Managing pay/retention balancing act

Managing pay/retention balancing act

Managing pay/retention balancing act

HR Focus, October 2006, Vol. 83 No. 10, Start page: 1 (5 pages)

Purpose – Discusses how US human resource managers can balance the need to keep labor costs low with the need to recruit and retain a high quality labor force. Design/methodology/approach – Reports the results of a survey of 600 US human resource managers by the Institute of Management and Administration which asked how they structured pay within their firms, focusing on the changes they had made to performance rewards, merit pay, benefits, bonuses and incentives, among others. Also compares the use of the different strategies to reduce pay costs by industry and region. Findings – Reports that the most popular ways of reducing the pay bill were to concentrate performance pay rewards on top performers, reduce, eliminate or delay merit increases, cut back on the costs of benefits and the use of performance-related pay. Research limitations/implications – Outlines the research methods and the analysis. Practical implications – Indicates the strategies that were judged to be most effective. Originality/value – Reviews trends in remuneration in the USA. ISSN: 1059-6038 Reference: 35AY734

Keywords: Cost reduction, Direct labour costs, Indirect labour costs, Remuneration, Retention, United States of America