Comp and Coffee

In this episode we talk with Dr. Achyuta Adhvaryu, assistant professor at the University of Michigan. He recently completed a study on soft skills in the workplace, finding that soft skills training on-the-job boosts worker productivity and generates large returns for the firm.   Link to study: https://www.nber.org/papers/w24313.pdf

Heading into the July 4th holiday in the US we discuss the value of vacations and how they can affect your company.   Stats we cite during the podcast: Vacationers experience an 82 percent increase in job performance 34% take under half of their allotted PTO time each year For the first time in recorded history, more than half of Americans (55%) left vacation days unused, which equates to 658 million unused vacation days. ("Americans are effectively volunteering hundreds of millions of days of free work for their employers, which results in $61.4 billion in forfeited benefits.") People who took fewer than 10 of their vacation days per year had a 34.6% likelihood of receiving a raise or bonus in a three-year period of time. People who took more than 10 of their vacation days had a 65.4% chance of receiving a raise or bonus. Arianna Huffington Deletes Employee Emails

You've no doubt received this question in interviews. "What's your biggest weakness?" But this episode goes well beyond that.   We welcome Rick Mace, former startup CEO and current executive partner at Siris Capital to the podcast to discuss:    * Why your strengths are also your weaknesses  * How you can identify your strengths (and weaknesses)  * A real-time strengths and weaknesses identification   Did you catch that this week's topic is strengths and weaknesses?

In this episode we welcome Mike Zani, CEO of The Predictive Index. Mike joins us to talk about compensation from a CEO's perspective, what an enlightened talent leader is, and why it's better to make errors of action than errors of inaction. Items mentioned in this podcast: The Predictive Index: https://www.predictiveindex.com Jim Collins's books: https://www.amazon.com/Jim-Collins/e/B001H6GSHK QBQ: https://www.amazon.com/QBQ-Question-Behind-Practicing-Accountability-ebook/dp/B000OIZUQW Play Bigger: https://www.amazon.com/Play-Bigger-Dreamers-Innovators-Dominate-ebook/dp/B015MOJ80G/ Link to all books: https://payfactors.com/learning-books-comp-coffee-ep-17/

One this episode of Comp & Coffee we cover focus. Or, more specifically, how can you get stuff done with all the distractions that abound?   Here's a list of links we discuss during the podcast: Recode, Decode podcast — with Jason Fried of Basecamp Noisli Coffitivity One Thing by Gary Keller Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work by Jason Fried   Like thinking differently about compensation? Then join us at CompCon, Oct 21-22 in San Fran: http://compcon.com

Exploring salary structures with a twist, from equitable pay to market alignment. Delving into unique skills like Java developers and team dynamics. Emphasizing unity and teamwork in company dynamics.

In this episode Shawn and Kaite welcome John Sutliffe. John joins us to talk about a survey he recently completed in conjunction with Human Capital Media, and what the findings mean for the future of compensation data.

Mark Szypko joins us. Mark lead total rewards at Magic Leap and Avid, and has recently joined Fresenius Medical. Mark stopped by to chat about budgeting for raises, including:   * Making sure that they're in line with your compensation philosophy * How you think differently about 3% raises * What happens if you get stuck with the 3% budget? * What other strategies shift the conversation?   If you like these kinds of talks, join us in Oct in SF for CompCon. www.compcon.com

In this episode we dive into great 1:1 meetings. Critical to everyone, but especially critical as we want to better communicate the value of great compensation management.   We're joined in this episode by Courtney Bigony, Director of People Science at 15five. We discuss:   * Why should you hold one-on-one meetings, and what goals you should set for them * How to stay away from the status update one-on-ones * Why your first one-on-one with any manager or employee is different (and what to do about it) * How great one-on-ones can impact your team, department, and the business

We're excited to announce the return of CompCon! CompCon brings together compensation pros and challenges everything you think you know about conferences. Join us for CompCon in San Francisco on Oct 21st, and get a discounted ticket using the code KRASON.  http://www.compcon.com