Perks or Pitfalls?

How to reward the team for a world in flux.

Following our hugely successful CPG event at Bettys & Taylors in Harrogate, we headed to Howarths HQ for what was our 19^th in person Culture, People and Growth event.

Once again our CEO, Gavin Howarth, chaired the event, welcoming our panellists, which included Nicola Ryan, Director of Colleague Support One + All; Christopher Neave, Cofounder and Director of Make It Wild; and Howarths very own Charlotte Geesin, Chief Legal Officer.

‘Perks or pitfalls? How to reward the team for a world in flux’ was the hot topic of the day, with each of our speakers promising guests’ insights and advice that stems from real life experience.

Why we are here

Before we dove into the formal proceeding, Gavin reminded the room why we were there – reinforcing our shared belief in the power of a team for business success, and that the best deals win for business, win for people within the business and create the right culture.

Why we are tackling the perks and the pitfalls of rewards

Our CPG topics are always well informed; themes are chosen by looking at what’s important to businesses here and now, which is usually driven by legislation, the climate or societal trends.

Rewards and benefits that add value

Employee rewards need to be right and must add the value a business and its people desire. With several challenges, including rising costs and the complexity of meeting the needs of a multigenerational workforce, this is a hot topic that many businesses are wrestling with.

With a room full of businesspeople nodding as this topic was introduced, it was clear that they could relate and that this was set to be a lively discussion.

Does having five generations in the workforce impact on benefits?

Charlotte kicked off the panellists’ feedback. She highlighted that, regardless of age, life experience or position within the company, you want the fundamentals – to feel secure, valued and that you have a purpose.

However, she added that when it comes to the more tangible bits, such as pay and reward, there is a split across generations.

From this, she posed one of the challenges employers currently face – each generation has its own individual experience and its own individual desires when it comes to the workplace, and we need to understand what those differences are.

Charlotte explains: “Five generations in the workforce is going to be the norm very soon. So, if you compare a baby boomer nearing retirement – they are very experienced and have shown loyalty to an organisation, so they’re going to value things like pension, retirement plans, job stability, recognition for their experience and the chance to mentor.

“Whereas the other end of the spectrum, Gen Z, they’re coming into the workforce after COVID, and all they’ve experienced is global financial trauma. Their views are very different. They’re going to want opportunities to learn and immediate support with finances.”

Nicola could immediately relate to the challenges of a multi-generational workforce. Before rebranding and becoming 100% employee-owned in 2023, a journey that originally started in 2015, One+All was a family-owned brand, established in 1935, which traded as Rollinson Knitwear.

Being 100% employee-owned means that One+All colleagues receive a share of profits and have a real say in how the business is run. So, when Nicola disclosed that out of their 80 colleagues, the business averages one resignation a year, usually due to relocation or retirement, we all understood why!

Wanting the same things but in a different way

When considering the multigenerational question, Nicola stated that her oldest colleague is 70 and the youngest 18. Whilst she believed that they wanted broadly the same things, in her experience, they want them in a different way.

Nicola added that flexibility and the way people split their pay across different things can look different from generation to generation. It’s one of the many reasons why the team at One+All places so much emphasis on how they communicate their benefits and the value of each.

Nicola also shared examples of the types of benefits offered, which include a profit share, earning additional holidays, paying a full pension, offering healthcare cash plans and nominating colleagues to win anything from a cuddly toy to a voucher!

The right ethics, practices and social impact

Christopher, from his own experience, could also relate to Charlotte’s comment about employees looking for fundamentals. He detailed how stability was a key factor for members of his previous business, and how he did not think this differed across generations.

However, when it comes to Gen Z, Christopher commented on how they have grown up through difficulties, not least COVID, and that they want to work somewhere that they feel comfortable with, that has the right ethics, practices and social impact.

Gavin built upon this, adding: “If you look at pay and reward and you think about the financial bits and then the non-financial bits, research shows that the non-financial bits are just as important, perhaps arguably more important!”

Understanding the company you work for

This interesting point led Gavin to ask whether the ‘boardroom’ is falling into the trap of going for easy and quick things, such as extra holidays and a snooker table, rather than tackling the bigger stuff!

Adding further thoughts, he questioned whether fundamental questions that are important to colleagues should be addressed, not least whether they are doing a good job and whether this is being fed back accurately, properly and regularly. Importantly, can colleagues say that they understand the values of the business and where the company they work for is going?

Christopher agreed, admitting: “If you want people to buy into a company, you want them to feel that they really are in the right place for them.”

Gavin passed the point to Nicola, asking if this is one of the reasons why her business is less about what they do and more about how they do it. Agreeing Nicola explained how important the values of the business were and how this had attracted people, not based on financial reward but its purpose.

Adding to the discussion, Charlotte offered her own opinion:

“I do think that there is an increasing importance in working somewhere that allows you to perform in a role that has a noticeable social impact. I think it means more now to people than perhaps it ever did.

“In more general terms, I think there must be that purposeful piece that serves everyone. Going to work now is less about earning that salary. What’s in it for me has turned to what’s in it for my family, my team, my customers and society.”

Being bothered about the fancy stuff

Moving quickly to the next point, Gavin asked whether those working in SME businesses, perhaps in warehousing and lower-paid roles, are really bothered about the fancy stuff!

Here Nicola confirmed that in her experience they were, she explained: “Our colleagues are interested in where we’re going because they can influence it. And I think that’s the key thing about engagement, they recognise that they can contribute to this mission. So, we share everything with our colleagues.

“We talk about our targets, we talk about our profit, we talk about how it’s going. We really want them to be happy, and that’s the driver.”

Taking it all for granted

Moving on to the next question, Gavin asked: ‘Whatever you do, is it all taken for granted? Could one explanation for feeling like no one seems happy or grateful be that they don’t know the ins and outs, because this level of detail has not been shared?

Communication is key

There was a clear consensus of how important communication is, with Nicola reinforcing this from her colleague’s perspective, highlighting that they tell everyone the value of their package, what it costs to the business and what it’s worth.

She added: “Leadership communicates things to the business based on what they want to say. We try really hard to put ourselves into our colleagues’ position and ask what we would want to hear and how that would resonate with us.”

Pay and reward – where to start

Pulling the discussion points back to the businesses in the room, Gavin asked the panel: For those sitting here thinking about pay and reward for their own businesses or how they are going to improve their business, using the themes we’ve been talking about, where do they start?

Nicola explained that from her perspective, the focus would be on providing a real living wage, then considering things that are low-cost but high-impact. She emphasised the importance of listening to colleagues and building your benefits around them. She concluded that benefits should not be based on what you think everybody needs, but on what your people need.

Agreeing with Nicola, Christopher reinforced the importance of communication and that one size does not fit all. He suggested that finding out what your colleagues’ hopes and aspirations are is a good place to start, but that you may find that it is more about training and progression and feeling valued than perks.

Building on what had already been shared, Charlotte emphasised that reframing the language around benefits is very important too.

Final thoughts

What an event! With a great deal to take away, here are some key pointers from our panellists when we consider the perks and pitfalls of rewards and benefits…

1. Each generation has its own individual experience and its own individual desires when it comes to the workplace – understand what those differences are.
2. Get the fundamentals right – colleagues want to feel secure, valued and that they have a purpose.
3. Communicate: Communicate with people in a way that is meaningful to them. This also means speaking the right language, e.g. think ‘power language’ when engaging with the board.
4. Listen! Benefits are about what your colleagues want, not what you think they want!
5. Although a personal approach to benefits can be hard to administer, where possible, do not take a blanket approach. Consider individual circumstances and how you can apply flexibility in a way that works for all levels of responsibility.
6. Generally, people want to get something out of the work that they do, so don’t forget about trust, culture and engagement.

The best feedback

Once again, we received great feedback from our guests, and our panel enjoyed offering their insight to benefit those who had joined us for our latest CPG event.

If you would like to attend the next invite-only CPG session, please register your interest here: CPG Events – Howarths HR