All Work Solver

A major banking corporation is undergoing major organizational changes by eliminating many salary grades and going to a salary band system. While this has simplified the number of levels within the department, it has also decreased the number of promotions that employees could seek to get to higher pay levels.

For example, the previous salary levels might have been -

Associate --> Specialist --> Sr. Specialist --> Analyst --> Sr. Analyst --> Lead Analyst

which has now changed to

Specialist --> Analyst --> Sr. Analyst

You are part of the HR team that has been tasked with: 1) Evaluating the new changes for fairness 2) Proposing alternative approaches to address employee dissatisfaction. Your team will meet to assess the various scenarios that employees have been complaining about.

You are the most junior member on the team, still enrolled in school with 3 years of entry-level HR experience.

Tim is a senior HR professional with 10 years direct HR experience. Rob is a junior HR associate with 5 years entry-level experience. Sherry is an Executive HR professional with 15 years of HR and management experience.

Everyone is present for the team meeting and ready to discuss.

Sherry runs the meeting. [From Sherry to everyone]

Okay, we are here to discuss this new company salary structure…What are your feelings on a traditional salary structure (many levels) vs. a simplified pay bands? [From Tim to everyone]

I think this is fair if the salary level is commensurate with the job qualifications. Some people may be a bit sore about it but that is par for the course. [From Rob to Tim]

Well that is easy for you to say. I for one completely disagree; take me for instance. The way I see it, I will be stuck in the same salary band for who knows how many more years unless I get a significant promotion! [Sherry to Everyone]

Hmmm, let me remind you both that we are here to discuss ways to improve employee satisfaction and ensure the new structure is equitable, not to discuss personal opinions and concerns. I find both your tones unacceptable. Let’s get back to the business at hand.

[From Tim to You]

What do you think?

1. Agree with Rob and Tim. Any adjustment in pay is concerning to employees. Pay banding has positive and negative impact on employees; depending on their current pay scale and position.

2. Take a passive approach and agree with your boss to avoid retaliation. Rob and Tom’s behavior could concern the boss and you want to remain in her good graces.

3. Remain neutral and broach the importance of considering the pros and cons of pay bands and the impact it can have on the organization. Introduce a brainstorming session to identify various reactions to pay bands and best practices to help the organization move through this process.

Submit button

Feedback provided for each selection below:

1. Not quite. Personal concerns in organizational settings introduce opinions that could negatively impact the work environment. Because you are representing the interests of the collective organization, it’s important for you to remain impartial. Try Again.

2. Not quite. Impressing Sherry could certainly help you win bonus points. However, Sherry is the boss and it is her responsibility to handle negative comments and to engage in fair practices. Agreeing with Sherry will backfire and could have a negative impact on your position with the company. Try Again.

3. Considering the pros and cons of pay changes and bringing everyone back to the task is essential to maintain balance in the work organization. Creating an information sharing session will give the employees an opportunity to brainstorm and create proactive approaches to help employees transition through the organizational change. Continue.

What do you think about using the simplified salary bands? Do you see advantages compared to the traditional approach? What about cons?

Some key advantages are:

1. More efficiency in HR

2. More competitive

3. More in compensation rather than just salary

Come potential cons are:

1. If implemented incorrectly, it can create inequities and may weaken certain employment protections such as Equal Employment Opportunity and Veteran’s Preference.

2. It may create unexpected consequences for existing employees. Some may receive a bump in pay, but for others, the structure may find them overpaid, potentially stalling future raíses or even decreasing pay.

3. Employees may perceive fewer opportunities for promotion and seek opportunities elsewhere.

[From Tim to everyone] One way to determine pay inequities is to look at job descriptions and the current pay level. [From Sherry to everyone] Well, here is a project coordinator position and project administrator position in different departments. Looking at the job descriptions, it seems like they do essentially the same task but the administrator in this case is paid more. Hmm ?

[From Rob to everyone] Well, how do we justify different salaries for essentially the same work? What do you think?

How do we justify different salaries for essentially the same work? What do you think?

Feedback

Perhaps different qualifications are needed for an administration vs a coordinator. Also, the scope and impact of the work might be different in the company.

[From Sherry to everyone] Now here is another one - Under the old pay system, an all-male team of sr. specialists were promoted to analysts with new responsibilities. An all-female of sr. specialists were given the old responsibilities that the all-male team had but not at the analyst pay level. What do you all think about this situation? Fair or not? [From Tim to everyone] Oh, let’s not go there. I don’t think this is a male vs. female thing. This seems perfectly fair to me. There must have been tasks the males did that the females were not doing. [From Sherry to Tim] According to the manager, the tasks were exactly the same. In fact, the male team trained the female team using the procedures they developed for the past 5 years. [From Rob to everyone] So, that could explain the difference here. The females were kept at sr. specialist levels because this analyst-level work is now easier than when the males did it 5 years ago. [Sherry to Rob] I’m not sure I believe what I am hearing. So, you’re saying that since the female team just started the analyst work, they should still be kept at sr. specialist level even though the work they are performing is the same as the men in the analyst role. This is exactly the inequity we are trying to correct!

[Sherry to You]

What do you think about this? Do you think this was fair to the female team?

What do you think?

1. Agree with Rob and Tom. This is not an equity issue.

2. Say nothing. You are not getting in the middle of this!

3. This is the time to speak up and address inequity in the workplace!

Feedback

1. You might want to reconsider this stance. A review of the readings is recommended. Try Again.

2. Addressing inequity in the workplace is both ethical and justified. This is the time to speak up. Try Again.

3. Exactly right. This seems unfair to the female team in that the responsibilities are the same as the male team had regardless of the length of time they have been doing them. If the responsibilities are at an analyst level, then the salary band should reflect that. Continue.

Suppose the previous scenario was determined to be unfair to the female team. What steps could be taken to remedy the situation and prevent employee dissatisfaction from the female employees in the above scenario? [Response]

Feedback

Give the female workers an end of the year bonus for making the transition to analyst work. Then, adjust their positions to the analyst level.

As an HR professional, how would you determine if pay is inequitable? [Response]

Title: Analysis Feedback

Use tools like job description, pay scales in addition to interviewing managers/employees about the work qualifications.

If a company uses a simplified pay band approach, what are some alternatives to salary can be used in this company to keep employees satisfied? [Response]

Title: Analysis

Feedback

Employee mentoring/engagement programs, merit / skills-based pay systems and frequent professional development would help increase employee satisfaction.

Strong work staying with the issues and finding an optimal solution with your colleagues.

Return to your course in Blackboard where you will revise and submit the final information.