Last year was full of challenges and I can see plenty of activities ahead in 2014.
One thing that has become critical is the provision of financial education in the workplace and ensuring that the right offering is there to ensure that financial planning will underpin employees’ career and retirement planning. This is becoming even more important when looking at the pensions landscape, the demographic changes and the outcomes of pension reform.
I think we will really see education form a key part of being an employer of choice and linking directly to motivation and engagement. We will also see development become more of a key part of the recruitment and retention tool in the reward package.
We will also see individuals looking at employers’ personal and professional development offering when they are choosing where to work. Generation Z is starting to enter the workforce and will bring a new angle to looking at the reward package: higher levels of student debt, higher cost of living, higher expectations of a career. Just what will they want to see in the reward package?
The importance of branding and communicating the reward package will also be an ongoing theme and, importantly, the ability to make this an extension of organisational values, whether that be linking it to the community, work-life interaction or environmental impact.
I expect to see some innovative reward package branding in 2014 as employers look to promote more than just remuneration.
Ian Hodson is reward and benefits manager at the University of Lincoln