If you're relying on outdated and inaccurate job descriptions to price jobs and build your salary structure, you could be jeopardizing the effectiveness of your compensation program.

With a set of comprehensive and groundbreaking tools, HRTMS Jobs (now known as JDXpert) not only lets you manage your job descriptions but also acts as a hub and source for all your comp related job data. 

So take a minute to watch this short video clip to learn how HRTMS Jobs (JDXpert) can help you develop your compensation blueprint. 

​Now that the market is seemingly on a slow but relatively steady rebound from the Great Recession, many compensation managers are taking a closer look at their compensation plans. With massive layoffs that lead to the absorption of responsibilities by other employees, the recession has left many companies with a pile of out dated job descriptions not reflective of the new duties and contributions of their employees. Without a clear picture of how each employee contributes to the success of the company, compensation managers are working with plans that are not as effective or efficient as they could be. To stay competitive, it is crucial to adjust your market pricing activities in accordance with the always evolving compensation landscape and economy.

Prior to 2009, salary budgets were keeping steady at about a 3.5 to 4.5 percent increase per year but since the economic downturn of 2008, increases in 2009 went as low as 2.2 percent, more than 1 percentage point below any number ever seen during the 39 years of the WorldatWork Salary Survey.  Although we are still not seeing the salary budget increases from before the recession, we have seen a gradual increase from 2.5 percent in 2010 and 2.8 percent in both 2011 and 2012.  So are we going to stay steady at 2.8 percent or are we going to see that number go up in 2013?

​Variable pay is defined as employee compensation that changes as compared to salary which is paid in equal proportions throughout the year.* Variable pay can be used to reward an employee on exceeding expected performance, on increasing company profitability, or meeting company goals.  With 92% of employers implementing a variable pay plan,** it is important to know the different rewards plans and when to use them.

​So how do you determine employee compensation?  Are you a firm believer in job evaluation or do you side with market pricing? Have you ever considered using a combination of the two?  Doug Jensen refers to this as Job Content Market Pricing in his book “The Manager’s Guide To Rewards” and defines it as an approach that “begins with an evaluation of each job and then applies that information to the specific market data.”