Video tutorial: What your pay strategies could look like by 2020

With the many cost pressures on pay – from Brexit to the National Living Wage to pension costs, house prices, student debt and interest rates – it’s hard enough to predict pay strategies, but coupled with other factors such as an increase in flexible and agile working and it’s even harder to predict which makes investment essential, according to a panel discussion at the REBA Reward Leaders Forum 2017.

Watch the session: ‘Interactive panel of experts: What will your pay strategies look like by 2020’ in full

Rachel Smith, senior labour market economist at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said 2016 was “uncertain and that will continue to be a key theme as we move through 2017 this year.”

“The challenge for us all is to always do things in the here and now but also to try to find the space to think about the challenges that are coming in the future too – eg demographics is a key one. How does that impact on how you reward people to engage them?” she asked.

Duncan Brown, head of consulting for Institute for Employment Studies, said businesses need to change how they are thinking. “We have to start thinking about adding value and investing in people. But that’s a tough tension to manage on the ground when you have these sorts of immediate cost pressures. I hope we will see a shift to investment rather than costs in comp over the next year or so,” said Brown.

With regards to Brexit the panel said it was inevitable pay costs will go up.

Smith and Brown were part of a panel discussion that also included Masha Boldyreva, HR director - Northern Europe at Mondelēz International; Geoffrey Strickland, group compensation and benefits manager at Asahi Europe and Mark Chamberlain, group reward director at SIG Group who answered audience questions at the REBA Reward Leaders Forum 2017.

This video tutorial was filmed at the REBA Reward Leaders Forum which took place on 27 April 2017.