WorldatWork released its "Survey on Workforce Flexibility" report earlier this year.  Over 500 WorldatWork members from HR,compensation and benefits roles participated in the research. 

The research looked at a variety of workforce flexibility programs and found that on average, employers offered six different types of program concurrently.  The types of programs emphasized varied somewhat by different types of organizations: compressed workweeks are more prevalent in the public sector (68%); part-time schedules are more common among non-profit organizations (90%); and ad-hoc telework is more frequently offered by public companies (89%).  Surprisingly, the study found no correlation between the number of programs offered and turnover rates.

Organizations tend to tailor flexibility programs to fit the needs of their workforces as well as their own priorities. The most prevalent programs are "flex-time" (flexible start/stop times), part-time schedules, and teleworking (aka, telecommuting) on an ad- hoc basis. Each of these programs are offered to some or all employees in more than 80% of surveyed companies; when offered they are also the most commonly used by employees, with flex-time being the highest ranked in popularity.  

The study also found that a culture of flexibility was more important than how the various programs were administered. "When it comes to workplace flexibility programs, culture trumps policy," said Rose Stanley, a practice leader for WorldatWork. "It's not about the quantity or formality of programs offered; it's about how well supported and implemented the programs are across the organization."

Organizations that have a stronger culture of flexibility were shown to have lower voluntary turnover rates.  In addition, a majority of employers report a positive impact on employee satisfaction, motivation and engagement.

The study revealed several obstacles to the adoption of flexibility programs, which included: lack of training and top management resistance.  The study also found a lack of employee interest in some programs, such as phased return from leave, phased retirement and career on/off ramps.

In today's world of small merit budgets and weak global economy, workplace flexibility can be a key differentiator maintaining and retaining an engaged workforce.

Join us for our annual rewards trends and salary planning workshop on September 28th in Seattle!  See here for more information.

A recently released survey (membership may be required to view/download results) conducted by WorldatWork this past summer, shows that the just over half of companies plan to update their sales compensation plans for 2011. This is an increase from the past two years, as the turbulent economy of recent times had led many companies to not "rock the boat" on their existing sales compensation plans.

Of the companies that are planning to make changes to their sales compensation plans, here are the top reasons for doing so:

• To improve the alignment between business strategy and sales incentives (83% of survey respondents)
• To place a greater emphasis on sales profitability (41%)
• To place greater emphasis on business development and winning new business and/or selling new products (36%)

Enhancing alignment was by far the most important objective in making sales compensation plan changes.  This is not surprising, considering that alignment is so key to the success of any strategically-minded incentive plan, especially sales compensation plans.  Misalignments in sales compensation leads to objectives not being met and/or to unintended consequences, neither of which is desirable.

For the first time since the surveys' inception in 2005, a majority (55%) of organizations reported making no changes to their sales compensation plans in 2010, most likely due to the uncertainty and unpredictability of the economy and business conditions.

"The turbulent economic environment of the last couple of years has challenged sales teams across the board. This year, organizations are keeping changes to their sales compensation plans to a minimum, focusing instead on the basics of getting their forecasts right and setting  smart goals for their sales force," said Jim Stoeckmann, CCP, sales compensation practice leader for WorldatWork. "Next year, with a sluggish economy in the forecast, organizations are going to re-think their business strategy and will want to re-align incentive pay with it," he added.

A few other key findings from the survey include:

• Performance metrics: sales revenue continues to be the most commonly employed metric in sales compensation plans. Other commonly used measures include gross margin, and hitting key sales milestones.  Smaller organizations (under 1,000 employees) tend to use fewer measures and were far more likely to use a single measure than larger organizations were.
• Pay mix: 70/30 an 60/40 (base pay/incentives as a percentage of target cash compensation) are the most common ratios used in plans.  Many factors influence this mix though and some plans are more leveraged (higher incentives), while some roles (such as account management and sales support roles) tend to have less pay at risk.
• Types of sales roles: nearly 8 in 10 organizations utilize "hybrid" sale roles (that mix different types of sales activities, such as seeking new accounts while tending to existing ones). Larger organizations tend to be more likely to have greater sales role specialization and less "hybridization."

For more information, visit the WordatWork website (membership may be required to view some content).

Salary budget increases are at there lowest in 36 Years, according to preliminary results released today by WorldatWork.

In addition, according to the press release, at least 40 percent of salary budgets are frozen for officers and executives, says the WorldatWork survey of U.S. organizations.

Below is the press release from WorldatWork that was published earlier today:

Washington, D.C. – July 8, 2009 – Corporate salary budget increases have dropped to historic lows, according to the WorldatWork 36th Annual Salary Budget Survey. At 2.2 percent, the 2009 increase is the smallest in the survey's history and 1.7 percentage points below the 3.9 percent that had been projected in the previous year's report. The WorldatWork survey, the largest of its kind, clearly shows that the economic crisis continues to put pressure on employee salaries, though projections for 2010 suggest improvement.

The 2,600 respondents to the survey are WorldatWork members who are employed in the compensation and benefits departments of various employers, representing a total of 16 million U.S. employees.

"A projected salary budget increase of 2.8 percent for 2010 indicates we may have touched the bottom this year and a turnaround may be on the horizon," said Anne C. Ruddy, CCP, president of WorldatWork. "While it's heartening to think the worst may be behind us, compensation plans will likely be in flux for at least the next 12 months. We plan to re-survey our members this summer to monitor thawing of any kind."

"This recession is having a greater impact on compensation than the previous recession brought on by 9/11, when employers still managed to increase salary budgets by 3.6 percent," observed Alison Avalos, research manager for WorldatWork. In spite of the falling budgets, the survey shows employers are committed to awarding raises to about eight in every 10 of those employed. "This may come as a surprise to many given that one in three survey respondents indicated they are planning zero-percent salary budget increases this year," added Avalos. "Layoffs, hiring freezes, shifting pay increase dollars from executives to staff, and other cost-saving actions may be allowing employers to continue planning for at least some pay increases for remaining employees, especially top performers," Avalos explained.

Human resource practitioners continue to use variable pay, which consists of cash bonuses and other incentives, to reward results. For 2009, employers are budgeting an average of 5 to 11.5 percent for variable pay, depending on employee category.

About the Survey:
WorldatWork collected survey data in April 2009. The full survey report includes results for North American regions, all 50 states, major U.S. metropolitan areas, major industries as well as data by organization size, performance category and employee category.

Additional data cuts are now possible via SBS Online, which gives subscribers the ability to customize data cuts. A free Webinar will be held on August 25 for members and non-members.

In an independent survey by IOMA (April 2009), the WorldatWork Salary Budget Survey was rated the most popular source by 74 percent of large companies surveyed.

About WorldatWork® - The Total Rewards Association
WorldatWork is a global human resources association focused on compensation, benefits, work-life and integrated total rewards to attract, motivate and retain a talented workforce. Founded in 1955, WorldatWork provides a network of more than 30,000 members and professionals in 75 countries with training, certification, research, conferences and community. It has offices in Washington, D.C. and Scottsdale, Arizona.