Create a compensation system that offers your employees flexibility and choice The Compensation Solution is a practical guide that can help business and nonprofit leaders think outside the box and create a compensation system that offers innovative, flexible rewards for their employees. John Tropman? adjunct professor at the University of Michigan Business School?provides the vital information and ideas needed for any organization, regardless of size or mission, to develop a total compensation package that will attract and retain top-level employees. How many of the ten compensation variables does your company offer? Base pay: An employee's salary Augmented pay: A one-time payment that ranges in form from overtime to stock options Indirect pay: Traditional benefits such as health insurance and pension Works-pay: Company-provided resources that employees would otherwise have to purchase in order to do their job, such as cell phones, uniforms, laptop computers Perks-pay: Upgrades that leverage the employer's ability to enhance employee compensation and provide lifestyle enhancement for the employee Opportunity for advancement: Opportunities for employees to climb the corporate ladder Opportunity for growth: Firm-provided opportunities to learn and grow on the job Psychic income: Emotional satisfaction derived from the work and the workplace Quality of life: Balancing work and the rest of life X factor: Individual wants and needs that, with imagination, employers may be able to satisfy