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11 Jun 2018
by Jon Bryant

Why you need to build a reward manifesto

I’d like to open with a quick reward-themed quiz:

  • Why do you make the benefits decisions that you do?
  • Is your approach to making those decisions written down?
  • Can other decision-makers in the company describe your reward strategy?
  • Does your approach to reward fit with the business’s broader goals?
  • If the Head of Reward (or HR) left next week, what would happen to the strategy?

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If the answer to any of the above is “I don’t know”, then it’s time to build a reward manifesto. This is a single-page document that defines your employee value proposition, the rules that underpin your reward decisions, and how you know you’ve been successful.

One definition of a manifesto is “a public declaration of policy and aims” – and that’s exactly what this document should do for your approach to reward.  It is a distillation of your strategy and how it links to wider business goals. It should support internal decision-making, and also be suitable for sharing with external reward partners and providers. As such, it needs to be:

  • Based on reality. This is a practical, living set of rules to be used for managing decisions today. Don’t be tempted to make it blue-sky speculation on what you hope your reward strategy might one day become.
  • Agreed with key stakeholders. Involve decision-makers across the business, including the finance director and other HR disciplines such as talent development, when creating the manifesto. Although an external consultant might be able to give you an objective overview, it doesn’t need input from anyone other than your own internal stakeholders.
  • Focused on realistic measures. It’s tempting to measure reward success based on data that is easy to record, such as frequency of logins to a benefits platform. While that is useful to a point, it won’t tell you whether your wellbeing strategy is really helping your staff to form good, long-term health habits, for example. The old adage might be “what gets measured gets managed”, but don’t fall into the trap of “only what is easily manageable gets measured”.
  • A living document. The manifesto should form part of every reward discussion and reward-related buying decision. It will need to be updated as business goals evolve and benefits requirements change, and be reviewed regularly.

There are any number of factors that can make a reward strategy veer off course, from conflicting views within the business to seductive sales messages about the latest technology trend. Having a clear, accessible statement of aims will ensure every decision you make is based on a consistent rationale that has the commitment of key stakeholders behind it. Third party providers will also be better able to understand your strategy, how they fit within it, and how they can help you to deliver it.

In total, a successful manifesto will leave you able to complete the sentence: “We are doing this because….” - and that’s the crucial tie-breaker to my opening quiz.

Author is Jon Bryant, Director, Aon Employee Benefits.

This article was provided by Aon Employee Benefits.

Aon is sponsoring REBA's Employee Wellbeing Congress 2018, which is being held on 5 July in London. 

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