Share the knowledge - September 2011

Once again I want to share with you some of the best articles, news and blog posts that I read during the month. I'm covering general Compensation & Benefits, compensation articles that are more closely linked to the Middle East region, and some general articles that relate to management, leadership, governance or social media.

I hope you enjoy this reading !

Some of the best or most relevant Compensation & Benefits, performance management, HR and/or global mobility articles that I came across recently :

• Two articles about 25 US companies who paid more to their CEOs than they paid taxes : From The Atlantic and Reuters
• Gender-related salary differences are still very high... and even at the Executive level : will it take a hundred years for female managers to earn as much as males in the UK ?
• At Zappos, new hires all go through a 4-week training when they join, and are offered 3,000 USD to leave if they think they can't do the job. The CEO, Tony Hsieh, is convinced it is money well spent as these people would probably not have stayed long in the company… Well worth thinking about it ? If you like this idea, don't dismiss the section which mentions the tough screening especially in terms of cultural fit, before joining the organisation, so only 2 to 3% of new hires take the offer to leave. That's a proof of the high quality of their recruiting !
• Business is failing to communicate the value of employee benefits. Yes, it's in the UK. But I think the advice of regularly finding out what employees think about our packages, and at least adapting our communication so that they understand it better, really makes sense.
• This article on FTSE 100 Directors pensions is quite educational in showing comparison of pension scheme provisions and how this can affect payout (in the Trade Unions Congress PensionsWatch report description), as well as some other arguments regarding what should matter for pension equity between employees and Directors (in the industry reactions section of the article).
• A good overview of current trends in rewards and recognition...
• … and here is an article showing how a seemingly good idea (copy the loyalty programs from the airlines and apply them to local companies) can actually not be so fitting. I like his final idea of giving loyalty rewards that are non-monetary but provide some sense of an out-of-the-ordinary experience, of "being special".
• And finally, a very interesting article on the effect of giving out rewards that people can't keep, but instead have to distribute to someone else. They're called "prosocial". It seems this kind of award makes the recipient feel even better and has longer-lasting effects than a regular recognition approach. Care to consider it for your own organisation ?

• An overiew of the latest Hay survey results in the UAE, mentioning salaries, differentials in allowances between Dubai and Abu Dhabi and more.
• Interesting findings from a recent youth survey - GCC women want more autonomy including professional opportunity, while their young male counterparts still have a more traditional vision focused on women's primary role as wives and mothers.
• In Kuwait, construction companies are on the way to establishing more transparent and objective pay practices, also considering aligning with benefits practices that are more prevalent in other industries in the country.
• At the same time, Kuwait announced plans to halve the numbers of expats in the country in the coming 5 years to 1/3 of the working population. The development-related industries would not be submitted to the same restrictions as new hires would be done on a project, temporary basis.
• Saudi employees can expect an average 5 percent salary increase in 2012 while employers face very difficult times retaining their workers following the implementation of the Nitaqat system.
• In the UAE, claim your dues within one year - not more can be requested retroactively.
• This article wonders if the recent pay rises of 50 to 120% on basic, social allowances and pensions for government and defence  employees in Qatar may have a negative effect on qatarisation attempts. Qatar is a bit different from other GCC countries, but these questions definitely would have to be raised in similar circumstances for nationalisation efforts in the other GCC countries...
• ...while this other article is more adamant on the negative impact on qatarisation of these increases in the civil service...
• ...and this one is much more positive about Qatar's ability to sustain these increases.

• Two different approaches to intuition and decision-making for executives. (May requirefree registration, you won't receive spam from McKinsey)
• On Twitter and in the workplace, it's Power to the Connectors. "This changes the nature of career success. It is not enough to be technically adept or even to be interpersonally pleasant. Power goes to the "connectors": those people who actively seek relationships and then serve as bridges between and among groups. Their personal contacts are often as important as their formal assignment. In essence, "She who has the best network wins."
• Pratical ideas to sell your ideas