| TOTAL REWARD Employers urged to consider total reward packages as labour market tightens One might have imagined that the recent economic slowdown would have dampened employers' efforts to find creative ways of recruiting and retaining staff. But the stark reality is that employers face having to look at even more imaginative ways to communicate what it is about working for them that is so special and different, according to new research from the United States. The study, published by the Pension Research Council at The Wharton School, reckons that the competition for talent between companies is likely to be even more hard fought in the future. As a result, organisations will need to put together increasingly sophisticated total reward packages in a bid to recruit and retain talented staff. Background: US labour market prospects
The tight labour markets of the last decade in the US have generated a wide array of unique approaches to finding, attracting and retaining workers. But as the researchers point out: "Employers of the future may even confront greater challenges in staffing than they have in the past." Bidding new workers into the workplace One option to ease the pressures of an ever-tightening labour market, the researchers conclude, is to expand the supply of labour by "bidding new workers in to the workforce". But to do so, the job offer will have to become more attractive to women and older workers. Say the researchers: "If employers wish to attract more women into the workplace, they must address issues that have kept substantial numbers of them from participating. This means implementing more suitable work-life solutions for women, such as onsite childcare and more flexible work schedules. If employers wish to delay the retirement of their most valued employees, they must rethink their retirement policies and provide access to phased retirement." More sophisticated HR practices required Although employers may be successful at wooing new workers into the workplace and/or holding on to their current staff, the snag is that corporate America may not be able to hire enough workers to meet production needs. The secret of success, the report argues, lies in more "effective human capital management". Quite simply, to survive businesses will have to restructure and recreate a more congenial work environment – one that can elicit higher levels of performance from existing employees. A final word "It is the firms that are the most successful at managing their human capital through effective communication programmes, offering a collegial work atmosphere, and establishing a performance management system with clear rewards and accountability, that will be most effective." – Eric Lofgren, Steven A Nyce and Sylvester J Schieber. Want to know more? Title: "Designing total reward programs for tight labour markets", by Eric Lofgren, Steven A Nyce and Sylvester J Schieber, Pension Research Council Working Paper No. 2001-17. Availability: The Pension Research Council is based at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA, tel: 001 215 898 0424. You can download the paper, free of charge, in PDF format at the Pension Research Council web site . . . http://prc.wharton.upenn.edu/prc/prc.html Posted 14 March 2002 |