Shownotes
Today, we're thrilled to have LeChez Solages join us to discuss a vital yet often overlooked aspect of career progression: understanding total rewards. LeChez, who also co-hosts the Your Corporate IQ podcast, brings a wealth of knowledge about negotiating job offers and strategizing career moves.
Today, she’s here to help us look beyond the salary and consider the complete package, including work environment, benefits, bonuses, and even stock options. So, if you're currently navigating job offers or planning your next career move, turn up the volume—this episode is packed with invaluable insights to ensure you make well-informed decisions that align with both your financial goals and lifestyle needs.
Get ready to expand your understanding of what truly constitutes a rewarding job offer!
About Our Guest
LeChez Solages is a Talent Acquisition Strategist, DEI Global Leader, and Career Coach with over 10 years of corporate experience. LeChez has helped Fortune 500 companies such as Marriott International, Volvo Group, and Robert Half International achieve their talent acquisition and DEI initiative goals.
She advocates for sustainable DEI hiring and career development programs supported by mentorship and sponsorship. She strives to amplify Black voices and serve her community with corporate navigation coaching. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from Towson University and currently resides in the DC metropolitan area. LeChez served on the board for Carlisle Young Professionals and is a graduate of the Leadership Cumberland Fellow Program.
Connect with LeChez
Website: https://yourcorporateiq.com
LinkedIn: LeChez Solages
Connect with Tiffany
Website: https://www.moneytalkwitht.com
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Twitter: @moneytalkwitht
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Timestamps
[00:00] Consider salary, lifestyle, and willingness to adapt.
[05:35] Conduct research on potential employers for confidence.
[08:12] Remote, hybrid, onsite work arrangements in pandemic.
[11:11] Recruiters face challenges with stock and bonuses.
[14:55] Podcast covers career advice and negotiation tips.
[16:40] Expresses gratitude and promises comprehensive show notes.
Key Points Discussed
1. Understanding Total Rewards:
- LeChez explains that total rewards encompass not just the salary but also the scope of work, work environment and culture, work arrangements (remote, hybrid, onsite), medical benefits, and other perks such as bonuses and stock options.
2. Evaluating the Entire Offer Package:
- Importance of not focusing solely on salary.
- Importance of understanding all components of the offer to meet both basic and lifestyle needs.
3. Negotiating Job Offers:
- Tips on assessing whether to accept a pay cut.
- Importance of factoring in job satisfaction, company culture, and other non-monetary perks when considering an offer.
4. Company Culture and Fit:
- Strategies to evaluate company culture including informational interviews.
- Importance of finding a work environment that aligns with one's preferences and values.
5. Remote vs. Onsite Work Preferences:
- Discussion on how work arrangements affect job satisfaction and personal flexibility.
- Strategies for negotiating start dates around bonus cycles and understanding company policies for vacation payouts.
6. Additional Perks and Benefits:
- The significance of bonus structures, stock options, and other financial incentives.
- Understanding and not overlooking these perks when evaluating a job offer.
Additional Links & Resources
- Myers & Briggs Foundation
- Increase Your Corporate IQ With Tangil Johnson | Ep. 269
- Boost Your Career With Personal Branding: What You Need To Know! | Ep. 241
- How To Become A Better Negotiator So They Can’t Say No
Copyright 2024 Tiffany Grant
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
Transcripts
You know what it is. That's right. It's time to talk money with your money
Speaker:nerd and financial coach. Now tighten those purse strings
Speaker:and open those ears. It's the money talk with Tiff
Speaker:podcast.
Speaker:Hey, everyone. I am so excited because I have Lachez
Speaker:Selaj on the line, and she is one of the co hosts of the your
Speaker:corporate IQ podcast, which is put on by
Speaker:one of my. The other co host is my career coach. So I
Speaker:wanted her to come on the podcast today to talk about
Speaker:something that's super important. So those that are in careers, make sure you
Speaker:are turning up your headphones. Right now we're going to talk about total
Speaker:rewards, how to negotiate job offers, and what to look for. So,
Speaker:hey, Lachaise, how are you? I'm great. I'm great. Happy to be here. So happy
Speaker:to be on your podcast, Tiffany. So proud of you.
Speaker:Thank you so much. All right, so let's just hop right into for the audience.
Speaker:First and foremost, what is total rewards? Great question.
Speaker:So it's. It's a lot of things. So the total rewards,
Speaker:as I see it, is. So it's the salary. So that's just one component of
Speaker:an offer. It could be the scope of work. It could be the
Speaker:environment or culture. It could be the work arrangements. Even so,
Speaker:remote hybrid onsite. It could be the medical insurance.
Speaker:It could also be other perks like bonuses and stocks. So that's really the
Speaker:total offer, the total rewards. So the main point here is you don't want to
Speaker:just focus on the salary piece. There's a whole set of
Speaker:offerings that you have to concern yourself with, the entire package. So when it
Speaker:comes to the money. So the salary piece,
Speaker:you'll like this, Tiffany. So understanding the financial pieces, right? So
Speaker:this is what you're concerned with. Evaluate what meets your basic
Speaker:needs, right? So what's going to pay your bills? You know, fundamentally understand
Speaker:that, then understand, perhaps your lifestyle needs. You know, you might have some
Speaker:requirements around lifestyle. I know you and I have talked about lifestyle
Speaker:and lifestyle creep before, but it's very important to know what your
Speaker:requirements around lifestyle are. Is it? You need your nails done, things like this,
Speaker:and just kind of do the math for both things, right? Your basic
Speaker:needs and the lifestyle requirements. Do the math there first.
Speaker:Yes. Yes. So I'm glad that you mentioned that it's more
Speaker:than just salary, because I preach about that all the time. And
Speaker:when I was in HR, you know, sometimes the salary
Speaker:looks good, but the benefits are not there. So I'm glad that you
Speaker:started us off with that and then looking at the salary
Speaker:first. Right? So, yeah, that's a. That's cool. Everybody looks
Speaker:at, you know, that number. But if we dig
Speaker:deeper, what else should we be looking at once we get past making
Speaker:sure the salary is where we need it to be? Yes, yes,
Speaker:absolutely. I think salary is important, so of course that's going to be one of
Speaker:the main considerations within that total reward. So I understand that,
Speaker:but I think that once you know what your lifestyle requirements are and your basic
Speaker:needs are met with a clear mind, you can start to look at and
Speaker:understand what your expectations are now. So are you expecting
Speaker:a 20% increase, for example, from where you are, or a 15%
Speaker:increase? Right. So we can think about that clearly, knowing that, hey, I can
Speaker:eat. Right.
Speaker:And then are you willing to take a pay cut also, it's another consideration as
Speaker:you're presented with this offer. Is it less than, you know, what you were expecting,
Speaker:or is it less than what you're currently being offered? Are you willing to take
Speaker:a pay cut? And why would you be willing to take a pay cut? What
Speaker:are those things? I think you should know that as well. You know, that's a
Speaker:good point, and let's just dive right into that. So if someone's like, you
Speaker:know what? How do I figure this out? Like, I have no idea. I've
Speaker:only been looking at the money and I'm like, if I see a few extra
Speaker:dollars, I'm there. How do people figure out if
Speaker:it would be a good move for them or not, even if it does entail
Speaker:a pay cut? Yeah, I think that when we, when we go back to that
Speaker:analysis of the total rewards, that's what helps you to do that. So you start
Speaker:to prioritize. Right. So if the money is not
Speaker:necessarily a priority, then if you look at things like the scope
Speaker:of work, is the work that you're doing. Interesting, that might be a
Speaker:big weight in terms of the total rewards. And if the offer is
Speaker:attractive to you, so is this is the environment
Speaker:something or culture that you really got a good feeling about, the company
Speaker:or organization or the team? Do you feel comfortable there? That might
Speaker:actually have more weight than the salary, even so, that would even
Speaker:allow you, some of these things might allow you to take a pay cut. So
Speaker:I think that's how you evaluate the offer. But understanding the other
Speaker:pieces allows you to. To kind of do that. Maybe the medical
Speaker:insurance, maybe that's something that's really pressing for you. What if they have great
Speaker:benefits? Right? So if the medical insurance looks great. That might
Speaker:allow you to take a little bit less if you're able to do that, but
Speaker:it's about understanding what you want and then also what you're able to
Speaker:do as you evaluate the offer. Amen. And going back to your
Speaker:first point about making sure that the culture
Speaker:is there, I feel like that is extremely important because if the
Speaker:culture is not a good fit, you will be stressed out beyond be
Speaker:belief, and it's probably not a good move. So one
Speaker:strategy that I teach my students is to have informational
Speaker:interviews with people that currently work at the
Speaker:company or are in the department that they're interested in
Speaker:or even in a position that they're interested in at another
Speaker:company, just to see if the role that they're going
Speaker:for would fit what they're looking for. So that's one tip
Speaker:that I have. Do you have any tips when it comes to checking out company
Speaker:culture? Yeah, I think that's a great one. Informational is a good way. Your
Speaker:research too, right? I think particularly as a
Speaker:candidate, if you're seeking work, looking for a job, you're actively
Speaker:in the market, really do some research. And even if you're not, even if you
Speaker:are currently working and you're presented with an offer, always do the research
Speaker:about the company, right? Do a Google search.
Speaker:What are some of the things that they're doing? What are they doing? Perhaps for
Speaker:the community? How are they showing up? Perhaps in the DEI space, you
Speaker:can kind of know these things before you even interact with a company or
Speaker:interact with a recruiter or someone that's in a position of high hiring at that
Speaker:company. So you could always say, you can already know that, oh, wow, this company
Speaker:is showing up in a fantastic way with DEi, for example, if that's
Speaker:something that you're interested in. But doing that research could also help you be a
Speaker:little bit more comfortable with that culture and also provide you
Speaker:with a foundation of knowledge to ask questions around that. So how
Speaker:you know, how you know, what is your presence in Dei? Do you
Speaker:have employee resource groups, things of that nature? You can start asking
Speaker:questions that allow you to understand a culture during the interview
Speaker:process so that at the end of the process, you're comfortable with the company. And
Speaker:then from an environment standpoint, really understanding what type of environments you
Speaker:thrive in is really important as well. You know, if you're a person that doesn't
Speaker:really thrive in a big or kind of large organization, you need to
Speaker:kind of understand that at the onset. You know, this might not be the right
Speaker:environment for you? Are you better served at a small company versus a
Speaker:large company? Is corporate really not a space for you? I think those are great
Speaker:things to understand at the beginning as well. Yes, I love that. Know
Speaker:thyself, y'all. And one thing that is really
Speaker:huge, I know with your co host and probably
Speaker:also with you, is the MBTI. So the Myers Briggs.
Speaker:So understanding, like, what your personality type
Speaker:is. And that way you can see, you know, if you would be a
Speaker:good fit in certain situations. I know for me, in my
Speaker:corporate career, the best employers I had were small employers.
Speaker:It just felt like a family atmosphere. And I know some people are
Speaker:like, I don't want to call my coworkers family,
Speaker:but it really made the work more enjoyable for
Speaker:me. So I learned kind of early on that I really like the
Speaker:small companies and like the family atmosphere. So I'm
Speaker:glad that you mentioned that because it is something important to consider.
Speaker:So we've already talked about salary. We talked about
Speaker:culture. We talked about maybe medical and, you know,
Speaker:benefits in that regard. What else should people think
Speaker:about? That's part of the total rewards. Yes, absolutely.
Speaker:Something like work arrangements. So what I mean by that is remote
Speaker:hybrid and onsite. This is something that, you know, in the
Speaker:pandemic here, has increasingly been a concern or something
Speaker:that people really need to understand about themselves. So a lot of these
Speaker:companies, and I'll speak about the DC area, a lot of the large
Speaker:companies here, have moved away from remote work. So I think that a lot of
Speaker:us are seeing that now the opportunities to work remotely aren't
Speaker:necessarily there anymore. So really understanding that about yourself, what are your
Speaker:requirements there? I say that because, let's say, for
Speaker:example, if a role is remote, you might be more flexible
Speaker:with some of the other components of the offer. Right. So I know for
Speaker:me in particular, I can be a little bit more flexible if the
Speaker:role is remote, whereas if I'm going on site, I'm
Speaker:looking for probably everything I was looking for. Right. So there's less wiggle
Speaker:room when I have to drive into the company. Hybrid
Speaker:is a nice in between. Right. You're going into the company, you're driving
Speaker:in there twice a week or three days a week. That's also something to consider,
Speaker:but I think it's as you evaluate and prioritize the total
Speaker:rewards, these things could be priorities or things that you're really concerned with
Speaker:as you evaluate the offer. I think other perks,
Speaker:like bonuses and stocks, let's not forget about those other perks
Speaker:as well. Outside of the salary and all these other things that we've talked
Speaker:about in medical, there could be some other perks that you're currently
Speaker:receiving. So let's say if you currently get a bonus in your
Speaker:current role or you get stocks, what I want to say about this is you
Speaker:want to make sure that you're not leaving something on the table, right. You don't
Speaker:want to be losing money. Right. So you want to make sure that you
Speaker:understand what your current offering is. Baseline, what's your
Speaker:current offering? To make sure you're not losing out or leaving
Speaker:money on the table with bonuses and stocks and perks like that as well. Oh,
Speaker:my gosh. You said a mouthful of so much I want to hit on. Okay,
Speaker:so let's rewind back
Speaker:to the remote work component. So that is
Speaker:really important because I know, like you said on the onset of COVID
Speaker:everybody's like, oh, I want to work for home, I want to work from home.
Speaker:That's what I want to do. But I know, like, for instance, when
Speaker:I was in corporate, prior to going full time as an entrepreneur, I
Speaker:enjoyed going to the office because it was like my getaway from home.
Speaker:I could say, I'm at work, I can cut off work when
Speaker:I come home. You know, those are some of the things that you have
Speaker:to take into consideration, too. If you have your work at
Speaker:home, they can kind of bleed into each other. And
Speaker:so for me, me, I really enjoyed going to the office and
Speaker:having my little space, and that was mine. And then once I was done with
Speaker:work, leaving it there and getting home, so I really
Speaker:enjoyed that. So I'm glad that you mentioned that. And then the other thing that
Speaker:you mentioned about the stock options and then also
Speaker:bonuses, this is something that doesn't really get a lot of
Speaker:chat, but it can be significant. Yes,
Speaker:yes, yes. I think as a
Speaker:recruiter and certainly as an executive recruiter, I
Speaker:bump into this very often. Right. So individuals that are
Speaker:receiving hefty stock allowances and
Speaker:hefty bonuses. And so those individuals
Speaker:oftentimes they knew exactly what their stock offering
Speaker:was, their allocation, they knew exactly what their bonuses were.
Speaker:They know the time of year that you're going to receive your bonus.
Speaker:So that even helps you to understand when you can start a position, right? So
Speaker:there's so much knowledge that you go that you have to have before you even
Speaker:start to evaluate that offer. You know, where are you in that
Speaker:cycle? So if your bonus pays out in March and this
Speaker:company needs you to start in January, there might be a
Speaker:problem there. Right. So perhaps the solve would be I can
Speaker:start in March. Right. Because you don't want to lose that
Speaker:bonus. So those are the things that you have to know. And that's back to
Speaker:the negotiation piece then. So it's okay, well, I can start my
Speaker:position in, you know, the midpoint of March because you have to
Speaker:take that bonus into consideration because you don't want to lose money on
Speaker:the deal. Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Speaker:That is so important. I remember when I
Speaker:was considering leaving a job and they made
Speaker:it, well, they didn't make it clear after doing my research, I
Speaker:was like, oh, if I leave now or if I don't give the
Speaker:notice that they require, then I'll leave, like my
Speaker:vacation day payout and everything on the table, too. So let's talk
Speaker:about that a little bit. So some, like companies have different
Speaker:policies when it comes to vacation payouts and
Speaker:sick day payouts and things like that. So when we're thinking
Speaker:about making a transition to a new
Speaker:company, what are things like that that we should
Speaker:consider, too? That's really a good one. I think it's so
Speaker:varied with that vacation payout. I
Speaker:think in my career, what I've seen most often is that, yeah, you
Speaker:are getting a vacation payout if you have not used your vacation
Speaker:days. What I've seen as a standard is that you are being paid out those
Speaker:vacation days. So I really couldn't speak to, like, another
Speaker:policy. I think that's what I've seen the most. But you do have to pay
Speaker:close attention to those things. Are you getting a vacation
Speaker:payout? I think one of the most important things about
Speaker:these types of things, whether it's the bonuses and the stocks and the vacation
Speaker:payouts, I think the overarching lesson,
Speaker:or what you need to do with evaluating is understanding. We're
Speaker:understanding potential losses and gains.
Speaker:Right. So you have to understand what the potential loss would
Speaker:be, whether it's in salary, whether it's in the benefits, whether it's the
Speaker:bonus or the stock. Right. And you want to mitigate that. You don't want to
Speaker:have losses. Right. Or what the potential gains
Speaker:could be. Right. So we want, do we want to gain in every area, do
Speaker:we want to increase on salary and we want to increase on benefits and increase
Speaker:on bonus and stock. So those are the things, you balance those things. But I
Speaker:think that at a minimum, your total reward should at least meet
Speaker:your current offering, if not exceed it. So those are the
Speaker:things that fundamentally, I think you need to be concerned with making sure that
Speaker:you're not losing money, making sure that it's at least
Speaker:meeting your basic needs there, or at least equal to what you're receiving today.
Speaker:Oh my gosh, you've dropped so many gems
Speaker:on this podcast today. So if people were interested in
Speaker:learning more about total rewards and benefits and things
Speaker:that they should think about, is this stuff that you go over on the your
Speaker:corporate IQ podcast? Yes, I mean, we. Yes, we definitely
Speaker:cover that on the podcast so they can definitely connect with us. Your
Speaker:corporate IQ episodes are on YouTube, so like us and
Speaker:subscribe. You can visit our website as well,
Speaker:yourcorporateiq.com, to learn about us and also schedule
Speaker:an appointment for coaching services. So your corporate IQ,
Speaker:LLC, we do provide coaching services. We do talk about things like
Speaker:this, how to negotiate, you know, your
Speaker:offers, your salaries, as well as other just general
Speaker:navigation tips. Some of the things we talked about earlier in terms of knowing
Speaker:yourself, I think those are some of the things that we start with really providing
Speaker:you with the foundation of knowledge. Before you can even understand
Speaker:these things, you have to know yourself and your skills and your abilities to
Speaker:feel comfortable with having these negotiation conversations.
Speaker:You can certainly find us on LinkedIn as well, and then you can also email
Speaker:us@infoourporateiq.com dot we definitely want
Speaker:to build, you know, an online community with the listeners, but I think that
Speaker:the coaching services are so thorough and complete in terms of
Speaker:starting with the foundation and then kind of moving into the evolution of,
Speaker:you know, the actionable navigation tips
Speaker:as we learn ourselves. I love that. I
Speaker:love that. And I'll make sure I have all of that information
Speaker:in the show notes as well. Now, are you all on social media or is
Speaker:there anywhere that people can follow you there? Yeah, I'd say LinkedIn is a great
Speaker:one because corporate IQ is a corporate space.
Speaker:I think that's the best forum in terms of social media would be LinkedIn.
Speaker:You can definitely see our content on TikTok. We are there. You can
Speaker:see us on IG as well. But I think LinkedIn is a great
Speaker:starting place for us just to be in a corporate community. Awesome.
Speaker:Awesome. I'll make sure I have all of that in the show notes, y'all. So
Speaker:if you didn't catch anything, definitely look there. Thank you
Speaker:so much, Lachez, for coming on the podcast and talking about total rewards,
Speaker:because I don't think we've ever talked about it and you dropped so many
Speaker:gems. And I know we could talk for hours about
Speaker:this, but we can't give it all away for the people.
Speaker:So thank you so much. You're welcome. Happy to be here. I think this is
Speaker:a great topic. I think, I think like you said, it's not something that is
Speaker:talked about enough. Certainly with the bonuses, I think that piece
Speaker:and just the total rewards, you're not just evaluating a salary. I think there's
Speaker:not enough discussion about that. So I appreciate you for doing
Speaker:this. Wonderful. Once again, wonderful. Thank you so much. All right. Thank
Speaker:you. Bye. Thank you for listening, joining and
Speaker:being a part of the Money Talk with TIFF podcast this week. You can check
Speaker:Tiff out every Thursday for a new money talk podcast. But if you
Speaker:just can't wait until next week, you can listen to previous podcast
Speaker:episodes@moneytalkwitht.com or
Speaker:follow TIFF on all social media platforms at
Speaker:moneytalkwitht. Until next time, spend wise
Speaker:by spending less than you make a word to the money wise is
Speaker:always sufficient.
