What is employee reward communication? And how does it fit into a total reward strategy?
With organisations spending hundreds of thousands to millions of pounds on their total reward packages, the importance of effective reward communications can’t be overstated. As employers strive to attract, recruit, engage and retain the best talent, reward communications stand out as a pivotal element of a successful employee reward strategy.
Reward communication can be as straightforward as conveying compensation and benefits information to employees. But, done well, it also plays a crucial role in enhancing employee engagement, motivation, and ultimately, organisational performance. This article explores:
The basics of employee reward communication
The different types of employee reward comms organisations are implementing
Key components of effective employee reward communications
The benefits of effective reward comms
How to integrate reward communications into a wider total reward strategy
What is employee reward communication?
Reward communication is a strategic approach to informing, engaging and educating employees about every element of their total rewards package. This includes their compensation, benefits, wellbeing, work environment, learning and career development opportunities and workplace culture.
Effective reward communication goes beyond simply sharing information by:
Demystifying complex reward schemes.
Helping employees make the most of their pay and benefits programmes.
Supporting managers by making it easy for them to communicate reward.
Ensuring information is understood, engaged with and acted on (where needed) by employees.
Fostering reward scheme transparency and building trust within the organisation.
Communicating your business, HR and reward strategies in engaging ways.
Connecting your people with your company’s purpose, mission and values.
Boosting attraction, wellbeing, employee engagement, performance and retention.
What kinds of employee reward communications are organisations deploying?
This often depends on a company’s maturity and degree of reward scheme transparency. Common communication projects include creating:
Reward brand development
Reward narratives and messaging
A one-stop shop for rewards - either an intranet page or reward microsite.
Careers pages that clearly communicate the employer value proposition.
Total reward guides - digital documents and interactive PDFs.
Employee benefit communications - socials, email newsletter, campaigns and more.
Incentive programme comms - one-pagers, guides and presentations.
Recruitment packs that help employers stand out in the marketplace.
Compensation comms - gender pay gap reports, pay transparency communications.
Employee pension communications that make pensions easy to understand and are engaging.
Manager and HR training and guides.
Most organisations start out with the first three points in the list above. These three things create a solid foundation from which to communicate reward effectively. They also deliver a great ROI because they leverage every aspect of the total reward package.
Key components of effective employee reward communications
Effective employee reward communications take comms from must-do broadcasts tied to the annual cycle, to powerful, high-performing campaigns. This communication transformation relies on five key elements:
1 - Reward scheme transparency
The general rule of thumb is that the more transparent the reward communication, the better. However, even large organisations with mature reward functions and big HR teams aren’t always as transparent as you might think. Sometimes, the organisation’s culture doesn’t lend itself to reward scheme transparency. And sometimes it’s because the work hasn’t been done to enable certain topics - like pay - to be communicated openly.
The key is to be as open as you can be. This means getting executives on-board with moving to a more transparent reward culture. Establishing clear messaging and supporting materials will empower managers to effectively outline how rewards are determined and distributed.
2 - Simplicity
Using clear, jargon-free language will ensure all employees can easily understand the message. Many people find anything to do with money and maths complex. So you should use the most straightforward language you can. Why? Because:
The UK’s financial reading age is 9 - making communications less complex is key for people who are neurodivergent, people with dyslexia or those with English as a second language.
Even the most educated people prefer plain English. When 800 circuit court judges had to choose between a traditional legalese argument or a plain English one, 66% preferred the plain English version. No matter their background.
How do you achieve simplicity with your Reward comms? Start with plain English. Then, for more complex topics - like incentives, pay increases and pensions - add visuals to the copy to make it easier for people to digest.
3 - Personalisation
Tailoring communication to meet the diverse needs of the workforce can sound like a LOT of work. But personalisation can be as simple as splitting your communications into those appropriate for managers and those appropriate for specific groups of employees. Rather than bundling everything into a single communication and asking people to wade through it to find the relevant section for them.
How much personalisation you include will depend on the quality of your employee data and the other tools and communications support at your disposal. For example, adding each individual’s first name to the top of an all-staff email to personalise it is only achievable if your email software has this functionality.
4 - Consistency
Getting regular marketing emails from a company you bought something from a long time ago feels pretty normal if those emails have regularly landed in your inbox. But when you suddenly get an email a long time after buying from a business, it feels a little jarring.
The same goes for your employee comms. Maintaining a steady flow of information will build a relationship with your people and ensure you can reiterate key messaging so your narrative lands. It will also prevent misinformation from spreading in a vacuum. And build a positive relationship with your people that will pay dividends when you need to communicate about less positive subjects.
Of course, the annual cycle of communication surrounding performance and pay reviews and benefit windows is key too. As is keeping employees informed about changes to reward structures or policies so you avoid surprises and manage expectations.
5 - Employee engagement
Employee reward teams often have a lot to shout about. Bonuses, recognition awards, new benefits, old benefits, pay reviews, wellbeing initiatives, career development opportunities, discounts and more.
By seizing the opportunity to talk about the good things you do for your people, you’ll create a backdrop of positivity. So, when bad news needs to be shared it’s a blip in your narrative, instead of the only message you’ve shared. In an ideal world, you’ll create dialogues that allow employee feedback and questions, so you create conversations and not just one-way communications.
The benefits of reward communications on employee engagement
Well-communicated employee reward strategies and employee engagement drive a whole range of organisational wins:
90% of HR professionals agree that an effective recognition and reward programme helps drive business results.
75% of employers believe improving the effectiveness of their benefits communications is an important objective.
Research from Willis Towers Watson proves that firms that communicate effectively with their people will deliver a 47% higher total return to shareholders (2004-2009)
Integrating reward communications into a wider total reward strategy
Taking a strategic approach to reward communications requires a holistic approach that aligns with the organisation's overall objectives and culture. It's not just about the 'what' of rewards but the 'how' and 'why' behind them.
Strategic alignment
The first step in integrating reward communications is ensuring that the communication strategy aligns with:
The organisation's broader total reward strategy
Any reward philosophy
HR strategy
Relevant business goals
It can also draw on company culture and values through the language and narrative that’s created. This alignment ensures the messaging reinforces the organisation's values and objectives, creating a cohesive and unified understanding of rewards across the organisation.
Reward branding
A lot of companies miss a trick with this one, but a reward brand is a great way to get your messaging noticed. With people’s inboxes and time maxed out, creating a recognisable reward brand can help people spot your communications. Typically aligned with your company branding, a reward brand has (potentially) a logo and a consistent look and feel that lets people instantly know they’re looking at reward communications.
In the same way your marketing team has visual guidelines, a tone of voice and style guide, and approved narratives and key messages, your reward team should have the same. This will ensure a consistent style of writing and a coherent approach to employee reward communications that have the same look and feel across all pieces, building trust with your audience.
Connected and self-reinforcing
Total reward strategies have been carefully thought out and reward communications should follow suit. While you will want to create communications for specific elements of your total reward package, you also need to have overarching comms that explain the value of the whole package.
You should also create connections between relevant parts of your reward package with your narrative and messaging. Whether that’s about placing a focus on performance, wellbeing or development. Your communications should consistently repeat the same messaging in different ways helping your messages land.
Multi-channel approach
Using a variety of communication channels ensures your messages reach the entire workforce in a way that resonates with them. You’ll have lots of options, including the intranet, reward microsites, email, face-to-face meetings, social media and print.
Reward communication channels used by Aon UK Benefits and Trends 2023 survey respondents
One of my favourite places to communicate with employees is the back door of the toilets or above the urinals because the messaging always gets seen and read. A multi-channel approach caters to the different communication preferences of your workforce and reinforces messaging through repetition (without boredom) in different formats.
Training for managers and HR
The communications you create will be shared and brought to life by your HR team and your managers. Not only when you initially cascade your communications but when recruiting or communicating pay review and bonus outcomes, during performance reviews, when supporting employee wellbeing issues and when retaining employees.
Equipping managers and HR with the knowledge and tools to confidently and effectively communicate reward-related information to their teams is vital in helping you achieve your recruitment, employee engagement and retention goals.
Feedback mechanisms
Incorporating feedback mechanisms into reward communications allows organisations to gauge employee understanding, perceptions and satisfaction with their rewards. Whether it’s a clickable link to a shared inbox where employees can send their queries, a reward-specific employee survey, face-to-face Q&A sessions or reward surgeries where employees can bring their questions and challenges. This feedback loop is crucial for continuously refining and improving communication strategies to better meet your employees’ needs.
In conclusion
Employee reward communications are a critical component of a comprehensive total rewards strategy. They bridge the gap between the organisation's reward offerings and employee perception and appreciation of those rewards. By adopting a strategic, aligned, multi-channel approach, organisations can enhance attraction, employee engagement, motivation and performance.
Ultimately, effective reward communications are not just about conveying information - they're about engaging in a dialogue that values and recognises the contribution of each employee. Fostering a culture of transparency, appreciation and mutual success.
Take your reward communications to the next level by talking to me - Becky Hewson-Haworth. With over 20 years reward and copywriting experience, I can help you transform your reward comms from so-so to stand-out. Drop me a line at becky@clarioncallcomms.co.uk or on 07703 155404. Or message me on LinkedIn.