When designing your compensation strategy, consider incorporating personalized total rewards. The personalized total rewards approach is inherently inclusive because it considers the professional and personal growth needs of the different kinds of workers who make up an organization. This compensation strategy can contribute to creating motivated employees who strive to achieve organizational excellence and growth.

A total rewards package often includes an employee’s:

• Base salary
• Bonuses or merit pay
• Health insurance
• Career growth opportunities

Your organization can further personalize its total rewards packages by including opportunities for employee recognition, workplace flexibility, and other perks that cater to workers’ individual needs and goals.

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Considerations for Tailoring Total Rewards

Personalizing your total rewards packages doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re ensuring each individual receives tailored benefits. Instead, it’s about considering the types of people who make up your workforce from a broader perspective and offering compensation benefits that meet their varying needs.

For instance, most organizations are made up of a multi-generational workforce. Economic uncertainties and prolonged lifespans have contributed to older individuals deferring their retirements. These workers’ personal needs are vastly different from their younger counterparts who might be navigating lifestyle milestones like buying their first home or starting a family. When creating a personalized total rewards strategy, consider the various life stages of your employees and offer benefit options that reflect your workers’ different needs.

It’s also important to consider the cultural diversity of your workforce. Cultural differences can impact how employees perceive (and appreciate) different types of rewards, so be mindful of your workers’ backgrounds and how they might be affected by your total rewards options. If you’re unsure of how certain benefits might be perceived by your employees, request feedback or ask workers for their preferences when selecting which benefits you’ll offer. Some people might prefer more monetary options like performance-based bonuses, while others would rather receive more paid time off to use at their leisure. You won’t be able to honor every person’s request, but gathering feedback from your employees will give you a better idea of which reward options will be the most beneficial across your organization.

As always, you must consider how personalized total rewards will align with your organizational goals and values. Avoid cost-prohibitive rewards that negatively impact your budget. Strive to offer rewards that encourage productivity and enhanced performance while being reflective of workers’ interests, hobbies, and career aspirations. You need to strike a balance between what your employees want and what will benefit your organization. Look at which benefits programs have been successful in the past. Use your success stories as a blueprint for offering additional personalized rewards options.

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Non-Monetary Total Reward Options

When it comes to personalized rewards, the sky—and your budget—are the limit. The following are some non-monetary options you can consider.

Flexible Work Schedules

Give your employees more control over their schedules by offering flexibility. Hybrid or remote work arrangements can help employees who are parents or caregivers avoid or reduce expensive childcare costs. Workers with disabilities also benefit from flexible schedules because they can take extended breaks when necessary while still being effective employees.

Flexible work arrangements can make external professional development opportunities more accessible. For example, someone who works in an office two days a week could feasibly attend an in-person or virtual conference during one of their three remote working days with minimal disruption to their regular weekly responsibilities.

Health and Wellness Programs

Employer-sponsored wellness programs, gym memberships, and health or meditation apps can help your workforce improve their physical and mental health. These benefits help your employees reach their personal fitness goals, and they can also help people reduce their healthcare insurance costs in cases where insurers offer discounts for people who meet certain wellness thresholds. Investing in your employees’ health and wellbeing also indicates to your workforce that you respect and value them as individuals outside of their performance contributions. This can help your employees feel appreciated, which in turn can lead to increasing their trust in your organization and improving organizational morale.

Personalized Recognition and Rewards

It might feel “old school,” but employee of the month rewards and similar instances of public recognition for going above and beyond demonstrate to your employees that your organization appreciates their efforts. A designated parking space, gift cards to a local restaurant, and even a certificate or badge can help increase morale and inspire others to increase their efforts and earn the reward in the future. While public recognition can be effective, be sure to clearly communicate any expectations associated with specific rewards. Offer various pathways for recognition to ensure you’re reaching a diverse group of employees, and be mindful of those who might not wish to be in the spotlight. Introverted employees likely still wish to be recognized for their accomplishments, but they don’t always appreciate a public display.

Professional Development Opportunities

Professional development opportunities are a win-win for your organization and employees. Workers can access self-service professional development content and courses through an LMS or skills enablement platform to build their skills and progress toward their career goals. Your organization then has access to a highly skilled workforce that’s prepared to address rapidly changing industry demands. Leveraging an LMS also allows your organization to track each person’s career growth and determine how closely employees’ chosen development courses align with your company’s overall learning objectives.

Volunteer Opportunities and Social Incentives

Community-building activities like volunteer work aligning with your organization’s mission and values are great rewards options for employees who are motivated by social interactions or helping their communities. Other social gatherings like end-of-year parties or celebrations for reaching performance milestones can bring workers together and encourage further collaboration.

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Leverage Technology

Personalizing total rewards will make your compensation plan more complex, but you can leverage technology tools to help you manage your various incentive options and other aspects of your strategy. Compensation software allows you to streamline payment and benefit processing. Easily determine who is eligible to receive specific rewards and whether they’re on track to earn their incentives. Use performance metrics and data analytics to assess which total rewards benefits are the most popular among your employees, and drill down to see which employee groups favor specific incentives.

Compensation software can also be used to recognize employee accomplishments, gather meaningful feedback, and track total rewards and performance data over time. This helps you to make informed decisions about your pay strategy as your organization’s needs evolve.