×
First-time login tip: If you're a REBA Member, you'll need to reset your password the first time you login.
09 May 2019
by Andy Philpott

The key areas of digitisation that will reshape the role of reward directors

The pace of technological change today is slower than it will be tomorrow. By that, I mean we are constantly increasing the rate in which digital progress occurs. We are so used to moving at a fast pace that it’s often difficult to stop and fully digest how the digitisation of HR processes affect our roles. 

F2C5-1556874234_KeyareasofdigitisationandrewarddirectorsMAIN.jpg

Because of this pace, it’s mind-boggling to think about the future of HR or, to be more specific, the future of Reward Directors. Reward Directors have the function of looking after performance management through reward schemes, bonus structures, motivation and personal development. They have a crucial role for creating employee experience and building business culture.

So, what does the future look like for Reward Directors and how can digitisation shape this? Let’s look a few key areas which might influence the role in the coming years:

Managing people and processes
Reward directors are no longer expected to just provide the rewards. Instead, a successful Reward Director acts as a strategist - planning and analysing the success points of a reward strategy. That type of analytics lends itself well to using tech solutions.

It’s rare to find a reward director who doesn’t believe in the power digital solutions can offer for the management of people and the various processes that are required for the job.  The most important thing that tech can do is drastically improve how you communicate with your employees. Employee outreach can include sending interactive email newsletters, texts, push notifications via mobile apps and online surveys. Harnessing the most popular ways to reach employees should be at the top of the agenda for reward directors.

Enabling leadership 
As with any skills gap, it’s important to not only identify what digital skills are lacking within your own HR team but managing the skills gap across the business is a key way to improve and develop the entire staff. In the future, Reward Directors will have access to a range of digital training solutions as well as training dashboards that can enable managers to address these gaps quickly and efficiently within their teams. 

A successful Reward Director will implement digital training and reward to further the leadership capabilities of the key performing employees in the business. Implementing people management strategies that use online learning, shared platforms and personal dashboards will reach wide audiences across all age demographics as well.

Pairing technology with employee life cycles
Recruitment and onboarding usually fall outside of the Reward Director’s remit. However, they will work closely with the wider HR team to promote growth and development of the business through reward and recognition strategies, to grow employees throughout their life cycles in the company.

Using digitisation to drive positive behaviour in employees is one area that will continue to gain momentum. Developing a strategy for managing the incentives that work to motivate teams, recognise and reward success, and champion the culture of the business, all rely on data. And data is a prime area of change when it comes to digitisation.

Go beyond the use of spreadsheets and buy into the world of data management through a user-friendly dashboard. This is a clear way that digitisation can and will reshape HR.

Avoid the risk of falling behind 
At a recent CIPD conference, Unilever’s Global Reward Director warned audiences that they must keep up with the pace of change or risk being left behind. Nicola Wells explained that the expectation of choice in terms of reward and benefits for employees – is very similar to the range of choice that customers expect from their shopping experiences. Treating employees like customers is nothing new. However, keeping employee experience at the heart of your digital solution decisions, will help you make the right choice about which solution will deliver the outcomes you need.

Alongside talent recruitment, which is a leading area where tech is making giant leaps in the areas of artificial intelligence and virtual reality, Reward Directors will need to use a range of digital solutions to support their role including performance management tech. In order to stay ahead of the game, keep up with the latest developments and get trained on how to use it…or risk losing growth opportunities.

The author is Andy Philpott, marketing and sales director at Edenred.

This article is provided by Edenred. 

In partnership with Edenred

We help you build stronger connections with your employees to drive higher engagement&performance.

Contact us today