The Outlook for the Reward Landscape Has Changed in Recent Years, as Have Employee Expectations
If anything, the past two years have taught us not to expect anything about what we once knew to be ‘the norm’, and the reward landscape is no exception. We once understood what employees wanted in terms of rewards and benefits at work, but recent health, political and economic emergencies have triggered a dramatic shift in desired reward offerings, forcing businesses to rebuild people strategies to better suit new ways of working and suppress the effects of the great resignation, spiking inflation, and an impending recession.
It’s clear that the combination of ‘the great resignation’, our emergence from COVID-19, a greater focus on pay equity, and unusually high inflation has thrown everything in the reward landscape up in the air and that the ingredients of a successful reward proposition have changed. Reward can no longer be looked at in silo. Instead, it must be considered in conjunction with other elements of HR to help build a holistic, well-rounded proposition that aligns with a changing and dynamic workforce that has increasingly diverse needs.
The Outlook for the Reward Landscape Has Changed in Recent Years, as Have Employee Expectations
If anything, the past two years have taught us not to expect anything about what we once knew to be ‘the norm’, and the reward landscape is no exception. We once understood what employees wanted in terms of rewards and benefits at work, but recent health, political and economic emergencies have triggered a dramatic shift in desired reward offerings, forcing businesses to rebuild people strategies to better suit new ways of working and suppress the effects of the great resignation, spiking inflation, and an impending recession.
It’s clear that the combination of ‘the great resignation’, our emergence from COVID-19, a greater focus on pay equity, and unusually high inflation has thrown everything in the reward landscape up in the air and that the ingredients of a successful reward proposition have changed. Reward can no longer be looked at in silo. Instead, it must be considered in conjunction with other elements of HR to help build a holistic, well-rounded proposition that aligns with a changing and dynamic workforce that has increasingly diverse needs.
So what should employers be doing to make sure their reward offering is fit for purpose?
- In today’s environment, employers must ensure their reward proposition is attractive and built on a foundation of flexibility, strong career prospects and a deep understanding of current and prospective employees’ intrinsic and extrinsic needs
- Seek employee input on the design of their reward programme and, where possible, align it with their needs; an offering tailored to your workforce is more likely to attract and retain top talent
- Consider adopting a hybrid/flexible working arrangement that is sought after by many in the post-COVID-19 world
- Establish a robust pay equity management framework and remedy any issues that exist
- Take inflation into account when setting annual salary budgets
So what should employers be doing to make sure their reward offering is fit for purpose?
- In today’s environment, employers must ensure their reward proposition is attractive and built on a foundation of flexibility, strong career prospects and a deep understanding of current and prospective employees’ intrinsic and extrinsic needs
- Seek employee input on the design of their reward programme and, where possible, align it with their needs; an offering tailored to your workforce is more likely to attract and retain top talent
- Consider adopting a hybrid/flexible working arrangement that is sought after by many in the post-COVID-19 world
- Establish a robust pay equity management framework and remedy any issues that exist
- Take inflation into account when setting annual salary budgets
We support clients to design and develop fit-for-purpose remuneration and reward strategies, helping them to implement clear, transparent procedures that align with their values and fit with the sense of being a good practice employer.
We support clients to design and develop fit-for-purpose remuneration and reward strategies, helping them to implement clear, transparent procedures that align with their values and fit with the sense of being a good practice employer.
Some Examples of the Ways in Which We Can Help Clients:
- Salary benchmarking
- Streamlining and standardising the current number of job titles
- Introducing job families
- Developing equality-proofed job grading structures
- Developing and implementing sustainable performance management processes
- Creating job evaluation frameworks linked to current salary scales, including process guides, templates and training
- Implementing frameworks which link a company’s business plan and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to the departmental, team and individual objectives
- Objectively reviewing existing job evaluation frameworks
- Creating templates and guides to support the creation of future job descriptions
- Updating policies, procedures and job descriptions to better reflect both an organisation’s culture and new structure following a merger or acquisition
Some Examples of the Ways in Which We Can Help Clients:
- Salary benchmarking
- Streamlining and standardising the current number of job titles
- Introducing job families
- Developing equality-proofed job grading structures
- Developing and implementing sustainable performance management processes
- Creating job evaluation frameworks linked to current salary scales, including process guides, templates and training
- Implementing frameworks which link a company’s business plan and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to the departmental, team and individual objectives
- Objectively reviewing existing job evaluation frameworks
- Creating templates and guides to support the creation of future job descriptions
- Updating policies, procedures and job descriptions to better reflect both an organisation’s culture and new structure following a merger or acquisition