It is said that in response to the second world war and while working to form the United Nations, Sir Winston Churchill said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste”. It takes wisdom not to lose the lesson when we feel we have lost.
The uncertainties following the Covid-19 pandemic has led to tremendous advantages that organisations can gain by implementing smarter work ethics and practices. A pandemic this dire might not happen again in our lifetime. We do not pray for one, neither do we desire another. However, Covid-19 happened, and we cannot erase it from the history of humanity. At the time this piece was written, some countries were experiencing what has been popularly called the second and even the third waves of the pandemic. As countries continue to combat different strains and vaccine distribution is becoming a bigger issue, organisations need to take a smarter approach to secure the businesses’ future and outcomes. While we must not stop painting our minds a vision of a better and profitable future for our businesses and organisations, we must also embrace smart people management tactics to motivate our people to get the desired results. Motivation, they say, is the food of champions. If we are going to win (regardless of what winning is to you and your organisation), we must be strategic in keeping our people motivated. One fundamental way we can do this is by reassessing how we compensate our people.
Following the pandemic, there has been a rise in uncertainty on how employees should be compensated, considering the economic fluidity, and changing competency requirements for delivering on a job.
The concept of reward and compensation management involves the formulation and implementation of SMART strategies and policies that aim to reward and recognise employees in a fair, equitable and consistent manner in accordance with their value to the organisation. pcl. ‘s SMART Compensation Advisory and Implementation Service aims to assess an organisation’s workforce’s total rewards and recognition objectively.
This service serves as a temporary solution to immediate cash flow issues or a more permanent solution if reflecting changes in the organisations operating model.
The goal of the service is to work with organisations across industry, sector, and size to implement a SMART (Strategic, Meaningful, Articulated, Result-driving, Top-line growth) reward structure to drive effective and efficient business operation and profitability in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world and environment.
The pcl. SMART Compensation Advisory & Implementation service comprises four broad steps that begin with an intensive but SMART approach to evaluating the factors which contribute to compensating employees relative to the skills required on their job.
This service addresses the importance of designing the reward system to speak to established organisational and functional competencies, flexibility to respond to changing situations, equity, and legal requirements.
Both business leaders and Compensation & Benefits custodians aim to attract, engage, and retain employees by offering competitive compensation within the organisation’s budget. It is somewhat like spending money to make more money.
With a solid compensation philosophy, plan and strategy, organisations can attract top-notch candidates and retain employees more efficiently. Especially in this season where cost Optimisation is the order of the day, a robust compensation strategy can be a vital impetus for success.
With the challenges we are faced with today, it is wise to leverage the experience of those who have worked across sectors and organisations to understand the underpinnings of building the best kind of compensation system that adequately rewards and recognises its people fairly and equitably. Different strokes for different folks, they say. Identifying the best compensation strategy for your organisation takes some skill and work. Compensation Surveys are good, but they are only a step in the right direction. What you can tease out of the survey and the meaning or implication for the uniqueness of your organisation is where there is work. It takes years of experience to see what the untrained would not see. With our over 28 years of experience in helping organisations navigate the path of compensating their people adequately, fairly and in a smart way, pcl. can guide you to make the right decisions in how you reward your people. Especially with the economic terrain, we must get more innovative in how we reward our people. As we think about the survival of our organisations, we must also think about the people that can make a meaningful contribution in equipping our organisations to thrive.
If people are important, then we should prioritise their welfare and wellbeing. It is outdated wisdom to stick to the philosophy that people only leave an organisation because of their managers. Today, people leave because of how they are treated and rewarded by their organisations despite the love they have for their managers.
This places a demand on organisations to become more deliberate in retaining talent by relooking their compensation system. Talk to us. We can help you design and implement a compensation strategy that will promote the success of your organisation and empower your employees to realise their potential. You do not have to figure it all out by yourself. We can be your trusted advisor on this journey as we have assisted several organisations in this uncertain time. Send an email to people@phillipsconsulting.net today.
Written by:
Joshua Ademuwagun
Head of Advisory, People Transformation
