Total Rewards
More than Money
It takes more than money to retain employees. Employees care about the other perks that come with working at a specific organization as well. Your organization’s total rewards offerings would typically include:
Wages
Bonuses
Recognition
Workplace flexibility
Career opportunities
Total rewards refer to the combination of benefits, compensation, and rewards that employees receive from their employers in exchange for their work.
This Total Rewards Framework, adapted from Aon-Hewitt’s 2013 model, includes key components that attract new recruits and retain existing talent.
Why It Matters
Considering total rewards from the employee standpoint, instead of the HR perspective, can help to frame why this matters. Retention and turnover are two sides of the same coin.
Career growth & investment
opportunities
Opportunities to use their
skills and abilities at workTrust and respect between
employees and leadersPerforming meaningful work
Job stability and Job security
Compensation/pay
Why People Stay
No advancement opportunities
Bad boss
Poor management
Toxic culture
Issues with work-life balance
Lack of recognition
Low pay
Poor benefits
Why People Leave
How Human Capital Leaders Can Make a Difference
By focusing on these five aspects of total rewards, district and school leaders can attract and retain talent for years to come:
1 | Career Development
2 | Manager Quality
3 | Employee Value Proposition
4 | Work-Life Integration
5 | Recognition
6 | Equitable Compensation
Total Rewards: A Strategic Priority
Total rewards impacts employee engagement, motivation, retention, and recruitment. It is a strategic tool that organizations should leverage especially in shortages.
Updating or evaluating your total rewards should be approached in the same manner as updating other strategic processes.
Total rewards influences many aspects of your organization.
To evaluate the strength of your offerings, ask yourself these questions:
Does your total rewards program support your goals?
Are your rewards competitive in comparison to neighboring organizations or districts?
Are your total rewards offerings in alignment with your talent strategy?
Do employees like your offerings?
Are your offerings aligned with our employer brand?
Can you afford to add to or continue your current offerings?
Are you equipped internally to handle these offerings?
Assess Your Total Rewards
Take a look at your own total rewards.
Ask yourself: Are you aware of everything you offer, and are your employees?
Gathering Feedback
Don’t assume you know what employees want; you probably don’t know unless you’re actively asking. Follow these steps to make sure you are listening to their wants and needs:
Engage with employees and leadership to determine employee needs, wants, desires
Center employees in your process of building your total rewards.
If you don’t have a culture of honest feedback, you might need to be creative in the ways that you collect this feedback.
Find Evidence
With different total rewards being trendy, we can sometimes fall victim to chasing trends, without really evaluating the purpose.
Total rewards programs should be tailored to the needs of employees and based on data and evidence.
Ensure you aren’t hurdling toward solutions that employees don’t want by using data to guide your decisions and by including employee voice in your process.
What works for another organization might not be the right fit for yours.
Collect data to examine:
The usage of current total rewards offerings
Employee perceptions of current total rewards offerings
Tangible effects of total rewards offerings
These data points will help you examine whether your total rewards offerings are producing the intended effects or not.
Data to Collect
To Determine Usage of Total Rewards
% of people enrolled in health plan
% of people contributing to retirement systems
# of visits to health clinics
# of employees that participate in sponsored events
% of staff enrolled in at least one total rewards program
Sources Might Include:
Payroll data
HRIS systems
Patient visits/Clinic records
Sponsored event attendance numbers
Employee awareness surveys
To Determine Employee Satisfaction with Total Rewards
Average employee satisfaction survey score
Sources Might Include:
Stay or exit interview or survey responses
Focus group feedback
To Determine Effect of Total Rewards Offerings
# of sick days
Absentee rate
Turnover rate
Employee net promoter score
% increase in satisfaction before and after using total rewards offerings
Sources Might Include:
Personnel records/HRIS
Pre-post testing (e.g., employee satisfaction, employee engagement, employee net promoter score)
Additional Resource for Organizational Culture
School Climate Guidelines: Create safe, supportive learning environments.
Best Practices for Communicating Your Total Rewards
Tailor the message to different employee groups.
Use accessible language that can be understood at all levels.
Take a multi-channeled approach to communication.
Ensure leaders across the organization are champions.
Allow opportunities for one-on-one or personalized support.
Communicate constantly.
Importantly, be sure to leverage your Employee Value Proposition (EVP), which is made up of the things about your organization that make it a unique place to work. It refers to the things that employees get from you, in return for bringing their talents to your organization. The total rewards you offer should be a major part of that EVP!
Remember: Your EVP does not only apply to external talent. When consistently communicated, your EVP can be a strong retention factor as well. Remind your employees why it’s so great to work with you, don’t just allow them to create that narrative on their own.