Three Must-Have Compensation Management Capabilities to Support Remote Work

So you want to adapt your total rewards and optimize spending to best manage a remote workforce? To implement those strategies requires capable compensation technology. What exactly does a cloud-based compensation platform need to support remote work?

Intrinsic to a cloud-based compensation management system is the fact that it provides a centralized source for compensation data, accessible from anywhere, providing a platform for managing and communicating about compensation processes. That alone facilitates remote collaboration on compensation processes. But there is some specific functionality to consider as well.

Must-have capabilities to support the remote workforce

In our eGuide, Agile HR: How to Adapt Strategy, Motivate Performance, and Optimize Comp Spend through Periods of Change, we outline six compensation must-haves to successfully manage change. Must-have number one is a system that can withstand disruption, to ensure operational continuity. Those capabilities are the same ones you need to manage a workforce that is remote. As noted in the guide, that means having a system that allows you to:

• Manage remotely. You should be able to access your compensation systems and data, securely, from anywhere. HR and managers should be able to perform all the functions required by their roles relating to pay decisions and actions.
• Offer visibility as plans change. Wherever they are, employees need uninterrupted access to their compensation plans, performance results, total rewards statements, commission statements, and compensation processes. 
• Delegate tasks. Your processes for performance and compensation review should allow a manager to delegate his/her role in the system in case of absence, and your compensation system should allow the manager or HR to easily substitute a surrogate if a manager is temporarily unable to fulfill their role in a compensation process.

Remote work increases critical compensation data security needs

Security is always a paramount issue when employees are remotely connected via the public internet. Yet most companies already have numerous cloud applications, and cloud platforms today are generally safer than data stored locally. The big cloud providers like Microsoft Azure have hardened facilities, complex encryption algorithms, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and data security and privacy certifications.

As with in-house systems, companies still need to adopt security policies and operational practices to ensure data security. Perhaps the best indication of the security capabilities of the cloud is that even the security-conscious and risk-averse banking sector now runs mission-critical applications in the cloud. In fact, some of the largest banks in the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, and around the world manage their highly sensitive global compensation on beqom’s cloud platform.

It’s all about mobility

In order to truly provide access from anywhere, a compensation application should support mobile access. This is important for employees who are on the move due to temporary disruption as well as those working from home, but is equally valuable for those whose jobs are out of the office, whether on the factory floor, in the shop, or on the road. 

Mobile access means that employees can get the data they need about their performance and goals to help direct their behavior and can access their total rewards dashboard when needed. This access to dynamic information is not only table stakes nowadays but especially valuable during times of change like a pandemic, so that you can ensure that employees are engaged and aligned with changing strategies even when remote.

Now is the time to digitize

While remote work may have been forced on many people due to the pandemic, trends were already moving in that direction, and there are many advantages above and beyond just surviving a lockdown or other business disruption. More and more companies are deciding that now is the time for digital transformation of their compensation systems.

Watch our free on-demand webinar Post-Pandemic Mantras for Agile Total Rewards with beqom and HR experts Alight Solutions, to learn how to adapt your rewards strategies and digitize your processes to succeed in the post-pandemic world.