Pester Esther

Q. We’ve just introduced a new values set – nothing controversial, but we’re working to hardwire it into attraction, induction, appraisals and so on. The problem is that the ExCo and Board won’t engage with it. Any ideas what I can do?

My first question: who did you actually involve in the creation of your new values? If the Board and the ExCo weren’t involved in the first place, or in any way, then I’m saddened but not surprised that they’re running a mile.

I appreciate that you haven’t created anything ‘controversial’. But you now need to consider if you can get retrospective buy-in from the Board. I’d recommend that you arrange to meet with some/all of the Board and/or the ExCo and canvas their views on what they think the values should be. Ask them for suggestions on what could be updated, share where you have got so far and steer them by using your influencing skills until they understand and agree to the work in hand.

You can position the benefits (for example, cost savings, improved retention and increased productivity) of the new values to the Board, and ask for suggestions on other areas they might want you to focus on and ‘hardwire’ into the business. By using specifics and metrics, I’d hope you’d be able to get some level of engagement from them.

My recommendation for the future would be to always start with the senior teams in any change process, and then use their support to help you cascade the change through the rest of the organisation. That way, you’ll hopefully get full buy-in from all levels.

Q. I quite like my CEO, and he’s been quite good for the business. (There have been modest improvements in profit over the five or so years of his tenure.) But his package has just topped £5m, which is about 400 times what we pay the people I deal with on a daily basis. How can I stop myself feeling demotivated – even ill – when I think about that?

What is it exactly that’s making you feel ill? Are you feeling demotivated about yourself not earning that much money, or are you feeling demotivated on behalf of the rest of the people who work there?

In commercial organisations, the CEO is often paid a premium package made up of elements such as base salary, bonus incentives, share options and pension provisions. It’s common for this to add up to a significant amount. But his package, and that of other senior executives, will almost certainly be dependent on the organisation’s performance, and as you’ve said ‘he’s been quite good for business’ then presumably at least some of this is deserved.

Also, I wouldn’t feel demotivated on behalf of others in the organisation. Whilst I understand being in HR means that you’re fully aware of everyone’s salary, not everyone else will know his full package.

So what can you do to stop feeling demotivated? I suggest that you put it out of your mind, as there’s nothing you can do about it and the more you think about it the more resentful you’ll become. (And try benchmarking his package against other CEOs in comparable organisations. Most likely, they’ll be on similar packages.)

You could look for another organisation where there isn’t such a wide salary gap, and which may seem a lot fairer to you and your own values.

If at the end of the day it’s all about ‘self-worth’, and maybe you’re not feeling suitably compensated for the work you do, try asking for a pay rise.

But definitely, do something. Making yourself ill over perceived injustices regarding pay gaps just isn’t worth it. And only you can do something about that.

Send your HR queries in confidence to Esther at editorial@hrville.co.uk

About the author

Esther O'Halloran

Esther runs an independent HR Consultancy offering business-savvy commercial skills, practical solutions and insights to senior leaders and HR teams. She has been Managing Director at Paul, and worked as an HR practitioner for organisations such as Jigsaw, EAT, Pret a Manger and SpaceNK. Esther is a Fellow Member of the CIPD and enjoys Extreme Baking in her spare time.