Designing and Managing Base Pay Systems

The base pay system is the backbone of your entire compensation strategy—without it, your approach to pay is unclear. A poorly designed base pay structure leaves you without the data and confidence to respond to evolving transparency laws and your workforce’s increasing demand for clarity around pay. The stakes are simply too high to overlook the importance of getting your base pay system right. 

In this course, you will delve into the role of base pay in a comprehensive Total Rewards strategy and approaches to crafting, implementing, and assessing a base pay system aimed at attracting and retaining top talent. Additionally, you’ll explore effective methods for job analysis, documentation, evaluation and the development of base pay structures that align with and support your organization’s talent objectives.

What You Will Learn:

• Important concepts like compensation philosophy, internal vs. external pay equity, relevant labor markets, benchmark jobs and market-pricing.  
• Key steps to build a base pay structure – job analysis, documentation, evaluation and job worth hierarchy.  
• Base structure design components like range spread, minimum, midpoint, and maximum, midpoint differentials, range overlap plus methods to adjust and maintain pay structures.  
• Determination of individual pay rates, including concepts like new- hire rates, pay differentials, step rate pay progression, merit increases, skill-based pay, promotions, equity adjustments and pay compression.  
• Merit pay programs, pay for performance and merit matrix development.  
• Pay transparency, communications about pay programs and compensation program audits.

Additional Information

This course is ideal for Total Rewards, compensation, or global rewards professionals who are new to or want a refresher in principles for building equitable base pay systems. We recommend taking Designing and Managing Base Pay Systems as the third course toward your CCP and GRP certification.  

To get the most out of this course, you will need to have working knowledge of the WorldatWork Total Rewards model, compensation fundamentals of a Total Rewards strategy and an understanding of labor regulations. 

You should plan to spend approximately 9 hours in a virtual class and 11 hours on self-guided work. Prework may be required in preparation for the first day of class.  

You must pass the required certification exam accompanying this course to progress toward acquiring the CCP or GRP certification. A practice exam is provided within the course materials to test your readiness and help identify knowledge gaps where you might need additional study. 

Based in India? Contact india@worldatwork.orgOpen in a new tabEmail for India-special course pricing.

Policies

View our Return/Cancellation policies and more here.