As some of you may know, I’ll be leaving Innecto at the end of August after fifteen years. Travel, golf, but thankfully not grandchildren (yet) will have a bigger part in my life. Innecto will remain in the safe hands of Deborah and all our fantastic team here.
This change in career direction has got me thinking – what's changed in the world of pay since I started in 2002? And have shifting economic sands made much of an impact, beyond the inevitable booms and busts over the period?
The first big change is the rise of social media and the technology which underpins it. In 2002, business networking sites such as LinkedIn were in their infancy and Facebook wasn’t even a glint in Mark Zuckerberg’s eye. Since then, such sites have given employees a platform to discuss their levels of pay, and perceived unfairness within them. Today’s communication technology means much greater access to and ease of sharing pay information, which in turn has forced employers to be more honest about their pay arrangements. Sites like Glassdoor are ready to name and shame pay ‘villains’, at tremendous cost to their employer brand and ability to retain the talent they need.
The pressure to increase transparency hasn’t just come from employees, but the government too. The equalities agenda has received a boost in recent years, with legislation that pushes employers to go further with pay equality and address the imbalance in gender at every pay level. While the positive impact of reporting gender pay gaps may take years to trickle through, this legislation has galvanised organisations to tackle issues that had previously been pushed under the carpet. In addition, it validates the concern that minority employees still face (perhaps unconscious) discrimination at work, in contrast to companies’ outward commitments to equality.
So these are two contributing factors to pay arrangements becoming much more open and consistent – surely a good thing for all employees, and smart companies who use them. Another perhaps more negative development involves the way people are employed. The RSA estimates that there are now 1.1 million ‘gig economy’ workers in Great Britain. This amounts to almost as many workers as are in the National Health Service in England (Source: RSA). Whilst such non-traditional working practises deliver the flexibility and low cost base that has put our economy ahead of more traditionally shackled European counterparts, they have also led to concerns over sustainability, and a lack of security and rights for employees. Are we getting the balance right – and what does this mean for the future of reward?
Thanks for reading my various blogs over the years. While I could go on, I’ve got a tee time booked for Friday 1st September!
For advice with your reward, give us a call: 020 3457 0894
