Integrated Reward and Talent Management Yields Better Attraction and Retention Results

A Watson Wyatt/WorldatWork Survey Finds

While the economic slowdown may be making it easier for employers to attract and retain workers, many companies remain worried about losing their top talent. A new survey by Watson Wyatt, a leading global consulting firm, and WorldatWork, an international association of HR professionals, finds that employers can help prevent the untimely exodus of top workers by taking an integrated approach to reward and talent management.

According to the Watson Wyatt/WorldatWork 2008/2009 Global Strategic Rewards Report, companies that take an integrated approach are 20 percent less likely than other companies to experience problems attracting critical-skill employees and 25 percent less likely to have problems attracting top-performing employees.

Additionally, those companies that take an integrated approach to reward and talent management are 33 percent less likely to have trouble retaining critical-skill employees and 18 percent less likely to have difficulty keeping top-performing employees. They are also 18 percent more likely to be financially high-performing organizations. The survey, conducted in May 2008, is based on responses from 1,389 organizations in 24 countries around the world.

ìNo single reward or talent management program by itself effectively links individual performance to an organizationís larger business goals,î said Laura Sejen, global director of strategic rewards consulting at Watson Wyatt. ìThe answer lies in integration.î

While employees may be more risk averse under current economic conditions, and less likely to change jobs, challenges will remain in the long run for many employers. Integrated reward and talent management puts into place long-term provisions for the entire organization, helping to combat short-term uncertainties.

ìCompanies taking an integrated approach conduct formal analyses of their workforce needs and supply of talent, and adopt a total rewards philosophy for their entire organization,î said Ryan Johnson, director of public affairs at WorldatWork. ìOne of the keys to this approach is a focus on communication, which continues to play a large role in employee engagement and productivity ó particularly in these stressful times, when workers are looking for reassurance and constancy.î

Forty-eight percent of employers surveyed cited improved communication as one of the three most effective options to reduce employee stress. Reinforcing communication through performance management reduces stress by providing clarity around an employeeís role and goal measurement: 76 percent of top-performing employees felt they understood their performance measures as opposed to 62 percent of the entire employee group.

ìThe Power of Integrated Reward and Talent Management: 2008/2009 Global Strategic Rewards Reportî is available at: