Market news
The number of hires in the past two years has increased and we are now entering a more buoyant recruitment marketplace. While senior leadership roles remain scarce, activity at reward business partner level is high. It used to be relatively difficult for a reward consultant from a professional services firm to move in-house.
High-profile partners and senior consultants have now made moves into head of reward roles and started hiring their consulting colleagues into these in-house teams, resulting in an in-house consulting model.
Skill sets in demand
Global organisations seek people with experience of developing a global mobility strategy. With more reward professionals operating as highly visible business partners, skills such as influencing, stakeholder management, communication and engagement are now crucial. It’s also important to keep up with governance and regulation.
Analytical, commercial and execution skills are essential, as are numeracy and the ability to be statistically and financially astute, risk aware, systems literate and thorough. Interpersonal skills are highly valued.
The challenges
Global organisations need to create new employment models to support the deployment of international talent, while attracting and retaining the right talent to exploit opportunities in new markets.
Reward plays an active part in innovation. Whether this is supporting businesses that seek creativity or incremental product development, rewards and incentives must align with the goals of the business.
The banking crisis has led to greater scrutiny of reward packages. Increased focus on regulation has placed immense pressure on reward functions – effectively turning reward professionals into compliance officers.
A key concern is how best to communicate information about reward across multiple audiences.