An Engaged Employee is the Elusive "Holy Grail"
Engaged employees are like fuel to a company’s growth, and those who aren’t (engaged) make everything move in slow motion, according to Ken Gibson, senior vice president of The VisionLink Advisory Group, a compensation consulting firm headquartered in Irvine, CA. As a result, engagement... - March 14, 2014
Market Pay Data Can Help or Hinder a Pay Strategy
Businesses often struggle with how to effectively perform a market pay assessment, according to Tom Miller, President of The VisionLink Advisory Group, a compensation consulting firm headquartered in Irvine, CA. As a result, many organizations lose the real value such studies should provide in... - February 15, 2014
Many Businesses Misunderstand the Role of Incentive Plans
Defining the role of an incentive plan in a compensation structure is critical and often misunderstood by many business leaders, according to Ken Gibson, senior vice president at The VisionLink Advisory Group, a compensation consulting firm headquartered in Irvine, CA. As a result, many companies... - January 10, 2014
Compensation Strategies of the Future to Support Continuous Value Creation
Pay plans of the future must support a company’s perpetual need to create value that fuels growth, according to Ken Gibson, Senior Vice President at The VisionLink Advisory Group, a compensation consulting firm headquartered in Irvine, CA. To do that, companies will need compensation... - November 19, 2013
Businesses Wonder How Much Incentive Pay is Acceptable
Owners and CEOs of businesses today would like to move towards more incentive compensation and away from an emphasis on high salaries, according to Tom Miller, President of The VisionLink Advisory Group, a compensation consulting firm headquartered in Irvine, CA. The problem is, they don’t... - October 02, 2013
"Value-Sharing" with Key Producers Becoming a Strong Focus of Growth-Oriented Businesses
Modern business is obsessed with innovation and securing the talent that will give it a competitive advantage, according to Tom Miller, president of The VisionLink Advisory Group. As a result, growth-minded companies seek to build value propositions that will attract entrepreneur-oriented “catalysts.” By and large, that requires them to find effective ways of sharing the value those people help create. - September 07, 2013
Private Companies Struggle with Success Criteria for Compensation Strategies
Most organizations struggle with how to measure the success of their pay programs, according to Ken Gibson, senior vice president of The VisionLink Advisory Group, a compensation consulting firm headquartered in Irvine, CA. As a result, many companies end up drawing the wrong conclusions about the... - August 07, 2013
VisionLink Opens Competitive Salary Services Department
The VisionLink Advisory Group has recently expanded its ability to effectively help companies engineer salary grades, perform market pay studies and build a total compensation structure through its recent formation of a Competitive Salary Services Department, announced Tom Miller, CEO. The pay... - August 01, 2013
Effective Bonus Plans Elude Most Companies
Most organizations struggle with how to develop a bonus plan that “works,” according to Tom Miller, president of The VisionLink Advisory Group, a compensation consulting firm headquartered in Irvine, CA. As a result, many companies end up reinventing their plans over and over again -... - July 09, 2013
Pay and Performance - Still a Hard Link to Forge for Many Companies
Businesses intuitively know pay should be tied to performance but often don’t know how to effectively make that connection, according to Ken Gibson, Senior Vice President of The VisionLink Advisory Group, a compensation consulting firm headquartered in Irvine, CA. As a result, many companies create compensation programs that are not tied to the achievement of appropriate results. Beyond that, they sometimes institute programs that actually diminish performance, the firm leader said. - June 04, 2013
Compensation Programs Need to Support a Company’s Succession Plan
Business owners need to institute pay strategies that can facilitate and even support their transition plans, according to Tom Miller, president of The VisionLink Advisory Group, a compensation consulting firm headquartered in Irvine, CA. This is especially true when it comes to developing... - May 03, 2013
Setting Pay Priorities Becoming More Critical for All Businesses
Many businesses struggle with prioritizing their pay strategies, according to Ken Gibson, senior vice president of The VisionLink Advisory Group, a compensation consulting firm headquartered in Irvine, CA. Because compensation represents such a large deployment of a company’s capital, it is... - April 17, 2013
Many Companies Weigh Phantom Equity as a Rewards Strategy
More and more private companies are turning to phantom stock as a long-term method for rewarding contributors, according to Tom Miller, President of The VisionLink Advisory Group, a compensation consulting firm headquartered in Irvine, CA. Closely-held business owners are seeing this value-sharing... - March 08, 2013
Higher Income Taxes Prompt New Pay Strategies
The tax increases instituted for 2013 and beyond are prompting businesses to evaluate their approach to compensation, especially for key producers, according to Tom Miller, president of The VisionLink Advisory Group, a compensation consulting firm headquartered in Irvine, CA. Companies are... - February 09, 2013
Pay Strategies of the Future to Adopt Entrepreneurial Approach
Compensation of the future will incorporate entrepreneurial attributes that can attract the innovative talent companies will need to fuel growth, according to Ken Gibson, Senior Vice President at The VisionLink Advisory Group, a compensation consulting firm headquartered in Irvine, CA. This will... - November 14, 2012
Phantom Equity Emerges as Key Value-Sharing Alternative to Stock
Private companies wanting to reward business growth without giving away equity are turning more to phantom stock. Closely-held business owners are seeing this value-sharing approach as an effective strategic tool in their overall pay approach. - October 05, 2012
Value Sharing Plans Satisfy Shareholders, Employees and the Critics
Fairness in compensation has been a topic of discussion for a long time but especially since the financial crisis of 2008. In addition, the economic strain of the last four years has made companies think beyond fairness to pay systems that will be economically viable for both owners and employees... - September 09, 2012
Chief Executive Magazine & VisionLink Join Forces to Co-Sponsor Important Broadcast on Pay Practices
Two organizations focused on helping CEOs of private companies fuel growth will broadcast a joint webinar on September 18, 2012 entitled, “How High-Growth Companies Pay their Top Producers.” The event addresses the need that most companies have to develop rewards strategies that link... - August 17, 2012
Data Shows Trend Towards More "At Risk" Pay in Private Companies
According to a recent study, since 2007 short-term incentive plan usage in private companies has increased from 79% to 95%. Even more dramatic has been the increase in prevalence of long-term value sharing, rising from 35% to 61%. This trend reflects the desire that most companies have to align key... - August 05, 2012
Broadcast Will Address Pay’s Link to Performance in “Real Life” Businesses
Most companies instinctively know there should be a relationship between what they pay key people and how those individuals perform, but they don’t know the best way to construct plans that reflect that philosophy. As a result, stories of companies that have created successful pay for performance strategies will be the focus of a webinar on July 24, 2012 (8:30 AM PDT). - July 05, 2012
Firm to Discuss Alternatives to Equity Sharing
Privately-held company owners commonly want to create a sense of stewardship with their key people but are reluctant to share stock in order to achieve that ownership mindset, according to Tom Miller, president of The VisionLink Advisory Group, a compensation design firm headquartered in Irvine, CA. - May 31, 2012
Deferred Compensation: Making a Comeback?
A plan that used to be popular primarily with Fortune 500 companies is experiencing a resurgence of late in private, middle market businesses throughout the country. Deferred compensation has gained popularity with a whole new audience and is now an important piece in many companies’ rewards... - May 18, 2012
New Website Provides Comprehensive View of Phantom Stock
A fresh online resource offering wide-ranging information about phantom stock for privately held companies was launched on April 9, 2012. The site also helps companies examine other potential value sharing arrangements to link long-term remuneration with the performance of the business. The just... - May 02, 2012
Web Event Clears Up Myths About Phantom Stock
Long-term value sharing in a private company does not mean a business owner must give away stock. Tom Miller, President of The VisionLink Advisory Group, will discuss in an upcoming webinar entitled “What Think Ye of Phantom Stock? Does it Work?” to be held on December 6, 2011 at 8:30 am PST. - November 21, 2011
E-Book Demystifies the Role of Compensation in Growth Companies
Compensation development in growth-oriented companies must be rooted in five guiding principles, according to author Tom Miller, CEO of The VisionLink Advisory Group. In his new e-book, Breakthrough, Miller draws upon his 34-years of experience working with hundreds of organizations throughout the... - August 20, 2011