Most companies, despite the rhetoric, do not pay for performance. Compensation is rarely linked to customer service or satisfaction. Employees from the top to the bottom of the organization feel entitled to increasing levels of pay, regardless of productivity or results. It is becoming increasingly clear that organizations will have to adapt pay systems to meet these business realities. For all the talk today about company values, many organizations don't realize the contradictions between what they say and what they do.
Talk is cheap.
Conflicts arise when organizations don't walk their talk. As the following table indicates, conflicting messages are communicated when a company's pay programs are not aligned with its values. If quality is an important value, it should be reinforced through some element of the total compensation system. If the company does not achieve the customer satisfaction threshold goal, no incentives are paid, regardless of financial performance. Non-cash recognition awards are a very effective way to reinforce your values.