A few basic principles for P2PU compensation and hiring

-- DRAFT, for feedback, 27 May 2011 --

[Please note: this draft version was developed with input from a few community and board members to help P2PU define some principles around compensation. It has not gone through legal review, hasn't received community input, and is not an official policy or guideline for P2PU.]

The key to success for P2PU is to have good and happy people in the community. Paid staff members are an important part of the community, and while compensation is only one of the motivating factors for P2PU staff, it is an important one. That's why we strive to be fair and transparent regarding our compensation practices, and involve the broader community in the process.

Principles:


Operational:



Feedback/Questions

Does this mean that salaries are going to be public too? (this may conflict with privacy laws in some countries, should check. i think in the US only the highest salaries are mandated to be public for nonprofits)

Benefits are mentioned. Are these things like conference/travel or more like health benefits? Also what determines whether a person gets benefits or not?

How do you gather the salary comparisons of other like companies? How often are they updated? Are salaries shifted to match or just get a [annual?] potential raise?

"We reward acquisition of unrestricted funds" -- confused me. Does this mean that if an employee gets a grant for P2PU then he or she is given a bonus or that everyone is?

What's a flat hierarchy?
I don't think any org is completely flat. Also flat isn't efficient. Flat can be bad. Maybe we use different wording here.

Will we get a list of those that are already on staff and where the new positions will go in relation to them? What about volunteer positions?
We should have an organizational chart.

Note: 1&2 below are about understanding, not disagreeing

1. We don't take into account the physical location of our staff -- How was this principal selected? Why? +1 +1 +1

2. The highest paid person at P2PU makes no more than twice the salary of the lowest paid staff member. -- How was the ratio selected, why? Could just be an arbitrary number
This sounds reasonable to me. In the U.S. entry-level nonprofit salaries can be in 30k range while high level mgmt can be 90-100k+. <-- double 30k is 60k, half 100k is 50k... 

How do community members get involved in doing interviews?
I don't think it's a good idea for community members to get involved in doing interviews unless they are paid staff. Maybe get involved at a late point in the process as more of a meet n greet and sanity check. Otherwise, this would be opening a can of worms. Paid staff are the ones who will have to work directly with incoming staff - not volunteers. Joe: lol what? And how does one determine which volunteers get to interview? etc. 

Great Start Philipp! 

Joe: It doesn't seem possible to talk about pay rates in a practical way until there is at least a sketch of what the roles in the organization are going to be (how many, what are they doing, etc.).