February 27, 2025
When it comes to your employee compensation programs, practices, and position in the marketplace, do you know where you are today, where you want to go, and how to get there? Too many organizations don’t. They get lost in attempting (and often failing) to manage day-to-day operations without a strategic vision and execution plan. That’s the bad news. The good news? There is a powerful tool that can help you understand where you are and how to adjust your course to reach a more cost-effective and market-competitive destination. Here’s what we mean:
Where Are You Today?
Do you lack confidence that your current employee compensation and total rewards programs (and their management) are yielding the best results and positioning your organization for long-term success? Are you concerned that they are unfocused and not cohesive (or even comprehensive, for that matter)? Are you afraid that your current employee compensation team too often gets lost in the day-to-day management of compensation and doesn’t have a clear picture of the strategic and market-competitive programs that can help you attract, retain, and motivate top talent, today and long into the future?
What Is Your Employee Compensation Destination?
If you answered yes to the questions above, then the best “destination” for your employee compensation programs should help you steer clear of these uncertainties, right? Don’t you want to have confidence in your policies and practices, and in your dedicated staff, and in your competitiveness in the marketplace? If so, we have a suggestion…
How Do You Get From Where You Are to Where You Need to Be?
The most logical, strategic, and efficient tool to help you reach your employee compensation goals – in terms of policies, practices, and day-to-day execution – is this: A Total Rewards Assessment.
A Total Rewards Assessment begins with a review of your organizational strategy, vision, and mission. With these big-picture essentials in clear focus, the assessment looks at your current compensation policies and practices, as well as how these complement your benefits program. It details your performance management system, too, as well as your employee development and training programs. It also includes managerial interviews and a review of your human resources policies, procedures, and documentation. Assessments usually include sample testing, too, to identify potential problem areas. Finally, the assessment takes into account your relevant communications platforms and messaging, plus any other critical aspects of total rewards.
“I’ve Conducted My Total Rewards Assessment; Now What?”
The Total Rewards Assessment provides essential information about your current situation, but you will also need to commit to turning this “snapshot” into an action plan. Consider this next step the roadmap that will guide you to more effective and impactful compensation and total rewards policies and practices.
Be strategic, be focused, and be persistent. For every area and sub-area in your assessment, chart your course of next steps (and steps after that and after that, and so on). What will you do Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 to shore up those areas where your organization currently falls short? Again, be strategic, but make your plans actionable and measurable. This often requires a natural progression of steps that sometimes takes several years to develop. Naturally, along the way, you should continue to evaluate, measure, and refine your programs. The Total Rewards Assessment is a great tool to help guide you for years to come!
The Bottom Line:
The Total Rewards Assessment isn’t just a study of your current situation. It’s also a solid foundation upon which your successful compensation and total rewards programs can be built. It also makes possible the critical action plan you’ll need – the roadmap, if you will – that can guide you from where your employee compensation programs are today to where you want and need them to go. Thanks to a well-defined and managed Total Rewards Assessment, you’ll be well-positioned to attract, retain, and motivate the talented human capital you need today and in the future.
So, what’s your next step? To develop and execute your Total Rewards Assessment, call us at 317.589.8529. Since 2005, we’ve earned the reputation as “Your Trusted Partner for Employee Compensation Solutions,” and we stand ready to help you plan and execute market-competitive employee compensation programs designed for maximum ROI and operational success.
Cassandra Faurote
About Total Reward Solutions:
Total Reward Solutions is your trusted partner for compensation services. Led by Cassandra Faurote, professionally certified Compensation and Human Resources expert and author of the book Compensation Sense 101, Total Reward Solutions offers a broad range of compensation and total rewards consulting services to help your organization attract top talent, motivate employees, and retain top performers. We can partner with you on a project basis, on retainer, or as your total outsourced solutions provider for compensation services.