How to Communicate Total Rewards to Employees

Retaining talent remains a significant challenge for employers in a post-pandemic world – specifically those who employ frontline workers.

Over the past few years, industries have undergone significant transformations, making it clear that offering competitive wages alone is no longer sufficient in the eyes of employees. It’s no longer just about the amount of money employees can earn at their work. It’s about a holistic well-being and feeling supported by their employers.

The fact is that prioritizing employee happiness is more important than ever. Did you know that, according to Gallup Research, half of U.S. employees are currently looking for new jobs? That’s a significant statistic for employers to reckon with – and for industries that already face high turnover rates such as frontline workers, it’s even more of a challenge.

via Gallup Research

One way that employers of frontline workers tackle this challenge is to provide a total rewards program to employees. These types of programs take the entire employee experience into consideration and help them in all facets of life. For instance, in addition to providing easy access to paychecks through nontraditional means such as Earned Wage Advance, employers may also provide mentorship, childcare benefits, or other stipends.

Understanding Total Rewards

Before we go further, let’s break down what exactly a total rewards program is for employees. In order to communicate total rewards effectively, employers must have a holistic understanding of the concept. Total rewards encompass a wide array of elements. This broad spectrum of offerings caters to the diverse needs of the frontline workforce.

Total rewards includes the following:

• Monetary Rewards: Think beyond wages, and provide monetary offerings such as stipends or reimbursements for things such as gas reimbursements, childcare benefits, mobile phone stipends, and more. These types of benefits help workers think about their own budgeting, as well.

• Work-Life Balance: Flexible scheduling is an effective way to separate your business from others because traditionally employers in the frontline space are rigid with their hour offerings. You can help employees balance their everyday challenges with benefits such as pet care perks, gym memberships, vacation stipends, and wellness incentives.

• Professional Development: Workers with a sense of opportunity and growth at their jobs are much more likely to produce better work. In fact, the Harvard Business Review points out that employees who get professional development opportunities are 15% more engaged and have a 34% higher retention than those who don’t. Remember, engaged employees have higher well-being and higher productivity.

• Recognition and Appreciation: Positive feedback breeds positive work. You might be surprised how far a compliment can go. It helps empower workers and encourages them to work towards larger team goals.

Although focused on the employee, it’s important to remember that total rewards can significantly benefit employers. Juice’s FinTech comes with zero admin or SaaS costs. The right kind of program can increase employee and client engagement and retention while improving employee livelihoods without costly pay increases.

Employer Challenges in Communicating Total Rewards

However, sometimes successful communication of total rewards can be difficult to achieve. The frontline work environment is fast-paced and chaotic – an environment where it’s easy to misunderstand one another. Employers face challenges such as:

• Misconceptions About Compensation vs. Fringe Benefits or Employee Perks
• Complexities in Various Total Reward Offerings
• Ensuring Clarity and Transparency

Best Practices for Effective Communication

Stay ahead of any confusing communication challenges by creating a plan to ensure your frontline workers know the benefits your business offers. After all, what is the point of offering a total rewards program to your workforce, if they don’t even understand it.

Here, we offer some best practices for communicating total rewards to employees, ensuring workers have a complete understanding of what their jobs offer beyond compensation.

1. Transparency: Begin by being transparent about what the total rewards package truly covers. Employees should have a clear understanding of the benefits they are entitled to. Encouraging your employees to know this information demonstrates trust, fosters loyalty, and breeds respect. They know you’re not hiding anything.
2. Utilize Multiple Communication Channels: Multiple communication channels provide an opportunity to make sure your workers know exactly what your workplace offers. This can be done through written forms such as emails, handbooks, or newsletters. Furthermore, advanced tech – such as total rewards portals and mobile apps like Juice – can provide accessible and convenient communication methods.
3. Schedule Regular Updates: Communicating total rewards to employees keeps them updated through regular updates they can count on. Effective communication is an ongoing process, ensuring employees are well-informed at all times.
4. Encourage Feedback and Questions: Create an environment in which workers feel encouraged to ask questions and provide feedback regarding communication methods. An open channel for employee engagement is vital for making total rewards more meaningful. If you’re not listening to your workers or fostering an environment where they feel empowered to speak their mind, you’re limiting the potential of your organization. Workers who feel heard feel more invested in the overall business.
5. Leverage Financial Technology: Modern FinTech solutions have revolutionized the way total rewards are provided to employees. Reloadable pay cards, like the ones offered by Juice, provide an integrated solution for delivering wages and benefits. Juice rewards and expense cards can help further provide rewards and stipends.

Communicating Total Rewards Programs to Employees Helps Unleash Your Full Potential

Finding business success demands thinking beyond revenue generation. Employers must approach their workforce’s well-being holistically. A total rewards program provides a framework for achieving exactly that. Adopting a comprehensive approach helps ensure your business is attractive to workers.

Modern technology – such as reloadable paycards – offers an innovative way to value employees and their wants and needs. Further, the convenience of this technology allows employees to have immediate access to their wages and benefits in one place. It’s simple, easy, and helpful. Plus, this comprehensive approach fosters an environment where employees feel valued, supported, and encouraged. The future of employee well-being lies in thinking beyond financial rewards and placing the focus on a 360 support system.

Learn more about how Juice Financial can support your workforce in this endeavor!