REWARD
to provide an informed and well-rounded case as to why the executive team should or shouldn’t approve a proposal. Who are your key people? Firstly, your line manager. They’ll provide you with support and work with you to develop the information you want to get to the top table. If you’re part of a bigger organisation, the director of your function is also key, as they’re likely to be the person who’ll present your case and information. Depending upon which directorate you sit in, this will be either the Chief Finance Officer or the Chief People Officer. Other directors who sit on the executive team are also important people to have good relationships with. This won’t be everyone within the executive team, but some strong key allies within will help get your case through the decision-making stage. Outside of the executive team, key people are your team members. They’ll be able to help you with the information you need to develop your business case. Depending on your position, it’ll be your team who deal with the payroll day-to-day. They’ll be able to tell you if it’s possible to implement something or not. The final key individuals are those teams / people that will be affected by any proposed changes you’re suggesting. This could be finance or human resources teams. Equally, it could be all employees of your organisation. Having these people onboard with your proposal will also help you get your business case approved. There are a lot of individuals that a payroll professional needs to engage with. Therefore, it’s vital that you do your research prior to producing any documentation for the executive team. You need to know who all your stakeholders are and how they will be affected. What communication do you use? I use all the usual forms of communication. In addition to those, I always invite the Chief Executive, my director and my line manager to attend our full team meetings. This develops the relationship between them and the team. Every month, as part of the directorate, I’m required to provide an update on the things we’ve achieved or that have been successful. I also advise on anything that’s been a challenge or anything coming up
that they should be aware of. For anything that requires a decision, depending upon where that decision needs to be made, I’ll either produce a report or write a full business case. What do you need to think about when developing a business case? The first thing is to do your research. By researching the topic, you can develop and write a well-informed business case. You’ll also be able to see what the recommendations should be, having researched the issue in full. Think about your audience. Although your business case may be going to your executive team members, they’re unlikely to know payroll and reward in detail. Therefore, you should never assume they know about the topic you’re referring to. In the business case, you’ll need to include key facts about the topic, as well as looking at the options available for consideration. Despite your hard work in developing and writing the business case, your executive team is unlikely to have time to read your business case in its entirety. This will be because there’ll be several business cases on their agenda, along with any other business they’ll need to discuss. To make your business case stand out, be concise in your writing. Don’t use acronyms only a pay and reward professional would understand. In terms of your audience, you should also consider that the average reading age is between 11 years and 14 years. If you include long sentences, complex words or in-depth details on the subject matter, you’re likely to disengage your reader. In doing so, you’ll be less likely to get agreement to your proposal. When preparing your business case, ensure you follow a template. This will ensure you have included all the information required. I would recommend
the business case is about. In your summary, you should advise whether you want your executive team to make a decision or if you’re providing important information for them to be aware of. The finer details should be provided within the background and proposals sections. Provide enough information so that the person reading it can understand what the issue is you’re looking to resolve. You can provide more information within appendices so that anyone wanting to know more can access this information should they wish. In any recommendation, include what the benefits are, along with any consequences of not deciding to go ahead with a certain option. I believe it’s best to cover all feasible options, from doing nothing, to what the best (gold star) option would be. Remember, when you’re writing the viable options, you’re looking to get the executive team to agree to your preferred option. Therefore, this is the most important section of the business case. Your conclusion should confirm which one of the recommended options you’re proposing and asking for the executive team to agree to. This should include why, along with how you’ll measure the success of your proposal. Wherever possible, present your business case to your executive team personally. This will allow the executives to ask any questions they may have before making their final decision. How effective have you been in getting your voice heard? I haven’t always been successful in getting my business cases agreed. However, I have been able to put my proposals to my executive team and have had my voice heard at the top table. I know I’m respected and that the executive team values my input. I don’t have an actual seat at the top table, but I can get my voice heard there which is the most important thing to me. What can people do to find out more? People can find out more information by researching how to develop and write a business case. There’s a lot of in-depth material available out there. Anyone attending this year’s CIPP Annual Conference and Exhibition can attend my session on how to develop a business case and get your voice heard at the top table. n
the following template: l executive summary l background l proposals l recommendations
l conclusion l appendices.
The executive summary should be written last as this should provide an overview of the business case. When the content in the executive summary is correct, if an executive is unable to read the entire business case, they’ll know immediately what
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 112 | July-August 2025
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