Total rewards encompass all the monetary and non-monetary incentives that employers provide employees.
There are several types of opportunities to leverage:
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- Benefits, health, and wellness
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- Compensation and bonuses
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- Workplace flexibility (e.g., work location, work hours, four-day work week, meeting-free Fridays)
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- Leave and paid time off (PTO)
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- Professional learning and development
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- Expenses or stipends (e.g., commuter stipend, company credit card, childcare stipend, milk transport for nursing mothers, connectivity stipend to cover at-home internet & cell phone service)
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- Financial assistance programs (e.g., retirement program, tuition reimbursements, emergency line of credit, subsidized financial or legal advising services)
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- Recognition & rewards (e.g., concierge services, awards dinners, gift cards, time off or bonuses)
So much more than compensation
Organizations will often focus primarily on compensation. And that’s a good place to start.
But all the total rewards matter and can make all the difference in attracting and retaining top talent.
The best way to figure out which total rewards to offer? ASK YOUR PEOPLE. They will tell you what matters to them and what doesn’t.
How to enhance your total rewards
First, develop your organization’s total rewards philosophy. This defines what you believe, why, and how that ties back to the mission, vision, competencies, and beliefs. There should be a “why” behind how your organization’s total rewards are set up.
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- Your total rewards philosophy is not the same as a compensation philosophy.
Then, before you make any decisions, ask people which total rewards they want! Working groups and surveys are your friend. This is how you’ll figure out what your employees think is important (and what’s not).
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- For example, through a series of working groups and surveys we put together for one of our clients, it turned out that while compensation was really important to them, employees also wanted more flexibility in working hours and amount of leave because several people were thinking about starting families. That’s the kind of information you don’t learn until you ask.
Once you know what people want, prioritize the small incentives, and table the bigger ones for the future.
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- Smaller incentives ― like work location, work hours, meeting-free days, paid lunches, professional learning and development, mentorship, technology, and expense reimbursement ― are relatively easy to put in place and may get a huge ROI.
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- Other incentives ― like reworking compensation, benefits, leave, and/or paid time off ― are much harder to implement and may not get the most ROI for the effort you have to put in.
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- Get things rolling on incentives that your team will definitely need in the long run, such as retirement plans.
From there, communication is key. Use your total rewards philosophy to explain the decisions. There must be logic driving your decisions about which incentives your organization offers.
Need more help? If you’d like support and/or coaching in revamping your organization’s total rewards (or any other part of your organization’s talent ecosystem), we’re happy to help! Book a free, no-obligation, 30-minute call so we can get started.
