HRMN 395-Week 3: Designing & Implementing a Total Rewards Program

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1 Why Communication Is

Essential to Total Rewards

Employers spend significant money each year on total rewards. Yet,

when employees are unaware of the programs, employers fail to

realize the full return on their total rewards investment.

The underlying objective of a total rewards program is to drive

workforce behavior to achieve organizational success. This means

employees must know what is expected of them and understand

how their behavior affects the rewards they can earn. Studies

show employees who understand their employer’s total rewards

program are more likely to be engaged in the workplace and to

work together to accomplish goals. This can only be achieved

through a strategic communication approach.

This book on communicating total rewards provides a basic

overview of total rewards communication, including:

• The total rewards model and how to communicate it in your

organization

• Strategies for effective communication

• An eight-step process for communication

• Special considerations in communicating each total rewards

element

• How to brand, manage and measure your communication.

Leveraging the strength of a total rewards package through effec-

tive communication is one of the most important challenges for the

HR professional. Use this book as a starting point to understand

the factors that need to be considered when communicating total

rewards.

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C o p y r i g h t 2 0 1 0 . W o r l d a t W o r k P r e s s .

A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . M a y n o t b e r e p r o d u c e d i n a n y f o r m w i t h o u t p e r m i s s i o n f r o m t h e p u b l i s h e r , e x c e p t f a i r u s e s p e r m i t t e d u n d e r U . S . o r a p p l i c a b l e c o p y r i g h t l a w .

EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 8/30/2022 5:19 PM via UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND GLOBAL CAMPUS AN: 543248 ; Rogers, Susan, Marcotte, Scot.; Communicating Total Rewards : How-To Series for the HR Professional Account: s4264928.main.eds

Book Name: Rogers, S., & Marcotte, S. (2010). Communicating total rewards : How-to series for the HR professional. WorldatWork Press.

Link: https://eds-s-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.umgc.edu/eds/ebookviewer/ebook/ bmxlYmtfXzU0MzI0OF9fQU41?sid=d347b3b4-c47c-4c49-bfee- eef3a002af5b@redis&vid=1&format=EB&rid=9

Communicating Total Rewards6

The Total Rewards Model Total rewards represent the value proposition for employees and

employers. It includes all of the tools available to an employer to

attract, motivate and retain employees. An effective total rewards

strategy results in satisfied, engaged and productive employees

who, in turn, create desired business performance and results.

(See Figure 1.)

There are five elements of total rewards, each of which includes

programs, practices, elements and dimensions that collectively

define the organization’s investment in employees. In exchange,

employees give their time, talent, efforts and results.

• Compensation. Compensation is the cash provided by an employer

to an employee for services rendered (i.e., time, effort and

skill). It includes both fixed and variable pay tied to levels of

performance.

• Benefits. Benefits refers to the programs an employer uses to

supplement the cash compensation an employee receives. These

health, income protection, and savings and retirement programs

provide security for employees and their families.

F IG

U R

E 1

Total Rewards Model

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7Why Communication Is Essential to Total Rewards 7

• Work-life. Work-life is a philosophy as well as a specific set of organi-

zational practices, policies and programs that actively supports efforts

to help employees achieve success both at work and home.

• Performance and recognition. Performance is the alignment of

organizational, team and individual efforts toward the achieve-

ment of business goals and organizational success. It includes

establishing expectations, skill demonstration, assessment, feedback

and continuous improvement. Recognition acknowledges employee

actions, efforts, behavior or performance. It meets an intrinsic

psychological need for appreciation of one’s efforts and can support

business strategy by reinforcing certain desired behaviors.

• Development and career opportunities. Development comprises

learning experiences designed to enhance employees’ skills and

competencies. Development engages employees to perform better

and engages leaders to advance their organizations’ people strategies.

Career opportunities involve plans to help employees advance their

career goals and may include opportunities for advancement. The

company supports internal opportunities so that talented employees

are deployed in positions that enable them to deliver their greatest

value to the organization.

Building Line of Sight The only way to reap the full value of your total rewards program is

to make the connection between total rewards programs and your

organization’s vision, mission and business strategy. If communicated

effectively, total rewards helps build line of sight for employees

between what they do every day and the organization’s overall

objectives. The HR practitioner’s goal is to build the business case

for how and why the organization’s programs support its strategic

goals. Done effectively, communication will:

• Drive business performance. Employers find that carefully designed

and communicated total rewards programs motivate employees and

increase profitability. It is proven that companies with effective

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Communicating Total Rewards8

communication practices have a higher market value, higher total

return to shareholders and lower turnover rates.

• Link business goals with personal outcomes for employees. Increased

profitability can lead to higher bonuses, increased benefits or

additional work experience programs.

• Define the relationship between employees and the employer.

Communication often is the reason an employee makes or breaks

that relationship.

• Lead to understanding and valuing. Employees cannot value or

appreciate what they don’t know about or understand. A company’s

return on investment for the total rewards program is directly

influenced by the effectiveness of its communication.

See Figure 2 and “It Pays to Connect.”

F IG

U R

E 2

Total Rewards Design Process

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9Why Communication Is Essential to Total Rewards 9

It Pays to Connect

Do you know your organization’s vision and mission? Do you communi- cate them?

Only 50 percent of organizations effectively explain to employees the purpose of their jobs and the company’s mission and business strategy, according to a 2005 survey by Right Management Consultants of Boston and the International Association of Business Communicators Research Foundation. As a result, only about 33 percent of companies reported employees are effectively aligned to the business vision and mission.

Disconnects between what organizations communicate during the inter- view process on topics such as job description, company culture and values, and what new employees actually experience, are among the top reasons for turnover.

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Communicating Total Rewards10

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