Hiring the right compensation consultant can be a cost-effective way for a cooperative to leverage specialized knowledge. A compensation consultant should be able to help your organization in several key areas including:
- Developing a compensation strategy
- Ensuring that your organization’s pay is competitive
- Aligning total rewards and compensation strategy
- Establishing a pay for performance plan
Conversely, hiring the wrong consultant can cost more than money—it can cost your organization wasted time and energy. Because cooperatives are often already working with modest budgets, it’s even more important to invest wisely and select the right consultant. Knowing which questions to ask consultants can help ensure that you hire the right person to help with you with project. Some questions to consider:
- What are your compensation credentials, experience and background? Are you a Certified Compensation or Total Rewards Professional?
- What is your experience with electric cooperatives?
- What data sources (salary surveys, etc.) do you use for your analysis?
- What are the top three issues you consider when looking for appropriate market data?
- How would you describe your consulting style?
- What are the specific deliverables you provide and how often would you report back to us throughout the engagement?
- Who will actually conduct the work and provide the consulting assistance? Will it be the tenured principals representing the organization or less experienced staff?
- What ongoing support is available to us after the engagement ends?
- Why should we hire you over other consultants?
We would welcome the opportunity to answer these questions for you and discuss how we can partner with your cooperative to ensure that your compensation plan aligns with your strategic objectives. For more information, contact Delaine Orendorff, delaine.orendorff@nreca.coop, 571-289-9023
