By recognising that pay is not the only motivator, and acknowledging the importance of not only tangible but also intangible rewards within the wider context of the work experience, total reward has wide-reaching implications for employers and employees alike. Total reward is potentially very powerful in assisting employers align their HR and business strategies with employee needs, to improve performance. As a concept, total reward is not new. However, various reward surveys finds that only around four in 10 employers have adopted this approach so far.
Total reward is
the term that has been adopted to describe a reward strategy that brings additional
components such as learning and development, together with aspects of the
working environment, into the benefits package. It goes beyond standard remuneration
by embracing the company culture, and is aimed at giving all employees a voice
in the operation, with the employer in return receiving an engaged employee
performance.
Components of total reward
Challenges and Risks
Total reward is a developing management practice that is fairly simple to
understand but very complex in operation because it has wide reaching implications
for approaches to reward management and for cultural change in organisations.
It is an exciting leading edge concept that focuses on employee empowerment
rather than employer command management. Total reward has the possibility
of being a very powerful management tool and change catalyst
As with other
reward solutions, however, you may be an employer who has established the
“why” for implementing total reward but need help with realising
the “how”. Remember, no off-the-shelf package is available for
employers to simply plug total reward into their operation. To develop an
appropriate programme would be enormously complex and would not be without
risks in its implementation, so it is an area that would almost certainly
benefit from help provided by an experienced consultancy such as EvDav Consulting.
My Approach
My approach is to work closely with an employer and provide a well tried and
tested methodology for assessing their readiness for implementing total reward.
This will include mapping out the total reward framework, and then exploring
various pathways in order to potentially achieve an integrated and holistic
approach. Such an approach has produced remarkable results for a llarge financial
services organisation but can be adapted for any sector, irrespective of the
size of organisation.
I practice an evolutionary approach to total reward that is characterised by 4 key stages, as follows:
· Ready. Evaluation of the current reward situation in terms of its alignment to business and HR strategies. Assessing the readiness of the organisation to implement total reward through identifiable forces and barriers to change. Defining the business case and resources required to realise the programme over a phased approach.
· Steady. Developing a best fit and customised total reward programme that will provide a distinctive and compelling employer brand that will differentiate the organisation from its rivals. Setting in train a roadmap that offers an optional integrated rewards platform and a people-centric model in order to maximise the effectiveness and success of the programme.
· Fire! Rolling out the different components of a total reward programme in phases, showing sensitivity to resource, cultural and system constraints.
· Bullseye? Measuring and celebrating the success of each stage of the programme against agreed metrics. Making changes based on stakeholder feedback and measurement.
Don’t delay now, without total reward you can never hope to provide a distinctive and compelling employment package for current and future employees.
