The Manager’s Guide to Rewards: What You Need to Know to Get the Best for—and from—Your Employees

Chapter 7. Base Salary Management: Building the Foundation

EMPLOYEES MAY NOT REMEMBER all of the objectives of their organization’s incentive program or be able to recite their employer’s core values. But they do know what their base salaries are, they understand what fairness and competitiveness are, and they probably have strong opinions about why their last raises weren’t big enough.

Base pay is the foundation of any compensation program and the most visible component to the vast majority of employees. Every paycheck is a reminder of the link between individual efforts and the organization’s perception of their value. Clearly there is a critical need to get base pay right and to use it effectively to attract, retain, and motivate staff. In the ...