Establishing Credibility in Compensation
Worldwide the banking and financial services industry has been under continuous scrutiny for decades. This scrutiny has its roots in a number of banking crises, some institutional in nature but others the result of people acting inappropriately in an attempt to acquire compensation incentives. For example, we have seen headlines concerning mortgages and credit extended to unqualified customers; creation of fraudulent accounts without customer approval; and overpayment of bonuses and incentives prior to revenue being recognized. This negative exposure has created an environment in which banks and other financial institutions feel themselves challenged to restore credibility in the eyes of the public.
One key to doing so is to demonstrably take control of all aspects of the compensation processes. The benchmark research on compensation management makes clear that a top priority for financial services organizations is improving the management of all types of compensation. The market research in total compensation management finds that less than one-quarter (23%) of financial services organizations are very confident in managing compensation processes. Simultaneously, almost two thirds (62%) of financial services organizations indicate it is very important to provide total compensation information to all relevant stakeholders. The impediments facing financial services organizations that are not very confident in compensation processes are due to misalignment between pay and performance, inconsistent practices across LOB and challenges in communications. It thus is clear that organizations in this industry should establish processes that streamline the management of compensation and align it to performance for all levels of employees.