"Both tenure and performance are important, but I do lean toward performance incentives. I feel that employees should be compensated, and rewarded, based on the documented value they bring to the organization. This approach is a strong motivator because a new employee would be greatly encouraged by being rewarded for performance, and this approach also facilitates a healthy competition with more tenured employees."

"This is a classic question, isn't it? Experience and company knowledge are so important and are certainly of value to an organization, while performance is the documented articulation of an employee's value to the company. I believe the best compensation and promotion programs figure out a way to honor both, with the emphasis on performance. Doing so encourages good employees to stay since they know they're valued for their tenure and experience. It also discourages people from getting so comfortable in a long-time role that they don't strive for their highest performance."

Speak openly with your interviewer about your thoughts on how a company should value performance and tenure when considering staff for pay increases and promotions. If you are able to, don't hesitate to talk about the positives and negatives of ways you have seen this handled throughout your career to this point.

"While I do feel it's important to reward loyal employees who have remained at an organization for several years, I think that a pay-for-performance model is more motivating. This gives both new and senior employees the ability to earn incentives for meeting and exceeding expectations. This model also boosts morale, allows employees of all experience levels to align on company objectives, increases productivity and employee control over their earning ability, and can even attract and help retain top talent."