Expanding Compensation Beyond Pay and Benefits

It’s been trending this way for some time, but the pandemic has pushed it to the fore: rad pay and benefits are no longer the end all, be all in terms of recruiting, retaining, and getting the most out of your workforce. Employees nowadays are looking for more. Is your company agile enough to handle such changes? If it isn’t, it’s risking a world of hurt at some point by prevailing and uncertain social and economic disruption.

Here’s what you need to know about expanding compensation beyond pay and benefits.

The Issue

The upheaval caused by COVID-19 has turned most work models on its head, including those for total employee rewards. Perhaps especially so, since going back even before the pandemic, employees, governments, and societies at large were advocating in earnest for equitable pay practices. But nowadays, we’re dealing with a whole new level of flux that requires you to be able to adjust and, if need be, pivot on a dime. You’ll likely need assistance, by the way, but more on that later.

 What is Meant by Total Rewards?

When it comes down to it, total rewards are anything and everything an organization offers in return for an employees’ membership, devotion, and performance. Packages usually include:

• Compensation. This typically means base salary, incentive pay, and recognition.
• Benefits and “perks”. This encompasses healthcare, retirement, and work/life programs, plus add-ons such as gym membership, extra time off, use of company plane, student loan paydowns, midday physical activity, etc.
• Individual growth. This refers to career development training and development, performance support, and the like.
• Work environment. This includes the organization’s culture, image, leadership, and even the work itself.

What is a Total Rewards Strategy?

It’s basically a system an organization puts in place that provides pay, benefits, and developmental rewards to employees who hit certain business objectives. The approach permits you to consider and include other factors beyond pay as a means of acknowledgment and reward. Such strategies often mix cash and other benefits with professional-growth opportunities to promote employee engagement and productivity.

What Does Mercer’s Recent Study Say?

Mercer is a leading HR consultant that helps organizations with their employee total rewards strategies. A study it conducted last year about global talent trends found that, among other things, some 50% of employees seek employment by an organization that offers “responsible” rewards. It also discovered that 36% like companies that emphasize environmental protection and social equity. What’s more, 37% of employees are moved by robust corporate values, mission, and purpose.

So, as you can see, it takes more than moolah and good “bennies” to get and keep people in your camp. Mercer can help with that.

What Can Mercer Can Do for Us?

To attract, retain and motivate employees in today’s environment, Mercer can assist you by:

• Creating a total rewards strategy, one that uses analytics to learn about your workforce, fill in skills gaps, and bolster employee productivity and retention.
• Using a career framework and job architecture,that connects with HR, to build agility.
• Getting you optimal returns on your incentive investments. This requires an emphasis on relevant models, including remote, flexible, and digital, to heighten workforce adaptability and performance. This leads to optimization of your investments.

Now you know that to keep apace in today’s world, you truly do need to expand compensation beyond pay and benefits. But you need help pulling it off. We’ve found that a consultant such as Mercer is more than up to that task.