Searching Pondering Equity-Based Long-Term Incentive Plans on page 79

For WorldatWork Members 2024-2025 Salary Budget Survey , research;Engage Community , peer engagement and connection platform;How to Reconcile Internal Pay Equity and External Competitiveness , Workspan Magazine article;Why It’s Time for a Compensation Philosophy Refresh , Workspan Magazine article;A Management Primer on the Basis for Pay Equity , Journal of Total Rewards article; If you find that some of your employees are hovering at the top of their formal salary range , you don’t just want to consider how to handle their annual merit increase — it’s equally important to examine how your overall pay ranges are structured.

This group of metrics provides insight into how employees invest or withdraw their funds, impacting the long-term growth of their plan.

Across industries, businesses struggling to bring on regular, long-term employees often turn to freelancers to help fill talent gaps or meet an increased workload, said Kathy Gardner, vice president of communications at FlexJobs.

But all things being equal, once organizations start to pay individuals different salaries for the same job based simply on where they chose to live, it creates a slippery slope that may call pay equity/pay fairness into question.

; ;There Is a Distinct Power in Knowing What Matters to Your Workers; Where the Differences Are First, the good news: The study of 1,300 employees and leaders, which was conducted in conjunction with the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI) and the International Thought Leaders Network earlier this year, found managers and employees are aligned when it comes to the reward they believe is most likely to drive long-term retention: competitive pay.

On the flip side, over-investing in expensive perks without considering long-term sustainability can put the business at financial risk.

The most common voluntary or supplemental benefits, according to that report, include: ;Accident insurance (offered by 75% of surveyed employers); ;Critical illness (70%); ;Hospital indemnity (59%); Other common offerings include: ;Employee perks or discount programs (51%); ;Cancer care insurance (40%); ;Identity theft protection (39%); ;Legal plans (38%); ;Pet insurance (33%); ;Long-term care insurance (28%); Vision and dental insurance are sometimes offered on a voluntary basis as well.

This can include: ;Asking individuals for their preferred pronouns.; ;Ensuring that benefits plans are inclusive of diverse practitioners who reflect the plan member’s lived experiences and intersectionality.; ;Offering plans that cover a variety of family-building options.; ;Designing onboarding processes that are not solely based on heteronormative assumptions.; But, inclusion can’t stop at the onboarding stage.

Acknowledging an Economic Epiphany Of course, U.S. employers are required by law to base pay on job qualifications.

“Employees are typically presented with a large volume of benefits and incentives, which can be overwhelming,” she said.