Compensation corral: the hottest on compensation trends

Welcome to the third edition of the “compensation corral” – a monthly round-up summarizing 10 topically relevant articles in the space. The past month certainty went by fast, and a lot has happened in the fast-paced world of HR.

This month there has been a lot of talk around salary history bans, employee engagement, and technological advancements. Compensation corral is bringing you the hottest things you need to know.

Here’s the skinny:

1) Swimming Against the Tide, Michigan Forbids Salary History Bans Statewide

This first compensation corral article talks about a move that challenges the norm.

While many states are taking steps towards enforcing salary history inquiry bans, Michigan is doing the opposite. Michigan’s governor signed a bill that forbids localities from adopting salary history bans. However, opponents of the bill believe it could hinder communities from addressing pay gaps among minorities, women, and other workers.

Learn more about Michigan’s new bill.

2) Banning the Use of Salary History in Job Offers Proves Less Difficult Than Anticipated

Salary history is a point of interest for both employers and employees. That’s why this compensation corral article is zeroing in on this hot topic.

New data from WorldatWork states that 44% of employers that have implemented a ban on candidate salary inquiries said doing so was very or extremely simple, only 1% reported this task to be extremely difficult, and 8% reported it to be very difficult.

Read more on WorldatWork’s findings.

3) California Employers Must Navigate Range of Background Check Laws

As employers, you would not want to be in trouble with the law. Our third compensation corral article shares what California employers are dealing with legally.

California employers that conduct background checks on job applicants now must comply with more legal requirements than ever, including federal rules, the new California ban-the-box law that took effect in January of 2018, and local ordinances.

Learn more about the new laws and what’s expected of California employers.

4) Global Employee Engagement Levels Bounce Back to All-Time Highs

This compensation corral article talks about the heightened commitment of employees to work. Check out what’s happening in different parts of the world.

Employee engagement is on the rise again. According to a new report from Aon, global employee levels jumped back to an all-time high after a dip last year.

Learn more about Aon’s analysis of more than five million employees.

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5) Starbucks Eliminates Gender Pay Gap in U.S. Workforce, Aims to Do the Same Worldwide

Starbucks announced that it has closed the gender pay gap for its employees, stating that it has achieved 100 percent pay equity among all genders and minority groups for its U.S. workforce.

Read GeekWire’s article about the steps Starbucks is taking to eliminate the wage gap for its entire global workforce.

6) Tweaked Policies Wreaking Havoc on the H-1B Application Process

The H1-B system is popular in the technology industry to bring highly skilled foreign workers into the U.S., but adjustments to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policies have recently made the application process more challenging.

Here’s more on the increased scrutiny of H-1B applicants.

7) Compensation Corral Lesson: How Blockchain Will Change Recruiting

With the enablement of secure, private and pre-validated credentialing, blockchain (the same technology that underlies bitcoin) has the potential to transform the recruiting process by making it easier to find talent.

Read more about how blockchain has the potential to make the world of recruiting faster and easier.

8) Top HR Leaders Say Companies Are Unprepared to Replace Them

According to a new survey of almost 400 CHROs and HR leaders by Salveson Stetson Group, only 50 percent of chief human resources officers believe that their companies have a successor ready in the case that they leave their job.

Here’s more information on the survey results.

9) Employee Surveys Are Still One of the Best Ways to Measure Engagement

Even though there are new, modern ways of collecting data around employee engagement, surveys are still a great predictor of behavior. Without a doubt, it gives employees the chance to feel heard.

Here’s more on why surveys should not yet become a lost art.

10) Beyond Passwords: Companies Use Fingerprints and Digital Behavior to ID Employees

Lastly, compensation corral is taking you to a topic that will never get cold— technology. See how companies are taking advantage of it!

Biometric authentication uses face, fingerprint or iris scans to quickly confirm a person's identity. More and more companies are using this tactic to stop hackers. Companies are also using this method to log employees in to devices and access data stored in the cloud.

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Learn more about how organizations are ditching passwords.