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Comp Watch ’14: KPMG Variable Comp is Out and Some Folks Aren’t Pleased

Posted on by Adrienne Gonzalez

This just arrived in our inbox this morning, let's skip the formalities and get right to it:

FY15 variable comp ranges for us behind-the-scenes slaves were announced today, 12/11. Who are they kidding? Don't they realize nearly everyone at Manager and below gets a 3 rating no matter how much they do, how much they progress, how many hours they work, and how high the quality of work is while we watch those above us take all the glory and get promoted time and again while our contributions remain anonymous? And "Up to" means absolutely nothing. Who EVER hits the top of the range? Stellar performance gets me a crappy 1% or so year after year after year. In Human Resources Its all about being inside the inner circle of suck-ups. If your not one of them you might as well give up. Happy Holidays indeed.

Tipster, you sound a little angry. Do you need to talk about this?

Here is the message that allegedly came from Johnny V. and Scott Ozanus:

 

As a firm, we remain committed to recognizing and rewarding your individual contributions through our variable compensation program.

KPMG’s compensation philosophy continues to provide attractive, market-competitive compensation that shares the firm’s financial success with our people, while differentiating higher performers with greater rewards. Our commitment also includes providing you with greater transparency and predictability about your year-end variable compensation award.

What This Means for You

This year’s schedule for variable compensation awards in the Business Process Groups (reflected as a percent of current salary and level) is outlined in the chart below. Keep in mind that this schedule is contingent upon the firm’s achievement of our FY15 plan.

There's a chart to go with this, let's take a look:

And the crew ends the email thusly:

As you can see, consistent with our compensation philosophy, individuals who achieve higher year-end ratings will receive better awards. Let’s all work hard together to make FY15 another great year so we can all share in the professional and financial rewards that success will bring.

Thanks for everything you do, and Happy Holidays!

Now, go forth and discuss, children.

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Sound about right, Klynveldians? Discuss, debunk and whathaveyou.

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