Talent Management Top Reason Employers Pursue Global Leveling

“Beyond simply helping with pay decisions, companies are seeking much more from their global leveling strategies, such as defining employee career paths, linking jobs to specific behavioral competencies and assessing pay equity,” said Darrell Cira, Partner with Mercer’s Human Capital consulting business.

Conducted this summer, Mercer’s 2011 Global Leveling Survey examines trends in strategies around grading and job evaluation. It includes responses from more than 380 organizations across all industries throughout the U.S. and Canada.

While global leveling has long been used for companies’ executive roles, an increasing number of organizations are implementing grade structures for their other employee groups. Mercer’s survey shows that 85% of organizations report grade structures for executives and just as many for managers and non-sales professionals.

“Years ago, only about half of multinational companies had global grade structures for employees that weren’t executives,” said Cira. “This increase in the use of global grading for populations other than executives is likely directly related to organizations’ focus on facilitating talent mobility and implementing meaningful career paths for their employees.”

Challenges of Global Leveling 

According to Mercer’s survey, more than one-third (36%) of organizations expect to modify their current approach to global leveling or implement a new compensation management structure in the next two years. Yet finding resources and time to do so may be challenging.

The biggest obstacle organizations face with employing a global grade structure is resources and time, reported by almost two-thirds (63%) of organizations. This challenge is followed by the absence of a global HRIS (40%) and resistance of leadership (38%).