Historical Resolution Tracking Feature » 2012-05-06 - Overall Compensation Framework
Important note: The explanatory text provided through this database (including the summary, implementation actions, identification of related resolutions, and additional information) is an interpretation or an explanation that has no official authority and does not represent the purpose behind the Board actions, nor does any explanations or interpretations modify or override the Resolutions themselves. Resolutions can only be modified through further act of the ICANN Board.
2012-05-06 - Overall Compensation Framework
Board adopts the Compensation Framework.
- Implement Compensation Framework
- Responsible entity: ICANN staff
- Due date: None provided
- Completion date: December 2012
Whereas, the retention of high calibre staff is essential to ICANN's operations and ICANN desires to ensure competitive compensation for staff.
Whereas, ICANN's current Compensation Framework establishes a target of compensation for staff between the 50th and 75th percentile of comparable for profit organizations.
Whereas, independent compensation expert consultant Towers Watson has recommended that ICANN's Compensation Framework be updated to also include review of comparable compensation of staff from not for profit organizations and high technology organizations.
Whereas, the compensation expert consultant's recommendation is consistent with ICANN's current compensation practices and goals.
Whereas, the Compensation Committee evaluated and agrees with the compensation consultant's recommendation.
Resolved (2012.05.06.04), the Board adopts the updated Compensation Framework recommended by the independent expert compensation consultant and instructs staff to implement it consistent with ICANN's compensation practices.
ICANN's compensation philosophy is to ensure that remuneration provided to staff is competitive globally and that it engenders the appropriate motivation for high performance toward agreed objectives. Specifically, as stated in ICANN's Compensation Practices previously approved by the Board (seehttp://www.icann.org/en/financials/compensation-practices-31jan10-en.pdf [PDF, 91 KB]), ICANN maintains a "[c]ommitment to continued payment in the salary span of 50th to 75th percentile of relevant comparable companies of a similar size and complexity to ICANN, with the actual salary within this band determined by the individual's experience and talent and market position." This Framework, which was initially based on a 2006 survey by outside compensation experts, included comparable for-profit entities. In order to ensure best practices in staff compensation, the Compensation Committee called for a review of the Compensation Framework established in 2006.
ICANN's independent compensation expert consultant, Towers Watson (TW), has conducted a thorough analysis of ICANN's existing Compensation Framework. TW advised that the comparable organizations ICANN uses in setting staff compensation be updated to include, not only general for profit organizations, but also not for profit and high technology organizations. Including all three "buckets' of comparable organizations has been recommended to ensure that ICANN is using the right mix and of comparables in setting staff compensation levels. Making this change provides additional transparency to ICANN's compensation practices and improves the precision of the market comparables.
As part of its mandate, the Compensation Committee evaluated the consultant's recommendation and has endorsed the adopting of the updated Compensation Framework. Doing so will have likely some financial impact on ICANN, but any such impact will be budgeted for as part of ICANN's regular budgeting activities. This action is not anticipated to have any impact on the security, stability or resiliency of the domain name system.
- Reports on ICANN Remuneration are available at http://www.icann.org/en/about/financials
- The resolution does not address funding for the items identified therein.