Performance and Reward Management Issues - Essay Example

?Performance and Reward Management The changing business environment of the current times has meant that the organizations have evolved over time. This has also been implicated through the diverse sets of ways under which business domains have been bolstered with the impact of reward policies and practices that are there for the employees’ taking. One must remember the fact that an organization might go to any limits in order to make sure that the performance and reward management attributes are taken care of and hence the employees enjoy the perks that are given to them when they perform at par with their skills and abilities. What is required in this day and age is a vision to set things right and that too in the long run scheme of things. The payroll costs are decreasing and so are the cuts within the performance rewards for the sake of the employees. This is because the payroll costs have meant an extra burden on the organizations and add to that the discussion of the performance rewards is something that is completely out of sync with the understanding that one reaches upon. Therefore, what is deemed as significant here is the reckoning that performance rewards will give in the best mileage if these are handled in a proper and adequate way, and when the organizations understand that the employees are their most prizes resources, and giving them incentives would only mean more and more success at the end of the day. This paper discusses why payroll costs are a burden on the shoulders of the organizations in the current times and how the performance rewards are discerned and measured in the same perspective. The payroll costs within the organizations could be brought down if there is a sense of purpose and collective responsibility within the top management domains to make the same as a possible initiative. What this suggests is the fact that organizations in this day and age are doing their utmost to make sure that the payroll costs are brought under the hammer but what they are forgetting all this while is the understanding that these elements need to be tackled in a proper perspective and with immense foresight. More than anything else, there is a need to set things right which unfortunately the payroll costs and deductions in the same might not fulfill. Therefore, one can deem the same comprehensions to be out of sync because the employees are looking to expand on their salaries through pay raises and the like but what the organizations are looking forward to offering them are totally opposite pay structures (Heyes, 1996). However balancing the two seems like a difficult exercise, and more so when the talk goes out loud regarding the payroll costs being a massive burden on the organizational shoulders. Therefore, much consideration is indeed important towards the relevant domains because the organizations of today are banking direly on the positives that the employees can incorporate within their ranks. The payroll costs are important to have know-how about because these form the essence of an employee’s realms and he would never appreciate if these are cut down for no mistake of his (Poole, 1998). When the payroll costs are thought of as a burden, then the organizations cannot derive much sanity from the related ranks. Hence it is always a good practice to think of these payroll costs in the light of the money spent on the resources which are available at the disposal of the organizations, and it is this arsenal which forms the backbone under the related scenarios. The changing business environment circumstances usually implicate for the discussion on payroll costs coming to the fore. What this suggests is the fact that the payroll costs would be seen as a burden on the shoulders of the organization and that the employees would view the entire ballgame of salaries and pays to be a difficult task for the sake of the organizational top heads. They would find it hard to arrange for their salaries which would eventually mean that the employees would not be happy with their respective working realms. The employees would feel insecure as far as their respective job undertakings. The changing business environments has meant that the employees need to remain very proactive as far as their salary discussions are concerned since now they want to know the ins and outs of the organizational payroll talks (Bach, 2005). They want to know beforehand whether or not their salaries would be increased or if at all there would be any performance rewards waiting for them to take place at the end of the fiscal year. It is a given that there would be immense grudges and negativities within their folds if the same does not take place, which is understandable because those organizations which think twice of payroll costs being a burden on their exchequer would not mind one bit in pulling away the notion of any performance rewards for the sake of their most prized resources, i.e. the employees working day in and day out within the midst of an organization. The negativities could always be done away with when the organizations pave the way for giving out payrolls which are commensurate with the expectations of their employees and workers. The reward policies and practices change over a period of time within the organizations. This is because these reward policies and practices are being followed in a global order of giving raise within salaries and pays to the employees. These are therefore in accordance with the global constructs and much emphasis is paid on such pointers. What is most important here is an understanding that the reward policies and practices shall be for the long term, and will not be drawn back once the organization goes down as far as its progressing realms have come to an end. The reward policies and practices are being undertaken by the human resources management departments within the organizations and it is the pertinent role of the human resources management department to make sure that the employees are given their due in terms of the reward policies and practices because this is a professional need on their part. However, the final mandate for the reward policies and practices are given by the organizational top heads and it is up to these top management domains to decide whether or not they will be giving in the rewards based on performances that the employees have given in over a period of time, and more importantly on an annual basis as is the norm all over the world (Leanord, 1998). The reward policies and practices for the sake of the employees are deemed as pivotal because these form the basis of their success within an annual basis as well as highlight the role of their employees that they have been committing for the last one year. Reward policies and practices must always be dealt with in a strategic way. This is because the reward policies and practices comprise of the immense positives that could be shaped up as and when there is a need to understand the same. There is a dire need to realize that motivation is directly related with these reward policies and practices, and if the motivation has to be upped, the reward policies and practices are required to be re-aligned and re-tweaked all the same. What is even more significant is the fact that motivation or the lack of it can have serious affects on the individuals, and it is about time that the organizations woke up to this understanding. It is necessary that the sooner such understandings are reached upon, the better it would be for the sake of all and sundry, within the aegis of an organization. The problematic links between reward policies and practices come about when the organizations try to balance off the equation related with payroll costs that it is incurring as well as rewarding the employees on a consistent basis. This is a trade-off between giving them their due while also offering them rewards which are in direct proportion to their improved work realms and processes. The trade-off shall always be between how things shape up in the wake of the reward policies and practices, and how the future success of the organization is linked up with the very same ranks. There is significance of having this trade-off in the first place as has been understood with the advent of time. What is most significant here is the reckoning that the reward policies and practices are not there because of the payroll issues but these are made apparent due to their respective work ethos, the hard work that they have done and the amount of work which has been incorporated by the employees over a period of time, say about an year or so. Therefore proper consideration needs to be paid towards the fact that the reward policies and practices for the sake of the employees are based on the logic of doing something worthwhile and that too for the overall wellness of the organizational climate and indeed the employees in the long run. The problematic links come up because no one expects the organization to pull out as per the reward policies and practices which are meant for the sake of the employees (Armstrong, 2010). Giving the employees their due in terms of payrolls is one thing but making it look like a burden by doing away the notion of the reward policies and practices is a totally different matter altogether, and one that merits due significance within the related settings of reward policies and practices. The corporate goals and plans could change drastically if the employee reward policies and practices are not adhered to in the most apt sense. What this will imply is that the employees are not being given their due and that there are serious impediments in the delivery of work processes and tasks and more so within the conformance levels of the employees as per the organizational objectives in the long run (Torrington, 2006). The corporate goals and plans might entail of the fact that the employees need to sustain what they are receiving at a point in time as per their payrolls and salaries. This could also mean that the objectives of the organizations might alter if it feels that the employees are being hard done by and that if the inflationary rates have arisen markedly over a period of time. However the latter seldom occurs and the end result is in the form of more and more problems for the employees who feel that they are not being given their due as far as the reward policies and practices are concerned (Neathey, 1994). Therefore the corporate goals and objectives must be set in accordance with the wishes and requirements of the employees as well since they are the ones who bring in pure value for the sake of the organizations and it is because of them that the organizations are working to good effect in entirety. These are important matters which need to be comprehended in due course of time because these form the basis of immense success for not only the organizations but also for the sake of the employees who are giving in their best time and time again. How the reward policies are different from the practices which are taking place within different organizations is something that needs to be understood within the thick of things. This is because there is always the dire understanding that the organizational top heads must reach of the reward practices which for some reason have been at a halt or the organizational top heads are simply unwilling to give it to the employees. There could be reasons that are best known to such top management realms but then again there are understandings which need to be drawn upon with the passage of time, and which have a direct bearing on the end results and objectives of the organizations in the long run scheme of things. The reward policies are such that these must be instituted upon with a sense of purpose to give the employees something of value so that they can draw upon confidence and support from the organizations that they work for. In essence, this is an important undertaking but one that needs to come about from the top most ranks, however not much success can be envisaged if there are certain problems lingering within the organizational payroll costs and the related attachments which have come to the fore (Heery, 1996). The current and emergent practices within the organizational payrolls are such that the employees are given annual bonuses and rewards so that the organizations can weigh off the extra burden that they have to balance for their own selves. This means that most of the organizations look forward to giving the pay raises and advancements in salaries after every year while still there are some of them which do not believe in the related dictum at all. Then again, there are some companies which have a more positive outlook regarding the reward policies and for that they are ready and willing to give half yearly bonuses and in some cases, even quarterly rewards are the order of the day. These understandings are reached upon with the comprehension that the organizations are finding out more and more reasons to cut back on the payroll costs but it does not warrant for other organizations which are always proactive at giving more, even at the expense of problems in funding and budgetary issues. How these organizations balance off these equations is something that proves to be an exercise which needs a lot of work and re-work so that the end results are based on solid know-how and understanding of the organizational vision and long term objectives. The grade and pay structures within the companies of present times are being dealt with the varied job levels and the requirements that come attached with them. What this has meant that the job evaluation patterns are read upon in detail and then the grades and pay structures are found out after that. The formula for success within the reward policies and the lining up of the practices under the same realms are given a boost through the different training programs, seminars and workshops, all of which dictate the basis of attaining better pays and salaries by putting in the best motivational levels as far as work undertakings are concerned. What this means is the fact that the work basis will be given tremendous amounts of confidence if reward policies are in line with the changing needs of the time, and if there are adequate levels of payroll advances given to the employees every now and then (Kessler, 1994). The formula for success is indeed through telling the employees what the management asks from them. If the management believes in the employees to put in their best to achieve a certain sum of money as a reward at the end of a specified time period, then this is something that the employees would believe as a reasonable clause within their working standards. However if the organizations spell out incentives in the form of reward programs and the like after a certain period of time, then this should also be followed to the hilt. When the organizations do not fulfill on their promises, then is the time that the entire ballgame of reward policies and the like come to a standstill, and there is experienced a great amount of resentment on the part of the employees. In essence, the training programs would mean success pointers for the organization because the reward policies and practices are the order of the day as far as motivating the employees are concerned. If they are motivated, they will produce sound results, and the lack of this would mean immense problems under the same aegis. Motivation is the key behind the reward policies and practices which are given out by the organizations and which shall solve the issues that mar the employees’ domains. It is a fact that if the employees are motivated, then they will be able to give in their very best, otherwise there would be immense issues that will come to the fore that are of far-reaching conclusions and consequences. The need is to remain one step ahead of the motivational issues and problems that hinder the smooth working ideologies of the employees, and manifest a basis of growth and development that has not been known of in the past, within the circles of the management discussions. In the end, it would be fitting to state that the distance between the reward policies and practices is a small one if the top management domains understand the very same. However, what must be comprehended in due course of time is the fact that the organizations are willing to give in their best and be the cornerstone of the employees’ success realms more often than not. This will build solid camaraderie amongst the employees and the top heads that rule the roost within any organization in this day and age. The ‘new pay’ concept which was developed by Lawler in 1990 is something that comes out in the open as far as the cutting down of payroll costs and reward policies of employees are concerned (Lawler, 2000). What remains to be seen within any organization is the vision the comes about in the wake of the lingering payroll issues and whether or not the top management domains are doing their bit to safeguard the growing and expanding needs and desires of their employees. All said and done, these discussions have centered on the premise of bringing about a solid linkage between the employees and their top management domains so that the reward policies are ensured without any hiccups and are thus implemented, the sooner the better it will be. Bibliography Armstrong, M., 2010. Armstrong’s Handbook of Reward Management Practice (3rd Edition-2010), Chaps 16-18 Bach, S., 2005. Managing human resources: personnel management in transition. 4th ed., Oxford: Blackwell Heery, E., 1996. Risk, representation and the new pay. Personnel Review, 25(6), p54-65 Heyes, J., 1996. A formula for success? Training, reward and commitment in a chemical plant. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 34(3) Kessler, I., 1994. Performance related pay: contrasting approaches. Industrial Relations Journal, 25(2) pp.122–135 Lawler, E., 2000. Rewarding Excellence – Pay Strategies for the New Economy. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, Chap 11 Leanord, J., 1998. Executive Pay and Performance Neathey, F., 1994. Job Evaluation in the 1990s. London: Industrial Relations Services Poole, M., 1998. Human Resource Management and the Theory of Rewards: Evidence from a National Survey. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 36(2), p227-247 Torrington, D., 2006. Human Resource Management, 7th ed. Prentice Hall Europe: Hertfordshire, Chap 27 Read More