Funnily enough, I often find that my best work-related ideas come when I’m on holiday. Getting some distance from work means I can appreciate the whole picture, not just the corner I’m working on.
Inspiration could also be down to exposure to fresh ideas outside the business. Perhaps you’ve never heard of Simon Sinek’s Start With Why; it’s an engaging read which I revisited during my recent break.
In a nutshell, Sinek argues that great leaders inspire others by putting the Why (the purpose) before the How (the process), or the What (the product). It’s a concept which can be applied to reward with interesting results.
The Why of reward is fairly straightforward – we make sure people get the remuneration they deserve for the work they do. Whether that’s rewarding exceptional performance, eliminating discrimination, or just making sure people turn up every day, it all comes down to us. Queen got it wrong: it’s reward, not fat-bottomed girls, that makes the rockin’ world go round.
But it’s easy to lose sight of this overarching aim by only focusing on the next milestone: pay review, performance review, bonus review, RemCom, benefits review… plus new requirements like gender pay gap reporting. Once this busy end-of-year period is over, it’s always worth stepping off the hamster wheel and asking a few key questions:
· Do you know why your reward strategy is focused the way it is?
· Do you know why your employees leave your company?
· Just as importantly, do you know why your employees stay with you?
· Or why you have so many additional adjustments to pay outside of the pay review cycle?
· Are your outcomes - planned or (bad) luck?
· Do you know why your employees chose you and not a competitor?
Finding your why
Finding the why behind your reward strategy is crucial. It’s not easy to figure out, but this insight is a game-changer. It means you can seize control, and build a plan which instinctively feels right to employees and the leadership team.
By going back to the beginning and asking why, you can make sure your reward strategy reflects the core aims and values of the business. This gives your business the best chance possible to understand reward issues, controlling the journey and especially the outcomes. Don’t assume you know the answers – talk to people on the ground, find out the facts.
We all know that taking care of your employees means they will go above and beyond for you - whether that’s delivering fantastic customer service or making the best quality products. Your reward strategy needs to reflect the value of your people.
Setting the right course will save you money with employee retention, greater control of your pay budget, and improved absence rates. Rest assured your competition will be constantly questioning and improving their reward policies in a bid to tempt away your best performers.
What next?
Once you’ve defined the why of your reward strategy, establish how you will deliver it, then the what will come to life.
When it comes to EVP, ask yourself: ‘Why should people want to work for our company?’, not just ‘What do they get in return for working here?’
Time to shake those pom-poms:
Give us a WHY
Give us a HOW
Give us a WHAT
What have you got? EVP
When you define your offering by what it is, that’s all it will be; but starting with why means you can build an employee value proposition which stands on its own merits. If you’d like to talk about reviewing your reward strategy, contact me at lissa.davis@innecto.com or call 020 3457 0894.
