At today's launch of the HR Reward Survey 2009 in association with Vebnet, at the Soho Hotel in London, industry experts agreed the future of reward is uncertain, given employers do not know what staff want or how to individualise reward to suit the needs of the workforce.
The research showed just over a third (38.4%) of HR professionals said there was a clear consistent brand for all reward and benefits communications in their organisation and almost half (47%) do not conduct any research into employees views and concerns regarding their reward and benefits packages.
Commenting on the findings, Paul Sparrow, director of the Centre for Performance-led HR and professor of International Human Resource Management at Lancaster University Management School, believes this to be a serious problem for HR. He said: "The majority of employees have said they would prefer cash to benefits and I think there is a paradigm shift in reward. Looking to the future, employees' reward behaviour will change significantly. If HR doesn't know what staff want, it could signal the end of reward or indeed HR."
Richard Morgan, director of consultancy services at Vebnet, said: "The evidence shows how the effectiveness and appreciation of benefits is hugely reliant on personalisation."
But he added: "The research shows there are pockets of employers doing the right things, but there is also a disturbing polarisation between good and bad practice, with a sizeable number of organisations failing to leverage their reward spend through effective communication."
Jenny Balme, national HR director for all HR operational matters at Grant Thornton, concluded: "Employers must take a more individualistic approach to reward. Managers must have a deeper and better quality conversation with their people."
Panel from left to right: Paul Sparrow, Jenny Balme, Richard Morgan and Wayne Clarke, managing partner of Best Companies Partnership.
For more findings from the HR Rewards Survey 2009 in association with Vebnet, click HERE
