Playing Moneyball with your Total Rewards program

In a recent talk I gave to HR leaders at the Association of General Contractors annual meeting in Chicago, I discussed several specific strategies to this end. If you look at Total Rewards from the perspective of an employee, you can break it down into four key buckets:

• What I need – Benefits that help build security for my family and me, including life, disability, 401K, medical/pharmacy.
• What I choose – Programs that make my life better, such as flex-time, recreational programs, critical illness, matching gift, biometric testing, dependent care, smoking cessation, wellness and weight management, corporate discount program.
• What I earn – Compensation for my contributions to your company’s success. This includes salary, bonus, paid-time off, holidays.
• What I achieve – Growth and success in my career, which might include additional education programs, team member recognition, or a team member referral program.

When all these things are done correctly and communicated effectively, you are contributing to your employees’ overall sense of wellbeing. Wellbeing seems like a general term, but it has been studied and surveyed in employees over and over again with consistent results. When employees say their wellbeing is good and their employer cares about them, you’ll see 20% higher production, much more effective teamwork, job satisfaction rates close to 90%, and an average of two extra years of longevity at the company. Billie Bean has been at the Oakland A’s since 1990…growing from rookie team scout to EVP of Baseball Operations. He famously turned down a multimillion dollar offer from the Boston Red Sox and stayed with the A’s after turning the team around. What does that tell you about his sense of wellbeing in that organization? Employees everywhere are placing more value on workplaces that provide them with growth opportunities and resources for their mental, physical and financial health.

It’s time to ask yourself: What does your Total Rewards program say to your employees? And­–what would your employees honestly say about your company if you surveyed their wellbeing? If you’re not already, it’s time to start playing Moneyball.