You will be logged off in seconds. Do you want to continue your session? Register for These Online Account Benefits: Free Online Bill Pay Paperless Statements and more!Startups should keep employee upside in equity.5 reasons merit-based pay hurts average workersMore than half, 76%, of companies gave their employees a bonus in 2014, up 6% from three years ago, according to a recent report by compensation site PayScale. And 43% of companies have a bigger bonus budget allocated for 2015.That’s good news for some employees, but not all. Many don’t benefit from pay-for-performance and can even be harmed by it for several reasons.Favors revenue generatorsMost companies are divided into areas that are credited with generating revenues, like the senior executive suite, marketing, sales, and new product development, and areas that are considered cost centers, like manufacturing, accounting, legal, and sometimes even customer service. It’s not uncommon for revenue generation activities to be rewarded disproportionately.
The logic behind this is that the profit pool from which bonuses can be awarded is directly proportional to the revenues generated but inversely proportional to costs, and so those who enhance the top line deserve the lion’s share of the bonus pool.The problem is that the cost centers of a company are integral in maintaining the foundation that makes revenue generation possible in the first place, but this fact is less likely to be given its due at bonus time than the bright flash of increased sales. At the same time, the focus on the top line can also skew motivation by encouraging workers to take excessive risk for outsized rewards.Discriminates against the average workerAccording to the PayScale report, directors, managers, and executives are considerably more likely to receive a bonus than other workers. A possible reason for this is that senior employees are more important in the eyes of a company and less easily replaceable than their junior counterparts.There are exceptions to this, such as, for example, highly skilled software developers or medical researchers, who are in demand and need to be paid competitively, but as the astronomical sums paid to C-suite executives relative to other employees reveal, the compensation scale is definitely skewed towards the top.
CEOs at the largest companies in the U.S. made more than 300 times the compensation of the average worker in 2014, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute.Measuring performance is not so clear cutFor pay-for-performance to work, an employee’s performance has to be measurable in tangible terms. Front-facing jobs like sales have a distinct edge due to the quantifiable correlation between efforts and results. By contrast, the metrics that can measure the success of back-office functions are generally more qualitative, such as the lack of errors in financial reporting or the competent vetting of new hires, neither of which is easy to parse into an appropriate bonus number or even a pay raise.Another issue is that many operational tasks are successful by virtue only of nothing going wrong rather than something new and exciting being achieved, which at best can be difficult to assess and at worst fail to even be recognized by the company.True, even a back-office manager may get a bonus for meeting his department’s targeted budget or lowering expenses, but as indicated earlier, those rewards are unlikely to trickle down to the entire team responsible for achieving that goal, particularly on the lower rungs of the ladder.
Conventional wisdom holds that humans respond to individual rewards (i.e. they work hardest for personal gain). But research from the Journal of Economic Surveys indicates otherwise. As the Harvard Business Review also points out, people work for many nonmonetary reasons, including recognition of value by their colleagues and a sense of communal achievement.A pay-for-performance culture can pit employees against each other and create a mercenary environment of competition. That doesn’t mean individual achievement shouldn’t be rewarded but when performance-based bonuses are used as the primary tool to motivate workers, it can damage the team spirit needed for a company to succeed and can leave many employees behind.Even for workers whose performance can be feasibly measured, the delay in receiving bonuses till the end of a fiscal year lowers the value of those payments.Take for example a junior employee at a pharmaceutical company who stands to make a $1,000 year-end bonus. If the employee received the money as part of her regular wages, she could invest it in stocks and generate further income on that investment.
As it happens, it’s the company and not the employee who makes money on that ‘float’ through the year and so workers are effectively being shortchanged.This may not matter as much for senior employees, whose base salary itself is big, but can be onerous for most other workers. Since wealth is created primarily through such passive investment income, this essentially widens economic inequality.For all these reasons, pay-for-performance may not be all that it’s cracked up to be.S. Kumar is a tech and business commentator. He has worked in technology, media, and telecom investment banking.You may try searching again, or click the Simply Hired logo to be taken back to our home page. Published on May 11, 2014 Be the first to like this Interview questions and answers – free download/ pdf and ppt file interview questions and answers What is your greatest weakness? This is a challenging question -- as if you have no weaknesses you are mention a small work related flaw.
Many people will suggest answering this using a positive trait disguised as a flaw such as "I'm a perfectionist" or "I expect others to be as committed as I am." advocate a certain degree of honesty and list a true weakness. what you've done to overcome it andThis question is all about how you perceive and evaluate What do you know about Follow these three easy research tips before your next 1) Visit the company website; look in the “about us” section and “careers” sections 2) Visit the company’s LinkedIn page (note, you must have a LinkedIn account — its free to sign up) to view information about the company 3) Google a keyword search phrase like “press releases” followed by the company name; the most recent news stories shared by the company Remember, just because you have done your “homework”, it does not mean you need to share ALL of it during the interview!
you’ve learned is almost as much of a turn off as not knowing anything at all! At a minimum, you should include the following in your answer: 1. What type of product or service the company sells 2. How long the company has been in business 3. What the company culture is like OR what the company mission statement is, and how the culture and/or mission relate to your values or personality Why do you want to work with More likely than not, the interviewer wishes to see how much you know about the company culture, and whether you can identify with the organization’s values and vision. organization has its strong points, and these are the ones that you should highlight in your answer. example, if the company emphasizes on integrity with customers, then you mention that you would like to be in such a team because you yourself It doesn’t have to be a lie. In the case that your values are not in line with the ones by the
company, ask yourself if you would be happyIf you have no issue with that, goBut if you are aware of the company culture and realize that there is some dilemma you might be facing, you ought to think twice. best policy is to be honest with yourself, and be honest with the interviewer with what is it in the company culture that motivates you. Why should the Mattress Firm hire This is the part where you link your skills, experience, education and your personality to the job itself. you need to be utterly familiar with the job description as well as the companyRemember though, it’s best to back them up with actual examples of say, how you are a good team player. It is possible that you may not have as much skills, experience or qualifications as the other candidates. set you apart from the rest? People are attracted to someone who is charismatic, who show immense amount of energy when they
talk, and who love what it is that they do. As you explain your compatibility with the job and company, be sure to portray yourself as that motivated, confident and energetic person, ever-ready to commit to the cause of the company. What can you do for Mattress Firm? “What can you do for this company?” this question will be asked collect your knowledge of the company and competence Firstly you make sure that you have researched all information about the company before attending the interview and understand which tasks are waiting for you. You should offer examples to explain why your education, skills, and experience will be precious aspects for the employer. Also consider comparison in your goals to objectives of the company and hiringRemember to mention what achievement you have had in previous jobs. And you see yourself that the hiring position creates your special interest.
What kind of salary do you need? game that you will probably lose if you answer first. something like, That’s a toughCan you tell me the range for this position? In most cases, the interviewer, taken off guard, will tell you. not, say that it can depend on the details of the job. Do you have any questions to ask us? Never ask Salary, perks, leave, place of posting, etc. regarded questions. Try to ask more about the company to show how early you can make a contribution to your organization like “Sir, with your kind permission I would like to know more about Sir, I would like to have my feedback, so that I can analyze and improve my strengths and rectify my shortcomings. Materials for Mattress Firm interview: 440 behavioral interview questions Top 36 situational interview questions 95 management interview questions and answers 45 internship interview questions Other job interview tips