Communicating clearly about your pay practices has the potential to pay off significantly in better
employee engagement and satisfaction, yet most organizations still fail at this part of strategic
compensation. The reason for building a smart, modern compensation program enabled by robust,
real-time data and tools that map to current business demands is NOT to benchmark job salaries
correctly, although that is undoubtedly part of the program. Compensation, done well, is about your
organization’s realization that you are playing a talent game and a perception game, and to win you
must approach what you pay, how you pay and why you pay as key pillars of your talent strategy.

In 2018, retaining your top talent is just as important as attracting new talent.You need to show
your existing and future employees that you care about them, their lives and their quality of life.
Acknowledge the value they bring to your organization’s success. This will set you apart as a beacon for
the best or, if you don’t do these things, will put you in the penalty box where the market either believes
you don’t pay well, don’t pay fairly, or they have to guess because you haven’t make it clear by your
actions. That’s the challenge and the opportunity for how you pay in 2018.