Determining your Center's compensation philosophy and corresponding guidelines is among one of the most important responsibilities of the boards of directors of nonprofit corporations.

Why create a compensation plan?
When boards invest the time and effort into creating appropriate guidelines to allow the careful development of a Center's compensation program, they are fulfilling part of their fiduciary responsibilities in protection and advancement of the organization they lead.

Compensation program development is known as the great organizational development equalizer, because as you develop compensation guidelines into actual competent compensation programs, all areas of human resource strategies for employees will be measured.

Although developing compensation guidelines is complex and littered with legal and ethical landmines, compensation planning must be addressed when you have employees; it's simply the right thing to do. It is also the smart thing to do.

What should it include?
Your organization's compensation program should include the following:

• Guidelines for determining compensation plans for all employees.
• Goals of the employee compensation program.
• Factors that influence and define a fair compensation plan.
• Ground rules for developing a compensation program.
• Organization's compensation model and rationale for choosing the model.
• Procedures for administrating policies and guidelines of the compensation program.
• Compensation philosophy and core values.
• Salary ranges and grades.
• Methods for communicating your compensation program.
• Process for evaluating your compensation program.
• Compliance with laws regarding compensation and system for keeping updated on new federal and state laws.
• Benefit packages.
• Compensation policies that protect what you have built in your compensation program.

Whether you are governing a small, mid-size or large pregnancy help organization, if you have employees, the above issues should be addressed. It is simply too important to ignore.

A Compensation Plan Grows with Your Organization
In the early stages of an organization's development, it is common that the CEO/executive director and staff are paid a salary that characterizes any start-up – but over time, they should be moved to a higher salary level. Their level of compensation should be aligned to both the values of the organization (determined by the Board in the compensation philosophy stage), and to clearly-stated expectations that hold staff accountable to measurable performances. A well-developed program can help assure that talented employees remain.

Although most people don't take jobs working in a pregnancy help organizations because of money, researchers tell us that an employee's satisfaction level is, in part, directly connected to their compensation. Therefore, it is important to establish a base salary that at least makes the financial equation palatable. After all, we all have bills to pay and people who depend upon us.

As a business consultant, I have found that the most successful boards are willing to compensate fairly, and even generously, to attract and retain talent. They also offer benefits that help them keep top performers because they have learned that good people are worth retaining.

Where do we begin?
While working with hundreds of boards of directors of pregnancy help organizations, I have found that most board members genuinely want to provide a fair compensation package for their employees. The problem is that they simply lack the knowledge of how to do it.

However, please don't let lack of knowledge about how to create the right compensation plan stop your board from doing so. Get the help you need. Contacting a professional human resource specialist, working with your organization's lawyer, or asking your national affiliates are all good steps.

A "webinar" is coming to a computer near you!
If your board wants to learn more about how to create and evaluate salary packages, there is a live online 90 minute webinar titled, "Developing Compensation Plans for Your Pregnancy Help Organization", available March 25 and April 24 at 1:00 PM EST. You can find more information about this webinar by logging onto www.chasewebinars.com.

Beth Chase is the Executive Director of The Life Choice Project for the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates. She has been involved with pregnancy help center organizations for over 28 years, serving as President/CEO of two pregnancy help medical organizations and specializing in corporate development, marketing and fundraising. You may reach Beth at (425) 260-4462 or (206) 321-9580.