Myth-busters 2023: Tackling common misconceptions in pay and reward

Bonus | Gender Pay Gap | Gender Pay Reporting | Flexible working | Salary survey | Recognition | Pension | Remote Working | Thought Leadership

We asked our consultants and analysts to raise some common misconceptions and explain where they think misunderstandings may lie.

Taking the Pain out of Pay Review

Pay Review | Advance

Pay Review time has arrived again and for many at the moment it feels like a continuous process: an uphill treadmill of pressure, budget crunching and scenario re-modelling.

Building Pay Resilience in a volatile market

Pay Data | Resilience

On 17 January BBC online published an article entitled Cost of living: Five tips for asking for a pay rise. It is one of many articles currently being published on the topic, but the website and app are among the most-read in the UK and the article, which offers ‘five tips on how to negotiate for more money' will reach potentially millions of eyeballs.

The key technology changes to be aware of as we plan Reward Strategy for 2023

Evaluate | Job Evaluation Software | HR software | Reward technology | HR Technology | PayLab | Advance | Hapi

HR Tech is evolving to meet the ever-changing needs of modern business. Previously companies acquired an Enterprise solution like Oracle or PeopleSoft to ‘do everything’. Now HR Directors can pick and choose between a range of products on different platforms with an expectation that they can integrate and ‘talk to each other’. It sounds straightforward but the goalposts are constantly shifting so it is important to peel back the layers.

How companies can retain and attract the right talent in 2023

Employee engagement | Talent | Recruitment | Retention

The current economic climate looks set to prevail well into 2023 so, with high inflation, a squeeze on talent and market volatility, challenging times lie ahead. I can see companies benefiting from investing within, both in terms of nurturing home-grown talent and in fixing any culture and connectivity glitches many have experienced and accepted since the pandemic. Meanwhile, attracting the best talent is likely to hinge on nailing the all-important employee value proposition, while continuing to focus on the traits of equity and transparency so important to the younger generation.

How to use your reward strategy to support good performance

Performance Management | Reward Strategy | Performance | Reward

Every client we have is likely to want some kind of high performance culture, but where some fall down is by not making it clear enough what high performance means. For some it leans towards performance outcomes and specified KPI’s, for others around driving workers’ skill development and competency levels. It is very difficult to properly align your reward to support performance, whatever it is, without first knowing what this means to your organisation, and then getting real clarity around the purpose of each aspect of your reward suite.

How to maximise the value of bonus and commission schemes

Bonus | Commission

As with most things in HR, careful planning is at the root of driving efficiency in bonus and commission schemes. Only by putting the right amount of thought into designing schemes can they provide a continuous, circular benefit to employee and employer rather than an annual start-stop-restart train ride. This same planning should also ensure that employees are measured, tracked and communicated to in the right ways, and that you keep things as efficient and streamlined as possible, both in your policies and in your corporate governance.

Private sector facing new challenge of strike disruption: Steps to mitigate

With the effects of inflation combined with rising interest and the post-pandemic squeeze, HR departments have not faced a more challenging time in well over a decade. Wage growth is certainly not keeping pace with the current inflation rate of 11% but the same can also be said for the past few years. Most pay increases have done no more than keep things on track and, in real terms, across many industries and sectors, rises have still felt like a cut in pay.

How to effectively communicate recognition strategies

Employee engagement | Recognition

Effective communication for recognition strategies usually boils down to strong planning and delivery around the three key phases: pre-launch, launch and post-launch. This may sound obvious but there are plenty of key questions and considerations for each phase.

Thought leadership: Top tips on maintaining team morale

Motivation | Employee engagement | Thought Leadership

The financial statement has landed, pointing to tough months ahead. During these testing times of cost-of-living and interest rate rises, employment attrition and government uncertainty, it can be difficult for employees to feel settled. A lack of stability outside work can quickly transfer to how people feel in their jobs, especially if they’re isolated by hybrid working. So how can you build and maintain morale to help them through it?

Top tips to build a recognition strategy for a hybrid workforce

Recognition | Remote Working | Hybrid Working

Hybrid working has created a workforce often still united behind a common purpose, but fractured when it comes to knowing and understanding each other and enjoying each other’s success. As we’ve seen from social media, technology can play a huge role in bringing people together but in a corporate environment the challenge can often be keeping things personal. Here are some tips for sense-checking your own approach to recognising hybrid workers.