Should Corporate America Scrap the Annual Pay Raise?

This week, it was announced that General Electric is considering eliminating the annual pay raise in lieu of other forms of compensation to better compete for and retain top talent. The company is also exploring separating pay from performance reviews.

i4cp is well known for its research into performance management next practices, especially as it relates to organizations abandoning or significantly altering traditional performance reviews. Several of our member companies, including Microsoft and REI (watch a presentation on how REI threw out traditional annual performance reviews), have made the transition.

The idea of moving away from annual pay raises entirely, meanwhile, speaks to broader issues regarding the evolution of work and the rise of non-traditional work arrangements, demands of millennial employees and high performers (flexible work arrangements, more paid time off, concierge perks, etc.), and overall corporate culture.

Mark Englizian, chair of i4cp's Total Rewards Leader Board and former Chief Human Resources Officer of Walgreens, sat down with Tyler Mathisen and Sue Herera of PBS and CNBC's Nightly Business Report to talk about the significance of GE's considerations (and to note, they are just considerations). Watch the interview now: