Why a Narrative Approach to Total Rewards Statements Matters

Key takeaways:

• Leading organizations are adopting agile, personalized, and holistic total rewards statements to attract and retain talent.
• Tailoring total rewards statements to specific audiences enhances employee understanding and appreciation of benefits.
• Customized total rewards statements provide a narrative (rather than just raw data), making it easier for employees to internalize the value of their compensation and benefits.
• Explaining rewards for employees within a narrative framework helps employees understand the total investment made in them, beyond just salary and benefits, highlighting additional perks and contributions.

A while back, Deloitte’s always-interesting Capital H: Human Capital blog published a short piece entitled The Future of Total Rewards. According to the article, “Leading organizations now understand that a personalized, agile and holistic rewards system is essential to attracting, motivating and developing talent.”

The idea of customizing and personalizing total rewards has gained increased traction in recent years. For example, at last year’s Reimagine HR Conference, hosted by Gartner, their VP of Advisory Practice Brent Cassell recommended three critical steps HR leaders should take to measure the effectiveness of their programs. The first was to “create a value story” when communicating rewards for employees.

“It’s critical that total rewards leaders be able to tailor their messages to their audience,” Cassell emphasized.

One of the most effective ways to communicate that tailored message is through customized total rewards statements. These statements allow an employer to create a kind of narrative – as opposed to simply presenting data –  and is a better way to communicate the value of your organization’s investment in your employees.

Total rewards statements and EVPs

Increasingly in the HR world, total rewards – the combination of benefits, compensation and rewards (both monetary and non-monetary) that employees receive from organizations – is being linked to an Employee Value Propositions (EVP). In order to remain competitive and attract top talent, organizations are increasingly presenting to their potential employees a summary of the total value of their investment in them. This can happen both while the candidate is being recruited, and after they have joined the team. Either way, it is much easier to communicate this value in some kind of personalized, narrative form, rather than just through a download of data. The most effective total rewards statements are designed with this in mind, and include personalized and narrative elements that help to tell a story, which people can relate to more easily than just numbers.

A chance to create connection/communicate good will

When we work with clients to create a total rewards statement for their organization, they almost always take the opportunity to include some kind of personal note from their CHRO, CEO or another member of the leadership team. This personalized touch helps to frame and contextualize the information and connect the dollars and cents to a bigger story. It gives employers the opportunity to address a valued team member, express what they’ve invested in them and why it matters. Employers should never underestimate this personal touch, especially in an increasingly competitive job market. Younger employees have routinely expressed their dissatisfaction and ambivalence towards a “one size fits all” approach to communicating benefits and rewards.

Associating generosity and care with your brand

Creating a unique and custom template for your total rewards statements also gives organizations the opportunity to incorporate their branding (and corporate personality) into the communication. Aside from obvious benefits like consistency and presenting a more professional look, this also helps to create a sense of solidarity between employees and their employers. When employees feel cared for, they tend to be more motivated –  it’s as simple as that. Creating personalized statements that clearly, and personally, explain rewards for employees is a highly effective, and relatively simple, way to retain and engage talent.

Customized total rewards statements convey the big picture

Finally, creating a unique and narrative-based statement of rewards for employees gives you the opportunity to bring all of your valuable offerings together and help your employees understand the big picture. In other words, once you have their attention, you can summarize the total amount you have invested in them, and communicate their unique value to the organization. Most employees consider their pay and health benefits to be the sum total of what the company provides them, and yet most total rewards packages go well beyond these contributions. It is worth considering what other benefits your organization wants to highlight, and presenting this information in a personal way to your team – which, as an added benefit, can help the organization to achieve greater returns on their substantial investments in these programs.

Interested in learning more about how to create a truly customized, personalized total rewards story for your valuable team members, or see an example of one? Reach out to us here, and we will contact you within a business day to learn more about your goals.