Trends in Reward Management

It has often been said that the field of reward management suffers from a tendency to follow the latest fashion - sometimes referred to as 'fad surfing' - without due consideration of organization context or culture. Those who have approached their senior management boards or committees with recommendations to change the reward system will invariably receive the question, 'That sounds sensible enough, but what do others - especially our competitors - do?' If they can be convinced that a recommendation is in line with 'best practice' then approval is likely to be given. There are, however, signs in the first decade of the 21st century that this traditional approach to reward, which can lead to organizations implementing reward systems that are out of line with their business objectives or culture, is finally in decline.

The major recent trends in reward management that we have observed through our consultancy practices, research and study of the latest literature are summarized in this final chapter under the following headings:

• total reward;
• engaged performance;
• the new realism;
• job evaluation;
• equal pay for work of equal value;
• broadbanding;
• career family structures;
• contribution-related pay;
• flexible benefits;
• line manager capability.