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Description

Compensation Policy: Structuring, Deciding and Steering Over Time

Two days to establish a clear compensation structure and keep payroll under control without deciding case by case

  • 2 days — 14 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

Salaries have been set one hire and one counter-offer at a time. Nobody can explain why two employees in the same role are paid differently. Pay increase requests come in unstructured and management only discovers the cumulative effect of individual decisions at year-end closing.

These 14 hours lay the foundations of proper compensation management. Participants learn to describe their pay structure, benchmark their practices against the market, build consistent salary bands and monitor payroll evolution. The work is carried out on an anonymised data set, then on the situations brought by participants.

Learning objectives

  • Break down total compensation between fixed pay, variable pay and additional benefits
  • Build salary bands consistent with the job classification framework
  • Measure internal pay gaps and identify the situations to correct first
  • Monitor payroll evolution and the effect of individual decisions
  • Present and defend salary review proposals to senior management

What makes this programme different

An anonymised salary data set worked through from diagnosis to final proposal
Step-by-step construction of a reusable salary band grid
A calculation showing what a pay increase decision really costs over the following year

Programme

1Describing Existing Compensation

Structure, classification and pay gaps

  • Distinction between fixed pay, variable pay and additional benefits
  • Link between job classification and salary levels
  • Identification of internal pay gaps that cannot be justified
  • Available sources of information on market practices in the region

2Building a Clear Policy

Bands, rules and room for manoeuvre

  • Definition of salary bands by job level
  • Entry and progression rules within a band
  • The role of variable pay and the conditions that trigger it
  • Formalising what can be communicated to employees

3Steering the Payroll Budget

Mechanical effects and projections

  • Breakdown of payroll cost variations
  • Effect of headcount movements on the following financial year
  • Distinction between across-the-board and individual pay measures
  • Building an increase budget in AED and its underlying assumptions

4Deciding and Explaining

Salary review cycle and internal dialogue

  • Organising a salary review cycle with line managers
  • Handling individual requests and counter-offers
  • Justifying a decision not to grant an increase
  • Explaining the compensation policy to employee representatives and internal forums

Who is it for

Human resources managers, compensation and benefits officers, payroll specialists and business owners in organisations without a dedicated function.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.