Total Rewards: Leveraging its Power

In light of the hybrid work culture, expectations have changed with an increased focus on employee reward and recognition. According to survey, employees who have stronger incentives and compensation structures are more likely to be engaged at work than those who do not have them. As Gen Z is becoming the new-age workforce, it is important for organizations to tailor their total rewards strategy accordingly. 

For a deeper understanding of this topic, ETHRWorld , in partnership with AdvantageClub.ai hosted an Immersion Day on Total Rewards, a virtual event that was carefully curated to meet the needs of people leaders and the rising need for pay transparency. 

This virtual event brought together industry stalwarts, culture leaders, and reward professionals, some of whom shared their thoughts and learnings on culture building in today’s time. 

In his opening address, Aditya Chopra★ , Head of Communities at ETHRWorld welcomed all the speakers and participants and set the context for the immersion program.

Chopra mentioned that the objective of the immersion program is to help total rewards professionals create enhanced and more fit-for-purpose total rewards strategies that are designed to drive performance across the workforce, and to deliver competitive, needs-based rewards in a more differentiated way.

The first insightful session on "Global Outlook: Market Trends in 2023" was addressed by Vijay Gandhi , Regional Director, Total Rewards, Korn Ferry . 

Gandhi emphasized rebalancing in a precarious global economy and the age of pay transparency, as one of the major trends at the moment. 

Discussing further on 'Future Dimension and Direction of Total Rewards in 2030', an insightful panel discussion was moderated by Priyambi Malvai Head Total Rewards & Performance Management, Times Internet . 

The panel was attended by Rishi Khandelwal , Director, Compensation & Benefits - Asia, Microsoft ; Kunal Chandra , Director Total Rewards | HR M&A Strategy | People Integration, Flipkart , along with Ankur Jain , Senior Director - Organization Development, Delhivery and Praveen Gandhi, GPHR, SPHRi, SHRM-SCP , Group Head - Total Rewards, HR Policy & Process, RPG Group . 

Smiti Bhatt Deorah , Co-Founder & COO, AdvantageClub.ai presented an Insightful session titled 'Is Pay still a Centrepiece? : Total Rewards for Hybrid Organizations'

“Having a sense of belongingness increases your engagement with work. Organisations should digitize rewards, making it futuristic, for both Genz and the Millenials", Deorah said. 

Soon after, there was a Masterclass On ‘Leveraging Total Rewards Analytics for a Purpose-driven and People-centric Workspace: A Thoroughfare to Serve the Bigger Purpose’ presented by Jude Vijay , Director, Work & Rewards - India, WTW

Vijay stated, "Pay gaps can have numerous root causes, and conducting pay driver and talent analysis can help uncover those root causes."

Another Masterclass On ‘Creating a Market-Based Pay Structure from the Scratch: A Practical Guide to Declutter Redundant Rewards’ was headed by Manit Mittal, Vice President, Head of Total Rewards, Ola.

"In an ever-changing market, the database will constantly be challenged, affordability and focus on the total cost of ownership is the strong pillar of every company”, Mittal added. 

Mittal also stressed the importance of creating a flexible as well as a fact-based total rewards program in organizations and how a complete salary structure should be aligned with the organisation’s values. 

This was followed by a panel discussion on "Building an Inclusive and Equitable Compensation Model for Hybrid Habitats: Way to Extricate the Enigma", moderated by Poonam Chopra , Director Total Rewards, PepsiCo . Vamsi Dasetty , Vice President, Head of Total Rewards and HR Analytics, airtel was also a part of the discussion. 

Arundhati Ganesan , Vice President Total Rewards, InMobi Advertising Group said, “Organizations have to commit to the rewards being reinvented."

Lipika Verma , Vice President-Rewards & Performance Innovation & Thought Leadership, Schneider Electric said, "Diversity and Equity should be a part of the DNA of any organisation more than just a part of the Total Rewards.”

Seepika Singhal , Senior Director | Global Total Rewards, Brillio said, "It is not just about higher compensation but its about fair and equal compensation which helps in driving employee engagement and attracting new talent."

Another Masterclass on 'Demystifying Rewards beyond Monetary Compensation: A leap to Evolve the Employee Experience' was led by Kanupriya Gupta , Senior Director, International Total Rewards, Intel Corporation . 

"It is important to have social groups outside work to connect, which in turn makes collaboration easier and helps with employee retention”, Gupta said. 

The last panel discussion on "Contriving Pay Transparency for Competitive Compensation: Addressing the Conundrum was moderated by Shatdal Shrivastava , Regional Head of Total Rewards Asia, Oceania & Africa, Nestlé .

Madhumita Banerjee , APAC Compensation & Benefits Leader, Bank of America touched upon different elements of pay transparency and how important it is in today’s time. 

On the other hand, Sreedipto Bhattacharyya, GRP® , Director - Total Rewards, Region EMEA, Novo Nordisk believes in getting the Total Rewards philosophy right.

“The concept of transparency does not mean sharing everything. The same is true if you don't share anything at all. You need to strike a balance between those two things. Total Rewards has always been controversy’s, favorite child”, Bhattacharyya said. 

Overall, it was an amazing event with great takeaways and we look forward to partnering with ETHR World for hosting many such virtual events in the future!