With compensation scenarios and issues now under the public microscope, executives, advisers, and board members are being more scrutinized than ever before. This is the reason why you need to work with a reputable compensation consultant, such as Zayla Compensation Consultants so that you can gain the confidence of the public and for your business to have a competitive edge in the long run.
The right compensation consultant should have industry experience, integrity, and independence. When you choose a quality compensation consultant, there are good chances that your project can succeed by offering honest feedback, clean data, and many more. This article provides the top tips to help you to hire the right compensation consultant.
Types of compensation consultants
Data providers are compensation consultants, but this defines a large group of consultants who are responsible for providing the requested information. This usually works in specific situations, but the lack of extra commentary associated with the data tends to create uncertainty, particularly in complex situations.
Another type of consultant is interpreters. In efforts to solve problems related to the data providers, the interpreters can collect, process, and interpret the data. They can do this to assist in the decision making process. But these consultants are usually reluctant when it comes to using the data to offer firm recommendations to companies because of the aversion to risk.
You can also decide to work with advisors. These consultants offer the same data and conclusions as the interpreters. They can also give recommendations that are based on the outcomes of their analysis to help in developing plans that depend on market best practices.
Lastly, there are strategists who consider data as a necessity, though they work to understand your specific business as well as the competitive environment so that they can figure out the best way to use the data. In most cases, they tend to like the nuances and intricacies of their clients. Therefore, there is no customized approach to design because each company may need programs that fit their business and culture.
You should note that compensation consultants can do various tasks. They can help your company to increase corporate governance requirements on your board. Place legal liability on compensation committee members, handle the complexities and ongoing changes related to executive compensation, check the competitiveness of executive packages, and many more.
Choosing a compensation consultant
When choosing a compensation consultant, you need to screen them just like you would do when hiring a top executive. This means that you have to check industry experience, length of time they have been in business, client lists, and any other indicators of experience and knowledge. The aim of this is to get a list of at least three potential candidates which you can invite to submit a proposal.
And, once you establish and define the need for a consultant, you can start with a wide range of web searches for potential consulting resources, and you can refine the selection process. You can search through keywords, vendor directories, and local compensation associations’ websites and directories.
If you want to have a more refined search, you can ask your friends for referral information about firms or individuals they have worked with. You need to ask the reputation of the consulting company, how they meet deadlines, the solutions they used, and how they measured the results. You can also research the issue your business is facing and note what professionals are commenting on this issue in technical articles and books as well as in seminar presentations.
Narrowing the field
The process of reviewing proposals can give you insight into the compensation consultant’s approach to solving issues, fee structure, relevant experience, methodology, and personality. Ideally, you need to choose a consulting firm that is realistic. Other factors you need to check include the compensation consultant’s availability, technical skills, reputation, client service record, and stability.
You should be careful of low-ball bidders who can be desperate to do business and a consultant who may avoid your calls when they get a bigger business than yours. Therefore, you need to utilize these types of filters to find at least three potential consultants to interview.
When you identify the final candidates, it’s crucial to meet the project team of the consultant. Quite often, people who make the presentations may not be available or be involved in the actual work. Therefore, when you meet with the team of consultants, you can determine their prospective capability and knowledge. During the meeting, make sure that they actively listen to your objectives and needs instead of offering advice when all pieces are not together.
Just like any successful partnership, the right interpersonal chemistry can be an important aspect to the success of the project. Upon agreement, the compensation consultant needs to maintain this team throughout the duration of your project. Alternatively, they should offer you approval rights when it comes to replacing any of their team members.
Discussing real-time challenges with potential compensation consultants can give you insight into the consultant and assist to identify how they may work with you. This interaction can also reveal their logic and viewpoints when you see them responding to unrehearsed problem solving.
Any business that intends to hire a compensation consultant needs to look at the references of their current and previous clients. This helps you to validate expertise, especially in a litigation-prone environment that involves compensation in this corporate world. During the reference checking stage, it makes sense to assess the compensation consulting company or the individual’s financial reputation and standing within the community. If there is any refusal by a compensation consultant to help in this form of background check, then it needs to be a huge concern for you.
As you can see, there are various types of compensation consultants out there. Therefore, you need to figure out the needs of your business before you decide to hire a consultant. When it comes to hiring a compensation consultant, it’s a good idea to screen them. This means that you should make sure that the potential consultant submits a proposal that shows how they intend to do their work.
