The stagnant U.S. economy has prompted employers to implement a variety of measures to control compensation costs. A survey released recently by the Institute of Management and Administration’s Report on Salary Surveys indicated employers were using the following methods to cut compensation costs:

• 45.4 percent reduced the size of merit increases
• 37.3 percent had a hiring freeze/work-force reduction
• 20.4 percent reduced the size of bonuses
• 17.4 percent pay for performance
• 16.0 percent changed mix of salary/bonus structure
• 4.3 percent established/expanded salary structure
• 11.5 percent hired more part time employees/temps
• 7.9 percent added benefits while holding firm on compensation
• 4.9 percent instituted “broad-banding”
• 1.2 percent changed board of directors’ compensation