Research shows employees are not being rewarded fairly

New research carried out independently for Jobpartners, the European leader of software solutions dedicated to the PRM (People Relationship Management) market, reveals 79% of employees feel that their organisationís rewards programme is not fair. Furthermore, 64% feel undervalued by their employers and well over half (57%) of employees believe that their companyís benefits programme is not linked to their performance.

This research supports todayís launch of Jobpartnersí innovative online tool, ActiveRewarder, which has been designed to carry out effective benefits management. ActiveRewarder supports managers and reward staff in delivering consistent and effective rewards to employees while reducing administrative load. In addition, by linking data from ActiveRewarder to ActivePerformer, Jobpartnersí online tool for managing appraisal programmes, organisations can ensure that employees are rewarded in line with their performance.

ìThe research suggests that many organisations need to urgently review their rewards programmes. It is very concerning to see that so many employees donít think they are rewarded fairly and feel undervalued, and that many companies arenít rewarding staff in line with their performance,î explained Patrice Barbedette, founder of Jobpartners. ìDelivering consistent and fair benefits is a major motivational tool for any workforce, and it is critical to link rewards to performance in order to attract and retain talent. Organisations which fail to do this risk unmotivated and disloyal employees who are likely to end up seeking a job elsewhere.î

The research also found that 62% of employees feel that some colleagues sometimes receive greater rewards than they deserve, and that 58% of staff donít understand how benefits are rewarded.

ìTo avoid internal politics and loss of loyalty, as well as costly tribunals, employers must be seen to reward their staff fairly,î continued Patrice Barbedette. ìOrganisations should be in a position where they can prove the reasons why they may have rewarded one member of staff a pay rise or benefit and not another. If organisations donít document the reasons for giving out bonuses or rewards payments they could fall foul of the discrimination rules in the UK. Tools such as ActivePerformer and ActiveRewarder enable organisations to ensure all data is captured and that their benefits programme is fair and objective.î

The Jobpartners research echoes a recent survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), which found that staff are more enthusiastic and engaged if they feel their skills and hard work are fairly recognised by their employer. The CIPD research found that only 41% of the organisations surveyed ensure that fairness is part of their reward strategies. In line with Jobpartnersí thinking, the CIPD believes that salary and reward policies are crucial to achieving business objectives and warns that if staff feel that benefits are unfair, employee relationships can be damaged.[1]

ActiveRewarder provides managers and rewards professionals with online access to personalised compensation proposals for their teams. This means they can rapidly review, update, manage and maintain reward proposals and ensure that they are in line with strategic business objectives. The tool also helps to strengthen internal communication channels between reward teams and senior management.