How much time are you spending on the salary planning process? In many instances this process can drag on and on, turning employee compensation into an excruciating waiting game. Expertise in spreadsheet software can expedite the process to a certain extent, but the most unreliable element still remains – the human element.
The workflow of not having an automated system makes the planning process much more complex. This usually requires the HR or Comp department of an organization to come up with a master spreadsheet which fits into the compensation methods they utilize. If the user has an extensive knowledge of spreadsheet programs they can format the document so that various calculations are done automatically once data is inputted, though this can be a painstaking process which requires time and training not available to those responsible for maintaining compensation data.
And there’s a lot these programs can’t do, also. Real-time updating of a salary budget in regards to merit increases, for example, as well as anniversary dates or other markers used to re-evaluate an employee’s salary. Rewards based on equity, premiums, and other aspects of a total-rewards program can complicate the process, rendering spreadsheets even more unwieldy than they already are. Even if your organization’s salary structure isn’t that complicated, there’s one complicating factor that can’t be escaped, and that’s waiting – waiting on other people.
No matter how well someone can navigate vast spreadsheets of data, they still have to wait on managers to send them the data necessary to update said spreadsheets. Depending on the size of an organization, this could mean waiting on hundreds of different spreadsheets to arrive in an inbox, most likely containing sensitive and unsecured financial information. If your organization utilizes a pay-for-performance structure, this means receiving tons of performance ratings and recommendations, which need to be used to calculate increases in relation to the merit pool allotted for performance-based increases. Finally, all of this needs to be fed into the master spreadsheet piece by piece, adding to the amount of work needed to be done to finalize the salary planning process.
The result is a lot of headache over a process which, with the right planning tools, can be much more streamlined and efficient. With a tool designed specifically for salary planning, all of the complex calculations and adjustments necessary for the process can be done automatically – something which spreadsheets weren’t designed to do. And managers can input the necessary information directly into the program, removing the need to wait for them to return their information and input it accordingly. The workflow becomes much smoother and less time-consuming, allowing organizations to focus less on the process of salary planning, and more on the business at hand.