Developing reward capability by Leigh Harrison

I read an interesting newspaper article recently about a new apartment block overlooking London’s Hyde Park.   This latest Candy brothers’ development is reputed to be the most expensive residential real estate in the world: the penthouse can be yours for a cool £140 million, apparently. 

What differentiates this residence from others in London isn’t just its exclusive Knightsbridge location, but the wealth (quite literally) of facilities it has, including a 21 metre swimming pool, a spa, a cinema, a golfing range and even an underground tunnel linking it to a Michelin-star restaurant next door.  These homes are more than mere luxury flats, built to appeal to the tastes and interests of the mega rich.  Similarly, the requirement to be multi-faceted is one which applies to us reward professionals.  As our working environment becomes more complex, so our skill-set must evolve.  

Our apartment block will always have analytical capabilities at its foundation - the requirement to advise based on data and information interpretation is at the core of our jobs.  However, our technical underpinning holds up many diverse floors:  shareholder consultation; employee engagement and project management to name a few.   While the lift-shaft that connects each floor is communication, i.e. the ability to repackage the detail of something so that it is clear, relevant and meaningful for each audience.  

Just as a property developer looks to maximise the potential of a site, so must we consider how we can build our own capabilities – after all, speculate to accumulate.       

The annual CIPD Reward Management survey is now live until 11 March, please let us know how your organisation manages reward.