Basic Compensation Concepts Course Outline

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The pandemic, with its initial harsh impact on the economy, followed by a strong recovery, the great resignation, record low unemployment rates, and record high inflation, have all made compensation planning and management more challenging than ever this year. 
 
These economic factors have made it increasingly difficult to meet the core objective of   compensation programs nationwide to attract and retain competent employees.  Salary increases are trending up dramatically to meet these challenges, and employers are being forced to offer higher than normal starting salaries to attract talent.  This puts further stress on internal salary equity, and that will lead to difficulty holding on to valued, long-service employees. 
 
If you have or will have responsibilities for helping to manage the compensation program in your organization, or if you just want to expand your human resource or benefits knowledge to include compensation analysis, planning, and management, then the Basic Compensation Concepts course is a perfect place to learn more. 
 
This session covers the entire field of compensation management, including how cash compensation fits into the broader picture of Total Rewards.  It includes the basic elements of a sound compensation program, job analysis, job evaluation, market pricing, salary structure development and maintenance, performance management, communication of compensation matters, variable pay, legal compliance, and executive compensation. An afternoon case study on the second day of the course will give you an opportunity to apply the concepts covered in the first day and a half. 

Day 1

  1. Total Compensation
    1. What's included
  2. Total Rewards
    1. What's included
    2. Developing a total rewards strategy
  3. Compensation Management
    1. Compensation philosophy and policy
    2. Job analysis
    3. Market pricing
    4. Job evaluation
    5. Salary structure
    6. Pay administration
    7. Tying pay to performance
  4. Performance Management
    1. History of performance appraisal
    2. Performance planning
    3. Communicating expectations for performance
    4. Rating performance
    5. Reinventing performance management
    6. What works best
  5. Competencies (Person-Based Pay)

Day 2

  1. The Legal Environment
    1. Applicable laws and legal intent
    2. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) child labor law
    3. FLSA minimum wage law
    4. FLSA overtime pay law
    5. FLSA exemptions
    6. Recordkeeping requirements
    7. Equal pay provisions
  2. Variable Pay
    1. Definition
    2. Plan design elements and issues
  3. Executive Compensation
    1. Common elements of executive compensation plans
    2. Analytical issues
    3. Contemporary trends
  4. Case Study
    In the case study, attendees will review and analyze a company profile and develop a salary structure for an organization using data sheets, average market rates by position, and salary structure design principles and parameters.