Employee Rewards: it’s not a one-size-fits-all
The very basic reward philosophy deals with how reward can help in achieving performance goals whilst underpinning the company’s core values.
Every business has its own reward strategy, even if not written. It aims at linking reward strategy with the company brand and organisational performance.
Your reward strategy should be saying something about the organisation – how it manages its staff and how it values them. It should be saying whether pay is linked to such things as performance, knowledge or skill level and so on. Reward needs to take into consideration the size, structure, sector of industry, workforce composition and the external labour market.
And I’d like to focus mainly on the difference the workforce composition can make to your reward plan. The solution is making reward relevant to the employees. But to do that, you need to know your employees well. You need to understand which benefits matter to your them. If your workforce is young, then you probably need to excite them with, for example, educational benefits. If your workforce is dominated by parents, then a benefit such as flexible working will make them feel most valued. It’s important to remember that it’s not always about the pay they receive at the end of the month. It’s not all about money!
Many times, sparking your employees’ loyalty and engagement does not require a hefty financial investment. Your business’ impact on the market relies on the well-being and work/motivation of your staff members. Setting up an effective rewards scheme that focus on the rewards that really motivate your staff is an approach that demonstrates that you care about them. The company will be the ultimate beneficiary of a successful rewards scheme, it will sow a stronger relationship with the employees, resulting in commitment and a renewed enthusiasm to deliver.
About the author
Maria Zahra is Managing Director of SurgeAdvisory. She has over fifteen years of human resources and business advisory experience.