Total Compensation Worksheet

Recently, a long time friend and colleague told me this story, which I am now sharing as an introduction to our newest leadership tool... the Total Compensation Worksheet.

A few months ago, John found himself at a cross-roads with the company he had worked for the past 2 1/2 years. John was a great employee, very talented and a high producer.

John didn't hate his job, but he was eager to climb the corporate ladder and felt it was time for a change. Although he liked the company and the people he worked with, he made the decision to leave when a new opportunity became available.

The truth was that John was young and somewhat impulsive. John didn't fully consider all the pros and cons of changing employment. He was quickly convinced that he would soon reap the benefits of "greener pastures".

Once John arrived at his new destination, it didn't take him long to realize he had made a huge mistake. Clearly, he never fully appreciated all the benefits of what his former employer provided.

To a large degree John based his decision on the fact that he could earn more money and supervise others. However, John was not prepared for the new role as he possessed no management experience.

John was a dynamite salesperson, but lacked the necessary communication skills when dealing with team members.

Very shortly, John's team was complaining and John was very unhappy in the leadership role. Even worse, John wasn't earning close to what he did when he was only in charge of himself, having the ability to spend all his time on sales production activities.

How often have you heard of this type of scenario - where someone leaves the company for something "better", only to quickly discover once they arrive that it's not what they were promised? Perhaps you've been through a similar experience?

Imagine the pain that John could have avoided had he went to his former supervisor, or other trusted advisor, before agreeing to leave the company, and asked to discuss this new opportunity?

A good leader will always support an employee who has worked hard to grow and develop and is ready to move up the ladder. A good leader will also take the time to mentor an employee, and tell him the truth if he feels the employee is not currently ready to take on the role in question.

If John would have explained the proposed compensation plan to his former boss, they could have had a great discussion about the various differences in the pay structure.

John was so focused on his base pay being increased, he lost sight of how much he was earning in monthly sales incentives and annual bonuses.

Because John acted so impulsively, he didn't consider the total value of his existing compensation package, such as health insurance, even though the prior year he was in a car accident and out on leave for 10 weeks!

John also didn't consider the fact that he would have a longer commute and would have to pay for his own parking, which was free before.

If only John would have taken the opportunity to talk to someone he trusted; someone who was knowledgeable about these kinds of issues - he may not have ever left the organization. His Supervisor, and the company he worked for, might have avoided losing one of their best sales people!

This is just one example of why COMMUNICATION and COACHING is so important, and we'll be talking more about these issues in future editions.

One of the tools that leaders can use to help educate their teams on the subject of compensation, is a Total Compensation Statement. Many companies are providing a Total Compensation document on an annual basis to every employee.

The purpose of this tool is to educate employees by detailing the full value they are receiving from their employer. The Total Compensation Worksheet tool is easy to complete and provides team members with a powerful incentive to base future employment decisions on real numbers, taking into account their entire compensation structure, including any perks or fringe benefits.

Learn more about our new Total Compensation Worksheet tool, and download your free copy today.

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