We should look at Fonterra's diamond encrusted and golden handshaken recently departed CEO and how deep in the effluent he left the company. Waikato District Health Board's dodgy chief Dr Nigel Murray, is another, and that's only picking two out of a steady trickle of reports of high paid execs who would have been poor value at a quarter the price.
We could while we're at it compare our current CEO Sue Bidrose who has a sense of "enough" in this age of monstrous entitlement, to her predecessor before last, "Timorous Jim" Harland whose performance was nothing to write home about.
Is there sufficient proof that high payment delivers the goods?
It's a pyramid. Lowest level, large numbers of low paid workers many lacking the ability to succeed at the next level. The next level is smaller, and the one above that smaller still. Are we supposed to believe that nearly all the people on Level 2 aren't fit for Level 3 except that there aren't enough places for them so they cannot be promotes.
Then get to the top levels. Each is smaller, fewer people can progress no matter how skilled, innovative and wise they may be.
What's the bet the levels a couple or so down from the summit contain people every bit as good as the one in the top office?
At a certain point momentum takes over, success (advancement) is taken to imply ever increasing success. Not so the equally good person who missed out on promotion to the one vacancy.
Great references are no guarantee. They may be an opportunity eagerly grabbed for getting rid of an expensive problem. Someone with a knack for getting people to talk frankly should go and spend a day or two chatting with people, medium-ranked desk drivers and lowly placed workers who tend to know a lot more than their superiors are aware of. Gather a frank appraisal of the proposed appointee from the people who see how many rorts and follies go unchecked, the people towards whom The Mighty One does not feel the need to be courteous. If not equally courteous to high and low they'd better be better than outstanding in every other way.
------------------------------------
Saturday, 16 November 2019
Chief execs' pay almost $1m
Richard Fletcher
Aurora chief executive Richard Fletcher received total remuneration of between $510,000 and $519,999 in 2018-19, while Delta chief executive Mike Costelloe received between $420,001 and $430,000.
Their combined total, of nearly $950,000 a year, was significantly higher than the $560,000 a year paid to former chief executive Grady Cameron, who headed both companies until they split in 2017.
The figures also showed Dunedin Venues chief executive Terry Davies ... received a one-off $50,000 performance bonus .... - an at-risk portion awarded based on performance indicators - helped drive Mr Davies' total remuneration from $350,000-$359,999 last year to $410,000-$419,000 for 2018-19.......
........Aurora, in particular, was operating in a "highly competitive" sector, [Dunedin City Holdings Ltd chairman Keith Cooper] said, and faced challenges ranging from the recruitment of skilled staff to its recently booked $11million loss for 2018-19.
The "highly qualified" Dr Fletcher faced a particularly demanding role overseeing Aurora's massive reinvestment programme, Mr Cooper said.
"This is not a maintenance job - it's rebuilding a business.".......
[Rebuilding a business brought to its current plight - memory fails me, must have been an unqualified school leaver appointed due to computer error - by someone highly qualified highly paid operating in this highly competitive sector.]
.
Mike Costelloe
Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins yesterday said it was "hard to argue" with the figures .... "Executive salaries, in both the public and private sector, are becoming disproportionately out of kilter with the workers they manage, but who blinks first?
"So long as that's the case, it makes it challenging to recruit high-calibre staff under an alternative framework," he said.
The increases also come just months after DCC chief executive Sue Bidrose was awarded a pay rise of nearly $60,000 - a 14.7% increase, to $444,000 - despite her reluctance to accept it.
Mr Cooper said company salaries in Dunedin remained "at the lower end of the scale" ..... "we've just got to comprehend that we're competing for skilled people".
"I think we should be very pleased with the quality we've got."
The highs and lows of salaries now
ReplyDelete