What do you value? Don’t answer this question with words, instead point out the actions that reveal what is valuable to you. What we spend time on, money on, emotion, sweat, tears, and our very lives on speaks volumes on what it is we value. This, of course, is true for us as individuals. It’s also true for companies.

When a company puts a compensation plan in place it is announcing the company values to its employees (and others, if made public). Rewarding efficiency will signal that efficiency is important to the company. Employees who pay attention will adjust their efforts to be more efficient as a result. Sometimes, though, the focus on efficiency distracts from customer service, quality and other “values” the company says it has. As a result, the company may adjust its compensation to account for the other values as needed. At least, the smart ones do.

When looking at a compensation arrangement for your employees remember that what is rewarded is seen as valued. The reward does not have to be money — perhaps flexibility, perhaps more authority — but money is the most liquid form of valuation, so to speak.

For example, when offering an employee two different roles — one more demanding than the other — if the compensation is the same, what is the employee to surmise as to which the company values the employee doing more? The employee will weigh her costs — her time, talents, efforts — with the bargained rewards and chose accordingly. Remembering to assign proper valuations to roles will help avoid sending mixed signals as to what the company truly values.