, we allow companies from all industries to attract and retain top talent, compete with other employers, and meet their business objectives.

Connect with Futuresense to learn more about how our HR consulting services can solve your human resources concerns!