In this week’s episode, we speak to Kim Kucinskas and Dr. Ishbel McWha-Hermann about equity in compensation and fair reward in international development organisations. We talk about the Equitable Compensation Playbook, which organisations can use as a benchmark to reflect on their approaches to compensation, as well as Project Fair.

Kim and Ishbel tell us about equitable compensation as being rooted in challenging Western ideologies around pay. The discourse around decolonisation and shifting power is also being integrated into conversations around compensation and power and value.

We dive into the specifics of operationalising change in equitable compensation and pay in INGOs in the development and humanitarian sectors.

Kim Kucinskas is the Technical Director, Organizational Transformation at Humentum, a global nonprofit that unlocks the strategic power of operating models for social good organizations. She helps individuals and organizations who are on a journey towards greater equity identify,  understand, and operationalize transformation. Kim’s priority is to support individuals to be more effective in their work and organizations to be prepared for the future. To achieve results, she creates connections between strategy and practical operations by building networks, facilitates co-creation, and supports organizations through consultancies. This is the case with the TIME (Transforming INGO Models for Equity) initiative, a case study in action of power shift where Kim acts as Project Director. In another example of connecting the dots between strategy and practical solutions, Kim led an 18-months long compensation working group of nonprofit compensation practitioners, which resulted in the co-created Equitable Compensation Playbook.

Dr. Ishbel McWha-Hermann is an Associate Professor in international HRM at the University of Edinburgh Business School, Scotland. She uses psychological research to enhance social justice and fair reward in organisations, particularly in international work contexts. Ishbel is Founder and Director of Project Fair, which brings together HR and reward managers from INGOs, to develop research based pathways to fairer reward policies and practices. She has undertaken consultancy and provided expert advice to numerous international organisations, including the United Nations. 

If you’re interested to find out more about their work, take a look here:

• Project Fair
• Ishbel McWha Hermann LinkedIn
• Project Fair LinkedIn
• Kim Kucinskas LinkedIn
• Humentum | LinkedIn
• Humentum (@humentum_org)

Relevant resources:

• Equitable Compensation Playbook | Humentum
• Compensation is a visible manifestation of (in)equality. So, how do we do it? | Humentum