10 Tools for Communicating a Teeny, Tiny Merit Increase Budget

The minute you decide how you are going to manage this year's merit budget (see last week's post), you may feel a headache coming on. It’s clear that you will need to send difficult, complex messages about how (or whether) employee performance will earn recognition and a salary increase this year.

Everyone has found this year stressful. Emotions and misgivings are running high. Employees are tired and wary. Managers have spent the year at the center of this (expletive deleted) storm.

Given everything that’s going on, how do you:  a) Help managers have tough face-to-face meetings with their employees about performance and pay? b) Give employees the straight story and acknowledge their genuine commitment to your company? c) Help everyone look to 2010 with eagerness and satisfaction?

Here are 10 time-tested tools that will serve you well – and a piece of advice. For many companies, this is no time to “cherry pick.” Plan to implement all 10 tools, especially if your merit budget strategy is to allocate increases to a relatively select group (while the rest of the employees cross their arms over the chests and stare at you pointedly).

10 Communication Tools
1. Know/feel/do. Before you create a formal communication plan, identify what you want the outcomes to be – what should people know, how should they feel (realistically), how do you want them to behave as a result of your communications. Remember, this is not only about pay and recognition for 2009; it is also about equipping your employees to succeed in 2010.

2. Challenge team. Your leadership and managers will be communicating tough, complex issues. Because of the recent pressures, employees’ attitudes will be both blunt and nuanced (according to their own experience or functional challenges). Using a challenge team will help you refine your communication messages. Explaining that you have obtained feedback from key opinion leaders in developing the communications will build important credibility.

3. Qs and As. Listing all employee and manager questions you could possibly imagine is a great way to identify the content you will need to cover in your communications. Eventually these will turn into Q and A handouts, which are one of the most powerful ways to prepare managers and to demonstrate that you are being candid with employees.

4. Cascade. Managers are key to the success of this effort. They need personal attention. Organize a cascade process that allows their leaders to spend time with managers building confidence and hashing out unique departmental issues.

5. Manager discussion planner. I have a client who develops a briefing sheet for all manager and employee meetings. The manager is prepped not only with a summary of topics to be reviewed with employees, but also a discussion of the personal needs or characteristics of the individuals they will be talking with. The opportunities and challenges faced in the discussion are outlined. Recommendations are provided for difficult situations in which employees challenge performance ratings, increases or clearly get angry. This detailed overview provides managers with thoughtful preparation for various aspects of face-to-face employee meetings.

6. Manager discussion outline. Equip managers to send consistent messages company-wide. Short bullet point discussion outlines help keep nervous managers on track during difficult discussions. They also equip managers to provide consistent wording from one meeting to the next.

7. Manager training. Do you need managers to get it “right?” If the answer is yes -- your strategy relies on consistent, complete practices and conversations to be successful -- then your managers will need to attend training to build their skills.

8. Crystal clear performance messages. If I feel like I killed myself, but I am receiving a “meets expectations,” my manager needs to be able to help me understand why this makes sense.
Tell me how this makes the business run better! Is everyone else getting treated this way?  How have the employees who are receiving “exceeds” earned it? Would I agree?

If employees have serious doubts about the fairness or balance involved in any of these issues, you will face real trust problems in 2010.

9. Genuine, personalized employee recognition. Employees need to know their hard work has been noticed and valued. Especially if they have been doing as much or more than would typically warrant an increase. What other vehicles can you use to recognize employees? Growth assignments? Professional development? Spot awards? As you know, it must be something that the employee really values.

10. Realistic expectations. Examples? Make sure your leadership team has time to give managers their full attention. Give your employees time to fully understand. If your messages are difficult, employees won’t be able to take them all in the first time through. Reinforce your messages repeatedly throughout the weeks that performance management and salary discussions occur.  Recognize that the dialogue doesn’t stop when the 2010 paychecks start. Continue to reinforce and expand on your business, performance and recognition issues throughout the first Quarter.

Margaret O’Hanlon is founder and principal of re:Think Consulting.  She has decades of experience teaming up with clients to ensure great Human Resource ideas deliver valuable business results.  Margaret brings deep expertise in total rewards communication to the dialogue at the Café; before founding re:Think Consulting, she was a Principal in Total Rewards Communications with Towers Perrin.  Margaret earned her M.S. and Ed.S. in Instructional Technology at Indiana University.  Creative writing is one of her outside passions.

Comments

[working girl]

This is a good list. I have nothing to add except this little poem: http://ls-workgirl.blogspot.com/2009/09/tiny-budgets.html

[Margaret O'Hanlon]

Hi working girl. I have been trying to leave this comment on your site, but the gods of technology were working against me.

I am a poet, too. What a fun and telling mix of emotions and images! You should be sure to keep sharing it.

Thanks so much!