A typical total rewards package can include compensation, benefits, work-life balance,
performance and recognition, personal development, and career opportunities. Recent
strong global competition for talent and shortages of critical-skill workers, particularly in
the fast-growing economies of Asia and Latin America, have driven a surge of interest in
applying core total rewards principles to designing and delivering workforce programs.
Critically, the total rewards framework is grounded in three core principles of sound
design and delivery.
• Align the total rewards strategy with the organization’s business strategy and related
workforce goals. Effective workforce programs are an extension of an organization’s
business strategy, explicitly supporting key priorities and goals and clearly
communicating the level and nature of the contribution the organization expects
from its people.
• Optimize the money spent by allocating it among the programs that matter to
employees, and deliver the right return while being sensitive to cost and risk objectives.
Despite the magnitude of spending on reward programs, many organizations
don’t consistently measure returns or clearly understand the relationship between
program costs and the value employees attach to them.
• Design, communicate, implement, and deliver rewards that drive the specific employee
behaviors you need to achieve your business strategy. Identifying the right mix is not
only a function of cost versus value but also of the culture and work environment
your company is building and sustaining to meet strategic goals.
