This audio conference was recorded on Wednesday - January 7, 2009

Credits:

This program has been approved for 1.5 recertification credit hours toward PHR and SPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). For more information about certification or recertification, please visit the HRCI homepage at www.hrci.org. The use of this seal is not an endorsement by HRCI of the quality of the program. It means that this program has met HRCI’s criteria to be pre-approved for recertification.

Description:

As the new year approaches, many HR directors are already deep into wrestling with compensation-related issues for 2009 – specifically, how to set raises, bonuses, and other financial incentives in the face of gloomy economic forecasts.

The difficult fact of the matter is that you can slice your (shrinking) compensation pie into only so many pieces, which means you need to balance tough issues like rewarding your top performers while providing basic cost-of-living increases. You’re forced into the uncomfortable position of making pay and bonus decisions at a time when no one, not even Paulson himself, can accurately predict where the economy is headed. And as if that weren’t enough to give you a headache, management is pushing you to keep compensation costs under control while frontline workers and supervisors are pressuring you for increases to help them stay afloat.

Join us on January 7 for this practical, bottom-line-oriented audio conference, as our speaker - a nationally recognized compensation expert - will walk you through the process of setting and managing compensation levels when times are tough. He’ll share the latest trends in base pay, salary increases and range adjustments, and short-term incentives and bonuses. You’ll learn how to smoothly handle the most nerve-racking compensation decisions to keep both worried employees and your CEO happy. You’ll also get a chance to submit your specific questions, anonymously if you wish, via phone or email during the conference.

Speaker(s):

Thomas N. Makris., Esq., SPHR, is of counsel at the Sacramento, California, office of law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP. He has 20 years of experience in employment-related litigation, in addition to his experience as a senior professional in human resources. Aiding clients in avoiding liability related to hiring decisions and employment contracts, compensation, leaves, discipline, internal investigations and terminations, and layoff decisions, Makris also assists clients in negotiating, drafting and implementing effective employment and executive contracts, employee policies and handbooks, and other employment documentation. He is also a co-author and legal consultant for The Mutual Respect Program, a video-based sexual harassment training and prevention program.

You and your colleagues will learn:

• Key strategies for making 2009 compensation decisions when you’re dealing with frozen (or shrinking) budgets
• What the experts are saying about 2009 trends across the country for pay raises, bonuses, and other compensation factors – and whether there’s any kind of consensus right now
• The steps you can take early in the year to review your compensation plans and benchmark them against those of your peers and competitors
• How you can gauge and set 2009 salary increases and range adjustments in light of current market conditions
• What’s happening with variable pay trends
• Tips for rewarding employees for contributing to your organization’s bottom-line success without breaking the bank
• How you can balance short-term incentives with longer-term bonuses
• What you should do – right now, and throughout 2009 - to communicate with your employees and reduce their anxiety about pay issues