June 23, 2010 — Compensation is officially at the table now it would seem. With the appointment of Ken Feinberg to lead the compensation claims process for the oil spill victims, following his previous TARP Pay Czar and 9/11 Victims Compensation special master roles, he appears to be the odds on favorite to lead a new cabinet level Department of Compensation in the executive branch. Makes sense actually, that with the entitlement spirit coursing at its zenith (one can only hope it's peaked) our government would need a role such as this. When he wraps up his work on the BP oil spill, he can move on to managing the federal government's comparable worth pay schemes. Sounds like a plan, right?
I know, it's not actually "compensation" as we would like it defined, but the profession has long aspired to a strategic business partner role with the proverbial seat at the table. Perhaps, now is the time to declare victory and set new goals? After all, in the recent recession where did HR strategy emanate from — was it from Talent Acquisition or Organizational Development. No it was probably not. The restructuring of organizations' balance sheets in terms of human capital was led by Total Rewards leaders. Whether it be the re-costing and re-marketing of benefits programs to peel away embedded legacy costs or the re-visioning of variable pay leverage and eligibility or re-thinking global total rewards philosophy and frameworks, there truly was some heavy lifting was done by Total Rewards leaders.
Which has to make one wonder whether the strategic business partner role is really the right model, dependent as it is on such heavy reliance on the in-business HR role. Perhaps an important learning from the recession is that functional HR organizations can be both effective and cost effective at the same time. Perhaps the business partner HR model has run its natural course over the last 20 years and the future of HR is functional. That would be a big opportunity for the Total Rewards professional.
Kerry, what do you think?
Well we are definitely at the table Jim, I'm just not sure it's the right one. The table I would like to be at is the one that is strategically planning prospectively at what should be done going forward, not the table that is looking hindsight at what should have been done. It seems that the bellwether compensation objectives to attract, retain and motivate are more often being supplanted by detract, disdain and aggravate, as Mr. Feinberg has been tapped to come in and clean up yet another mess. And most unfortunately, the current mess is both figurative and literal! So compensation's rise to the spotlight is once again focused on containment and mitigation of problems that have gone way off track rather than how compensation could be utilized to influence people to do the right things the first time. Which gets right to your point about the "entitlement spirit" that is abounding. When one is trying to repair damage done through reimbursements and reparations, you're lucky if you can get back to "even" from a customer perspective. That's a far cry from our goals to attract, retain and motivate.
Now to your point about the strategic business partner role. I've experienced HR life in both the functional and strategic business partner setup and think that both models have the potential for good success or dismal failure. What is paramount in either is that it's consistent with the organization's business strategy, is embraced and supported by top management, and is well executed. I believe the best way for the total rewards professional to assert real and positive influence on an organization is to be as knowledgeable as possible in total rewards theory and practice, exhibit business and organizational savvy, and always be counted on to conduct oneself in a consistently ethical manner.
June 23, 2010 — Compensation is officially at the table now it would seem. With the appointment of Ken Feinberg to lead the compensation claims process for the oil spill victims, following his previous TARP Pay Czar and 9/11 Victims Compensation special master roles, he appears to be the odds on favorite to lead a new cabinet level Department of Compensation in the executive branch. Makes sense actually, that with the entitlement spirit coursing at its zenith (one can only hope it's peaked) our government would need a role such as this. When he wraps up his work on the BP oil spill, he can move on to managing the federal government's comparable worth pay schemes. Sounds like a plan, right? 
Well we are definitely at the table Jim, I'm just not sure it's the right one. The table I would like to be at is the one that is strategically planning prospectively at what should be done going forward, not the table that is looking hindsight at what should have been done. It seems that the bellwether compensation objectives to attract, retain and motivate are more often being supplanted by detract, disdain and aggravate, as Mr. Feinberg has been tapped to come in and clean up yet another mess. And most unfortunately, the current mess is both figurative and literal! So compensation's rise to the spotlight is once again focused on containment and mitigation of problems that have gone way off track rather than how compensation could be utilized to influence people to do the right things the first time. Which gets right to your point about the "entitlement spirit" that is abounding. When one is trying to repair damage done through reimbursements and reparations, you're lucky if you can get back to "even" from a customer perspective. That's a far cry from our goals to attract, retain and motivate.
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