Adapting to the New Normal: Why Agile Compensation Management Matters More Than Ever

2020 was a year of disruption and the upheaval of business as usual. But for those in the compensation and benefits field, it was a year that highlighted the importance of compensation and of a flexible total rewards approach. Faced with remote work and personal disruptions, employees wanted more flexible rewards, while businesses sought more agile HR technology to quickly adapt to change. Forward looking companies have prepared themselves for the future of rewards.

A changing workplace required rewards adaptability

Lockdowns and quarantining, and general concern for employee safety, required many companies to shift to a full or partial remote work strategy. Much has been written about how COVID-19 accelerated a trend that was already on the upswing, but for compensation and benefits teams, shifting to remote work often meant revisiting rewards packages to adapt to a different reality.

Another impact on comp and ben was the need for short term changes to compensation plans due to a business downturn: temporary pay cuts, altered or frozen bonus plans, employees moving from Full Time to Part Time, as well as layoffs. 

The ability to adapt their rewards approach quickly is key to a company being able to retain their talent and help them to be productive and aligned with changing company strategies. When employees’ work-life balance doesn't work, it hurts productivity and puts them at risk of attrition. A 2020 beqom survey (soon to be published) found that more than three-quarters of employees would consider switching jobs if another company offered unlimited paid leave, more flexibility in working hours, or remote work post-COVID.

Digital compensation management provided needed flexibility

Companies realized that with the right technology in place, they were best prepared to weather the storm, to support their employees during the disruption, and to position themselves to adapt to an uncertain future.

Despite the pandemic—or because of it—2020 saw many companies deciding the time was right to move to a digital compensation platform. Companies who had dragged their feet on moving to the cloud realized that upgrading their technology was the only way to react and pivot and be prepared for the future. Companies like HR leader Adecco turned to digital compensation management for flexibility in managing a remote workforce and adapting to change. 

With the future still unclear, but with the certainty that change will be a constant, and with generational trends that point towards the need for more flexible and individualized compensation packages, it seems certain that compensation will play a pivotal role in talent strategies in the future. Having realized the need for a no-compromise approach to total rewards, and having discovered that existing HR technologies are not up to the task, 2021 and beyond look to be years of increasing investment in technology that will enable a flexible, adaptable, and individualized rewards strategy.

Compensation industry preparing for future growth

Advisory companies in the human capital management space have long known the importance of compensation strategy for attracting, motivating and retaining talent. But in recent years, and with renewed urgency in 2020, they are increasingly recognizing that purpose built technologies are needed to make those strategies a reality, and are scaling up their compensation technology practices to meet the growing demand for agile rewards management.

beqom has been focused exclusively on compensation for over a decade, and many global consulting firms have adopted the beqom solution as the primary tool for helping their clients implement competitive and forward looking compensation strategies. In 2020 EY formally established a beqom practice through their Total Rewards Center of Excellence. beqom also expanded its relationship with Accenture globally, and with Alight-NGA and Collaborative Solutions in the US. A number of beqom’s implementation partners in 2020 were elevated to become Strategic Technical Partners, having developed the skill sets to manage an end-to-end implementation of beqom’s Total Compensation solution.

beqom caters to the compensation management needs of enterprises who demand the most from their compensation strategy, providing efficiency, accuracy, flexibility, security, and compliance in the management of a company’s total rewards. Companies use beqom to drive employee performance, reduce risk, optimize costs, and ensure fair and competitive rewards to attract and retain talent. 

For more information on how to adapt your rewards strategies and digitize your processes to succeed in the post-pandemic world, contact beqom’s compensation experts.