Determine Pay Philosophy & Pay Practices are Followed & Identify Potential Risks
IMPLEMENT
Unlock Strategies to Ensure Wage Compliance & Competitive Pay Practices
TRACK
Track Progress
YIELD
Iterate & Evolve
Using the UNITY framework, let's explore a specific scenario that may keep you up at night...
Scenario
A non-exempt employee comes to your HR function to request a raise. They believe they are working long hours and not compensated correctly. After initial engagement with the manager, you believe the employee is working OT however, not accurately reflecting the hours.
Employee relations require a delicate balance of care and understanding, but it doesn't require you to sacrifice your standards.
Schedule a meeting with the non-exempt employee to fully understand their concerns and gather relevant information.
Listen actively to their reasons for requesting a raise, including details about their workload, how many hours they typically work each week, responsibilities, and any specific challenges they are facing.
Review the employee's job description, compensation history, and performance evaluations to gain a comprehensive understanding of their current role and contributions.
Conduct interviews with the manager regarding his understanding of employee classifications (exempt vs. non-exempt/hourly).
Review the organization's compensation philosophy and relevant industry compensation data.
Determine Pay Philosophy & Pay Practices are Followed & Identify Potential Risks
Assess the employee's compensation in comparison to industry standards, local market rates, and internal salary structures. Utilizing various tools/resources such as Worldatwork, SHRM, Paycom, etc.
Determine whether the employee's workload and responsibilities align with their current job classification and wage level.
Obtain time records to validate any hours worked but not reported.
Connect with the legal team regarding any potential risks or concerns regarding the situation and the possibility of a company wide concern.
If potential concerns have been highlighted, provide recommendations to legal and HR on a go-forward plan to correct any areas of concern highlighted from the Understand phase.
Develop a communication plan for any changes that need to occur.
Provide recommendations for follow-up communication with the employee based on the result of the Understand phase and if performance improvement areas have been identified.
If the only concern is compensation level, explore alternative solutions with HR based on compensation philosophy, such as adjustments to their job responsibilities, additional benefits, or performance-based incentives, if a salary increase is not immediately feasible.
Identify management training opportunities based on the Understand phase.
Unlock Strategies to Ensure Wage Compliance & Competitive Pay Practices
If a salary increase is deemed appropriate and feasible, develop a plan for implementing the raise, considering budgetary constraints and compensation policies.
Communicate the plan to the employee, outlining the timeline for the raise, any performance metrics or goals that need to be met, and the expected increase in compensation.
Ensure that the implementation process aligns with legal and regulatory requirements, such as minimum wage laws and overtime regulations.
Establish a system for tracking the employee's performance and progress toward meeting any agreed-upon performance metrics or goals.
Continuously monitor the employee's work hours and ensure they are compensated correctly for any overtime worked.
Conduct regular check-ins with the employee to discuss their progress and address any concerns or challenges that may arise during the implementation phase.
