"We’ve got a clear direction of travel, have already introduced some significant scene-setting changes and are in a much better position to understand our current challenges more clearly."
Miriam Jones, Head of People, Associates & Development
THEIR CHALLENGE
With longstanding reward and recognition arrangements that were no longer sufficiently flexible, AQA was experiencing difficulty in attracting and retaining talent at the right levels. The organisation was also finding a disconnect between its reward and recognition strategy and broader business goals. As part of a wider, long-term transformation project, AQA needed a more commercial model to support and help shape the flexible and accountable culture it was creating. It wanted to take a fresh look at its organisation, finding out how it was using pay and benefits to reward and recognise staff, and better understanding the current employee profile.
OUR SOLUTION
Our job was to help AQA lift the lid on what was happening in their organisation. We agreed on a phased approach with the first phase including a Reward Strategy Discovery to set the tone for AQA’s future reward direction. Our sophisticated pay and benefits benchmarking exercise and specialist diagnostic analysis helped build the current picture of reward at AQA. One to one interviews, workshops and our trialling approach allowed us to reality check each stage with a range of people across the organisation, including the executive board – this was an important step for AQA, adding validity to the process, fostering broader engagement and supporting wider buy-in. Our expert support and challenge to the Steering Group was key in the successful delivery of Phase 1, which has sent a clear message about future change, while providing a strong platform for AQA to move into the next phase of building a new fit for purpose approach to reward.
The Outcome
Together we have created a three year reward and recognition strategy that will continue to be refined through the next two phases. We’ve provided detailed insight into how AQA’s pay and benefits offerings sit against the market, where they are strong and how they can address weaknesses. The successful completion of this first phase means AQA is in a strong position to move onto the next phase of its transformation journey. It has a clear direction of travel, confidence about where it’s going, and a better understanding of current challenges. AQA’s new reward strategy is better aligned to the business’ goals, and its full implementation will allow AQA to attract and retain the talent it needs, for continuing future success.
