We are accustomed to wearing many hats in the profession of total rewards, whether it be the role of the accountant or that of a communications expert. Today’s call to action is to play, also, the role of a marketing strategist. As organizations look towards turning a new leaf in economic recovery efforts, employers are faced with increased pressures to attract, retain, and motivate the workforce.
It will be a tall order to ask of us, but we in the profession know that economic, social, and pandemic-related impacts are forming to be the catalysts in how we reform, re-define and re-brand the total rewards value proposition.
Functioning now as “Rewards Partners”, we must construct a workplace story that evokes emotions of career reward and fulfillment and, more importantly, delivers the realities of it to existing and prospective employees. There are several strategies which employers can act upon to retain and compete for talent. The following are just a few examples to facilitate your efforts towards this renewed mindset when it comes to repositioning your organization's total rewards program.
For starters, data analytics and intelligence are key in allowing us to go beyond the surface level. Descriptive employee data that covers all factors of employee demographics such as experience, education, tenure, job type, etc. is at the heart of helping us understand our workforce makeup. It enables us to distill the perceived versus persistent gaps that exist in our organizations. If you have not already done so, then you must document, track and extrapolate your human capitals data to outline today’s story. Only then can the story be filled in by the informed decisions you make herein.
Equipped with data in hand, you have a stronger sense of the multi-generational workforce that exists both internally and externally. The needs of each generation will vary and this is where the Rewards Partner must excel. For each cohort, there is a different message and rewards element to sell. Repackaging the total rewards offering to meet their needs is your blueprint in creating a sense of flexible benefits. The millennial who has a growing family would much rather hear about the work-life balance and childcare services on offer versus pension plan guidelines for an impending retirement.
Finally, to compete for skilled workers, we must check whether we are prohibiting ourselves from supporting a diverse talent pool. Diversity, equity, and Inclusion are emerging priorities in the workforce. A key proponent to this initiative is breaking down the biases. Providing training to conquer our individual biases is one thing, but we must address the systemic biases that our organization has. To do so, conducting an audit on our existing HR practices, policies, and approaches towards hiring, developing, and promoting employees is an integral step. Getting to the root of how we conduct ourselves in these scenarios will shed light as to whether we are operating in a way resulting in certain groups being advantaged and others disadvantaged or devalued.
As Reward Partners we have the opportunity to support our organizations in carving the pathway towards being an employer of choice, it will be a journey in itself that will be as unique as the story of total rewards we tell.
Reena Paul (CCP, GRP) is a Senior Compensation Consultant. She is passionate about all things “total rewards” and has experience in dealing with all stakeholders of an organization and strategizing optimum client-focused solutions. A lover of data and the story it tells, Reena enjoys the exploration of presenting and discussing compensation with a fresh perspective. Connect and contact Reena directly on LinkedIn
Photo by Bernd Dittrich on Unsplash
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