An HR pro I know said, “The task is easy, it’s the people that are difficult.” In the case of compensation, the difficult people are probably managers who don’t spend much time thinking about compensation systems but know what they want. The specific problem is managers arguing with you for things you know won’t work out in the long run, and to the extent you can head that off before the argument starts the better off you are.

Making your life easier

You can make your life easier by easing managers into the right compensation mindset either through a direct conversation or via the HRBPs. 

You should notice that I used the word “conversation” not “communication”. You want to be careful about what you put in print and in any case, if you are changing mindsets then a conversation is better than any form of one-way communication.

Why managers push for poor compensation decisions

There are several reasons why a manager may be out of touch with how best to handle compensation:

• They have come from another company where things are done differently.
• Things have changed significantly in the labor market, and they are lingering with outdated beliefs.
• They simply haven’t thought about compensation because it’s a low priority for them.

Specifically, you might run into one of these four problems:

1. Managers are unaware that the compensation needed to attract new employees has gone up.
2. Managers are unaware of what employees feel they deserve.
3. Managers are unaware of how little budget there will be for comp increases.
4. Managers are oblivious to the need to protect the compensation policy.

When you are having the conversations, be alert to see which, if any, of these might create a problem. If you know what they are thinking (or not thinking) you will be in a good position to clarify their understanding.

Asking questions can set the right tone

In a conversation with a  manager about the compensation situation, you can set the right tone by genuinely asking questions to both get their insights and learn where they are coming from. For example, you might ask:

• What’s your sense of what the current market price is for job ___?
• What are your employees feeling they deserve in terms of increases this year?
• Have you a sense of what the salary increment budget will look like this year?

The role of conversation in the day of a compensation manager

Compensation is often a heads-down role with a significant workload and tight deadlines. Going around for non-urgent conversations with managers may feel like something to be put off indefinitely. Yet, if you see relationship building and education about the compensation system as part of your role then in the long run it will help avoid difficult situations. The thing is that these relationship-building conversations don’t need to be long or frequent. You just want all the managers to feel comfortable talking to you, and you want to dig up any potentially problematic beliefs before they create a problem.

In your organization, what kind of attitudes or beliefs make your managers difficult to deal with? How can you get ahead of that with the right conversations?