So you’ve got your compensation data - now what?

Step 1 - Start with the end in mind

Whatever your reward project, there’s only one final destination - communications.

Instead of considering your comms at the end of your project, do some of your thinking up front. The goal here is to understand the kinds of information employees and managers will want and the questions they’ll have at the end of your project. This work will not only support your communications, but it will also make it much easier to pull the right data during the early stages of the project.

Depending on your project, it could help you to talk with employees and managers (or survey them) to get clear about:

• Expectations around what constitutes a robust set of compensation data, including competitors and participant numbers, even for niche jobs.
• The level of transparency people would like around pay.
• Which roles are impacted by highly competitive, fast-moving pay environments so you know where to provide as close to real-time pay data as you can get.
• The kinds of compensation communications, support and tools your managers would like at key stages of the employee lifecycle.
• What your employees currently don’t understand about their compensation.
• How your people like to learn new information.

By bringing an employee perspective to your data analysis, you’ll ensure the data you pull will give your people confidence in your approach. Providing you with key insights and a solid foundation on which to build your communications.

Step 2 - get sign-off

Data forms an important part of the picture when you want to get CEO or executive approval. But the most powerful arguments combine data with the right words so you can articulate what you want to do and why it’s vital for the organisation. Creating a persuasive business case that will secure sign-off.

Much of this information will form the basis of your communications. So the thinking you’ve shared with the top of the organisation filters down to everyone else. Depending on the level of transparency you decide on, how much compensation information you share could differ. But the why behind the project will remain the same - just bear in mind you might need to find different ways to express your why to different audiences.

Step 3 - plan what you want to say

With sign-off in place and the technical compensation work complete, look back to the employee insights you gained in step one.

Clarify what you want your communications to achieve from both an organisational and employee perspective. Maybe you want to remind people about your existing rewards and educate them about how they work. Or perhaps you want to introduce and embed a new approach to compensation.

Either way, establish your communications goals and work out how you can communicate in a way that will help you achieve them. These tips will help:

• Video can be good to announce change and inspire people to come along for the ride but it’s more difficult to absorb detailed information in this way.
• Digital guides are great for more complex information and for those who like the detail.
  One pagers are handy as cheat sheets for people who are time poor or simply don’t want the detail.
• Webinars are another great option to share in-depth information as they give people the opportunity to ask questions and clarify key points.
• Provide additional support to managers with talking points documents which help them answer FAQs and personalise compensation communications while staying on message.
• Email is fine for announcements, to provide links to events or documents and remind people to do something, but don’t rely on it for all your comms.
• Remember, the intranet is your friend when it comes to creating a single place for people to find their reward information.

Once you’ve decided which individual pieces of communication you’ll need, weave them all together into a master plan that reinforces your messaging to achieve your goals.

Step 4 - Define your message

Now you know how you’re going to communicate, define what you want to say. A great way to do this is by creating a narrative and key messaging. It should align with your project and its goals while drawing on your company’s strategy and values. This can be a little tricky to do so you might need specialist support.

Creating a narrative is easier for positive change - like new, more competitive pay ranges that provide greater earnings potential. But it’s harder for less positive change or projects that need careful handling, like pay transparency initiatives which may require significant explanation.

💡Pro tip: focus on the why behind the project and the benefits it will bring, so you can unify your people to work towards a new vision of the future.

Step 5 - Use your narrative to create your comms

The narrative and key messaging will keep you on track with what you say. And these tips will help you communicate effectively:

• Good communications tell you what you need to know in as few words as possible while also nailing the right tone of voice. So, keep your comms to the point, providing people with just enough information to be able to understand, engage or act.
• If you want your employees to do something, don’t forget to include a call to action, like ‘sign up for the webinar’ or ‘download the guide’.
• Make the complex clear by using plain English and avoiding jargon and Latin (think compa-ratio). You can also use graphics to explain what you mean in a way that’s easy to understand.

Step 6 - Use branding to make your communications beautiful

Nobody likes to receive a present wrapped in a plastic bag. Or to be given bad news in a way that feels careless or makes the message even more depressing. So take the time to create some reward branding that aligns with your company’s external brand.

If your marketing team has a tone of voice document and style guide, use these to inform your communications. Just make sure the tone of voice you use for your customers is also appropriate for your employees.

Step 7 - Follow up to make sure your comms have landed

Whatever your goals at the start of your project, close the circle to ensure you’ve achieved what you set out to do.

In some instances, you can use Compensation IQ’s data to see how well your communications have landed. For example, by using it to regularly analyse internal pay ratios, assess whether adjustments have impacted pay gaps and to carry out ongoing market alignment monitoring.

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