How can you customize your total rewards program to meet the needs of your global workforce?

1 Understand your global talent segments

The first step is to identify and understand your global talent segments, which are groups of employees who share similar characteristics, needs, and motivations. For example, you may have segments based on geography, function, career stage, generation, or diversity. You can use data, surveys, interviews, and focus groups to gather insights into what each segment values, wants, and needs from their total rewards program. This will help you tailor your program to align with their preferences and goals.

2 Balance global consistency and local flexibility

The second step is to balance global consistency and local flexibility in your total rewards program. Global consistency means having a clear and coherent strategy, framework, and principles that apply across all countries and regions. This helps you ensure fairness, transparency, and alignment with your organizational culture and values. Local flexibility means allowing for variations and adaptations based on the specific needs, expectations, and regulations of each country and region. This helps you respect diversity, comply with local laws, and respond to changing market conditions.

3 Communicate and educate effectively

The third step is to communicate and educate effectively about your total rewards program to your global workforce. Communication means informing your employees about the components, value, and rationale of your program, using clear, simple, and consistent messages. Education means helping your employees understand how your program works, how it benefits them, and how they can access and utilize it. You can use various channels and formats, such as webinars, newsletters, videos, or interactive tools, to reach and engage your global audience.

4 Solicit and act on feedback

The fourth step is to solicit and act on feedback from your global workforce about your total rewards program. Feedback means gathering input, opinions, and suggestions from your employees on how they perceive, experience, and appreciate your program. You can use methods such as surveys, polls, forums, or suggestion boxes to collect feedback. Acting on feedback means analyzing, prioritizing, and implementing changes or improvements to your program based on the feedback. This helps you demonstrate that you value your employees' voice, improve your program's effectiveness, and increase employee satisfaction and loyalty.

5 Monitor and evaluate outcomes

The fifth step is to monitor and evaluate outcomes of your total rewards program for your global workforce. Monitoring means tracking and measuring key indicators and metrics that reflect your program's performance, impact, and return on investment. For example, you may monitor employee engagement, retention, productivity, or performance. Evaluating means assessing and comparing the results against your objectives, benchmarks, and best practices. This helps you identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges of your program, and make adjustments as needed.

6 Review and update regularly

The sixth and final step is to review and update your total rewards program regularly to meet the needs of your global workforce. Reviewing means examining and revising your program's strategy, framework, and principles to ensure they are still relevant, aligned, and effective. Updating means adding, modifying, or removing components of your program to reflect the changing needs, preferences, and expectations of your global talent segments. You can use data, feedback, trends, and innovations to inform your review and update process. This helps you keep your program fresh, competitive, and attractive.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?