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Grant Thornton to Employees: “Your Compensation Notice Is In the Mail”

We wondered why our premature Grant Thornton compensation thread was a tad crickety. Now we know.

From our tipster:

We just got a message from National HR regarding comp adjustments.  It appears that all comp adjustments will first be communicated via snail mail, as opposed to one-on-one conversations in with practice leaders.
 
In years prior, each employee would have a call in late July (i.e., this week) with a partner to disclose comp ahead of the letters coming in the mail, and more importantly, ahead of the effective date of the salary increases (1 August).

Not sure if this is a cop out or postponement of bad news, but I will let Chipman69 weigh in this one.

Now, this doesn't necessarily mean GT is trying to buy some time (although, if one wanted to buy time, using the USPS would certainly be the way to do it). According to this note that went out to employees, the change makes it easier to "prepare" before your chat with a partner. Perhaps this cuts down on the poorly thought-out negotiation attempts (read: begging), as the decision has already been made and delivered by mail.

Let's check out this note:

To all Grant Thornton Employees –

As we approach the start of a new fiscal year, it is a great time to reflect upon all you have accomplished to help support Grant Thornton in achieving our firm priorities. As a firm we strive to emphasize the importance of the contributions you make every day through our pay-for-performance philosophy.

This year you may see a change in the employee compensation communication process as we move towards a one-firm approach. In order to ensure firm-wide consistency, your FY2015 compensation statement will be mailed to your home address in early August.

The Senior Leadership Team (SLT) had 2 key drivers in mind when we decided to implement this change:

·       Preparation: Receiving your compensation statement ahead of time will allow you to thoughtfully prepare for a meaningful compensation discussion with your Partner or Managing Director.

·       Standardized process: Mailing statements to your home address will allow employees in all locations and service lines to receive their compensation decisions at relatively the same time.

FY2015 compensation statements are expected to arrive at your home address between August 4th and August 9th.  These statements are not meant to replace face-to-face meetings with your coach and leaders. I encourage each and every one of you to engage in a dialogue with your practice leadership following receipt of your compensation letter.

If you do not receive your statement by August 12th please reach out to your local Human Resources professional.

Finally, in the coming days you will receive another update from me regarding the FY15 Employee scorecard process. Based on your feedback and the feedback of our partners, we have accelerated the timeline this year for both partners and employees.  With our early start, scorecards for all partners and employees will be complete by mid-September.

On behalf of the firm’s leaders, thank you for your continued dedication and contributions to Grant Thornton.

Sincerely,

Pamela Harless

Chief People & Culture Officer

Please do not hesitate to let us know how you feel about this in the comments. If you feel more comfortable doing so, you may send your comments via U.S. mail to:

Sift Media US
2 Clock Tower Place
Suite 533
Maynard, MA 01754