Is it Time to Hire a Compensation Expert? Jay Spento is returning to his office after attending the grand opening of the 20th location of EasySpa. As the Director of Human Resources at this growing chain of day spas, Jay has faced many challenges. Opening this latest location took a significant amount of time for Jay and his staff and they have fallen behind on some important projects. His staff has grown along with the company, and Jay believes now is the time to expand his staff by one more position. He now must prepare to meet with the company's CEO to discuss his request to hire a compensation professional. EasySpa is a specialty day spa that provides spa services at a reasonable cost. Each of their locations has a variety of employees including nail technicians, hairdressers, masseuses and receptionists. EasySpa also has a centralized appointment scheduling and customer service center. In ten years the company has grown from 15 employees at one location, to 396 employees at 20 locations. Continued growth is expected as the organization's mission is to become the top-rated day spa in their region. To support this growing organization, the human resources staff includes Jay, a Human Resources Generalist, a Recruiter and an Administrative Assistant. The Recruiter handles all aspects of attracting and selecting new employees and the Human Resource Generalist handles a variety of duties including employee relations and training. Jay provides leadership to the team and works with upper management to set policies and procedures. His duties are complex as they work with a diverse employee population in multiple locations. But, as EasySpa approaches 400 employees, Jay believes a compensation expert can help support the company's growth plans. Compensation management is a responsibility that has challenged Jay. While the company offers full employee benefits and Jay has done extensive market research to ensure they offer attractive pay, he knows there is much more work necessary to ensure that their compensation structure is effective and efficient. The company has no written job descriptions and does not have a formal pay structure. Further, Jay relied upon an outside consultant to design their benefit package, and their benefit offerings have not changed since they were established ten years ago. Overall, Jay is convinced that a compensation professional would add significant value to the company. However, Jay must convince the CEO, who has little human resources expertise and is always resistant to hire more staff positions, that the addition to staff is necessary.
1. Explain at least three ways you think EasySpa would benefit from hiring a compensation professional.
2. Identify and describe the top three projects that you believe the compensation professional should address. Put them in priority order, highest to lowest.
3. How would you convince the CEO to hire a compensation professional? You should have at least three reasons to present to the CEO.