Beyond pay, intangibles come into play (Web Sight)

Survey on attraction and retention • One missing piece leads to conflicts • Six principles for total rewards success • Send the right message

Total rewards is about a lot more than just base pay. The question for many is what else can go into a total rewards package. Once all the elements of the package are in place, what message does it send to potential new talent about the organization and its values? Designing a total rewards package is tricky work, especially in today’s competitive environment. These sites offer suggestions for creating and evaluating total rewards.

Survey on attraction and retention
www.towersperrin.com/tillinghast/publications/publications/emphasis/Emphasis_2002_1/2002041805.pdf

This summary of a survey from consulting firm Towers Perrin looks at what attracts employees to a company, specifically within the financial services industry. The survey collected about 6,000 responses from employees in the U.S. and Canada, however the focus here is on the 500 or so respondents from financial services companies. The questions zeroed in on what attracts employees to a new job, what motivates them to stay, and what drives performance. Not surprisingly, competitive base pay and health-care benefits were at the top of everyone’s wish list. Where financial service employees differed from the norm was the importance placed on learning and development over pay for performance and a competitive retirement package.

One missing piece leads to conflicts
www.bnet.com

This Web site is a fantastic source for white papers, articles and case studies on virtually every business topic. Access is subscription based, but it’s a free subscription and well worth the time it takes to sign up. There is an interesting paper on effective total rewards strategies from AON Consulting that looks at evaluating existing programs and making changes where necessary. The author advises HR professionals to “consider the essential elements of any corporate strategy: senior managers must buy into it, managers and employees must understand it, and all systems must be able to accommodate it. When one of these elements is missing, conflict arises.” From the main page, click on “Human Resources,” and from the following page under “Policies & Procedures,” click on “Compensation.” From there click on the document, and a pdf file will open. Browse through all the HR subcategories for some great resources.

Six principles for total rewards success
www.hrzone.com/articles/pay_people_1.html

In this excerpt from the book Pay People Right! Breakthrough Reward Strategies to Create Great Companies, the authors use pop-culture references to look at six reward principles that are useful for critiquing pay and rewards systems: create a positive and natural reward experience, align rewards with business goals, extend people’s line of sight, integrate rewards, reward individual ongoing value with base pay and reward results with variable pay.

Send the right message
www.cnr.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7article/article33.htm

This article emphasizes the importance of a multi-faceted compensation structure. Geared toward the agricultural industry, employers from any area can glean valuable insights into creating unique compensation packages. The author stresses that an employer’s compensation package sends a message to prospective employees about what the company’s values are, and breaks down the three elements that should be in a total rewards strategy including non-monetary compensation, direct compensation and indirect compensation. The author writes that “by combining many of these compensation alternatives, progressive managers can create compensation packages that are as individual as the employees who receive them.”

Shannon Simson is Canadian HR Reporter’s resource editor. Her Web Sight column appears regularly in the CloseUp section. To share an interesting HR Web site, contact [email protected].

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