Pay levels are a wonderfully detailed topic. They’re so incredibly involved that it’s not a great idea to make generalisations about them. With that in mind, that’s what I’m about to do!
The vast majority of organisations have a “pay level” structure that is rigid, and based on what somebody thought might have been a good idea many years ago. As jobs change over the days, weeks and months, the pay level ceases to match the work performed. It leads to a lack of equality, which is one thing that really can affect motivation.
You see, most rigid pay level systems don’t pay enough, or any, attention to performance of individual. That’s where the problem resides. Compensation needs to be integrated with performance management, and I don’t mean in some kind of profit share or commission type system. I mean that, in a more general sense, any employees pay level should be based on what they really do. Once we accomplish that, the workplace will become a much improved environment.