Page 248 - How America's Best Places to Work Inspire Extra Effort in Extraordinary Times

The Never-Ending Source of Engagement C235

: Internal equity. Employees also want to know if their com-
pensation is on par with what peers in the same job function
in their organization receive and is generally comparable where
they currently work.

Given the wide array of compensation experts and salary surveys on
the market, external equity is an area that can be more easily addressed.
Internal equity, on the other hand, may be more difficult to ad-
dress, often because salary bands tend to recognize tenure, leaving
less-tenured employees on the short end of the stick. That, in and of
itself, isn’t bad except when the criterion of performance is thrown
into the mix. We’ve heard grumbling from some lesser-tenured em-
ployees who are more productive—“I’m paid less while what’s-his-
name, who has been here forever, is sleeping on the job”; that’s where
internal inequities can generate bad blood.

: GETTING DOWN TO BASICS: TWO WAYS OF VIEWING
EMPLOYEES

We believe that much of the engagement gap that exists between
winning and nonwinning employers boils down to which of two pre-
dominating views of employees the leaders hold. While it’s hard to say
a company is “either-or” on these, and certainly each leader may hold
views contrary to the general culture, most organizations tend to lean
more one way than the other.

View of employees that predominates at winning employers:
“If we give, employees will give back.”

View of employees that predominates at nonwinning
employers: “If we give to employees, they will take advantage.”

Employee comments such as “It’s like we’re guilty until proven in-
nocent” or “Our leaders say that if we don’t like it here, they can always find