REWARD
Case study Danny Brooks is chief executive officer and founder of global technical recruitment consultancy VHR, and was named Global Director of the Year 2020 by the Institute of Directors. Here, he outlines the process of putting his organisation’s reward strategy in place. ● Objectives – I wanted to build an ethical recruitment company that cared for and benefited stakeholders, candidates and employees. It was decided that a reward strategy to retain staff as well as recruit them would be the best way to achieve VHR’s plans for continued expansion. ● Planning – To retain and reward employees, the reward strategy would be focused on two core themes: learning and development; and social collaboration. We wanted to provide continuous upskilling and career progression for every individual and reward teams and departments for working together. We hired two full-time learning and development coaches, who created training and career development programmes for all our ninety employees, not just our sales and client-facing teams. We created a transparent career progression and promotion system to accurately reward high performance without bias. Our promotion plans focused on SMART objectives and key performance indicators that provide clear targets across functions and levels, encouraging staff to achieve their full potential by benchmarking performance and rewarding success. A unique points system was designed to measure employee performance. This would provide visibility of employee activity as well as the results achieved, in order to highlight any challenges and problems faced by employees and ‘empower maximum success’. The points system informed monthly awards, which celebrated the performance of and awarded vouchers to the highest-achieving sales and support staff. ● Execution – The HR team implemented a new system to help employees take control of their development and help managers best support their employees. Personal development plans for each employee were launched and continually reviewed with the input of each individual. We began operating anonymous employee surveys biannually,
to better understand what our employees wanted from our reward structure, as well as to gain insights into their working experiences. We also launched an anonymous suggestion box scheme for employee ideas to improve wellbeing, environment, reward and performance. The employee rewards employed by the company were mainly focused around learning and development, socialising or wellbeing, including: ❍ flexible working – working hours to fit around family schedules, commuting and exercise ❍ company summer trips abroad – most recently to Porto and Valencia ❍ monthly social events – food, drinks and entertainment all organised and paid for by VHR ❍ monthly awards – vouchers and recognition for sales and support teams with high performances and high levels of activity/effort ❍ quarterly dinners – for high-performing teams ❍ professional qualifications scheme – VHR pays 50% of costs for qualifications and provides study leave, with employees currently studying for CIMA, ACCA, CIPD and CIM ❍ holiday incentive programme ❍ annual top performers’ trip – open to all high-performers across departments (last year fifteen employees travelled to New York). ● Results and feedback – The company’s quarter-four 2019 survey produced 80% success rates for employee engagement, happiness and wellbeing. Last year, VHR promoted just under 50% of its employees across sales, finance and operations. The company reduced its staff turnover to 25% (the average for the recruitment industry is 43%), and half of its ninety employees have been with VHR for over three years. Since 2016 we have grown our employee base by 50 per cent, from 60 to 90 employees across nine global offices. We have also almost doubled our turnover in the past three years – to £26,000,000 – proving that employee engagement and positive cultures drive business success.
...important relationship between reward systems, employee engagement and productivity...
means that we need to be thinking about what is going to make the workplace motivational as ultimately we know that if individuals are motivated then they will be engaged and therefore productive.” So we not only need to be thinking about what will motivate but equally thinking about removing anything that will demotivate, says Hodson. “This is particularly important when we look at the generation coming into the workforce who have far greater expectations on workplace standards and how it needs to engage them, otherwise they will leave to seek it elsewhere,” he adds. As Hodson acknowledges, the workforce is multigenerational. So, with the recognition in mind, how can employers ensure their reward strategies are effective
and attractive across the board? Companies should be wary of falling into the trap of grouping staff together and offering a ‘one size fits all’ approach, says Iain Thomson, director of incentive and recognition at Sodexo Engage. “Everyone is different and has individual needs,” Thomson explains. “The best schemes are the ones that realise and cater for this, but still bring everyone together. Having everything on one consolidated platform that’s customised for each organisation and lets staff thank and
reward each other can help too.” It’s vital that reward strategies are not oversimplified based on age, gender and background, insists Andrew Drake, client development director at human resources (HR) consultancy Buck. “Not all millennials and Gen Zs prioritise ping pong tables, and not all older staff prioritise pensions,” he observes. “Every worker has unique goals, as well as basic human needs, which won’t fall into the stereotypical mindset expected. Instead, it’s crucial for employers to analyse the available data and get feedback from
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | May 2020 | Issue 60 38
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