EVALUATING REWARD
Evaluating reward effectiveness - new e-reward survey
Just under half of organisations have carried out a full and systematic evaluation of their reward programmes over the last 12 months, according to a survey prublished by e-reward today. But almost one in five employers have not made any attempts to measure the impact of their reward practices.
The report presents the results of a survey of 173 employers carried out by e-reward in partnership with the Institute for Employment Studies examining current practice and opinions relating to the evaluation of reward effectiveness in UK organisations. Among the key aims of the research were to find out what organisations are doing about assessing the impact of their reward programmes - the most important methods, criteria and measures used - and what are the major obstacles.
Reward professionals have never been under more pressure to demonstrate the efficacy of the major investments they make in their pay and reward arrangements and the impact of any changes to them. Recessionary conditions show few signs of abating, yet there are still manifestations of key skill shortages, while increasing attention is being placed on “evidence-based management” and “management by analytics” ideas.
The research project involves a survey of practice and experiences, the results of which are set out in this report. We will be supplementing this with some in-depth case studies, to be published in a forthcoming eresearch report, which will examine in different settings how organisations are wrestling with issues concerning the evaluation of reward policy and practice.
From the vast tranche of survey data we have gathered, what emerges is a complex picture. It’s encouraging that some organisations are taking action and engaging in evaluation practices but many others are not. Moreover, where they do, there are numerous approaches - both formal and informal - to assessment, various criteria and several measures used. This range of diverse practices makes it quite a challenge to pick out what it is that separates those organisations that are happy with their processes and outcomes and those that are not. Nevertheless, it has been possible to single out some of the crucial factors necessary to ensure that effectiveness reviews are a success and the ultimate goal - rewards that stimulate performance and engagement - is achieved.
Practical insights and advice
A regular and hugely popular feature of all e-reward surveys is the analysis we publish drawing on the experiences and practical insights of the reward professionals participating in our research projects. Such practical knowledge is perhaps the most valuable source of guidance to those new or less well informed on the topic in question. This is why respondents were again asked their opinions on the key factors that can make or break success when evaluating reward practices. For this reason, following on from our summary of findings, there’s a dedicated section outlining the “Do’s” and “Don’ts” associated with reward effectiveness assessment.
Based on this detailed advice and the wider results emerging from the other questions in the survey, it has also been possible to compose a further list of tips setting out some of the main conditions that need to be in place to ensure success as well as the characteristics of actual assessment processes and measures used that tend to be associated with effective reward outcomes.
Click here to download the contents page.
Want to know more?
Availability: The report is available as part of an annual subscription to e-reward research report series, e-research. Starting at £255 + VAT buys you a single annual subscription. For an additional fee, paid-for subscribers may access our digital archive which contains every research report we have published since 2002. You can then download all the reports via this web site.
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