Retaining Employees Through Compensation Benchmarking

Our Client, a leader in the FMCG space, was faced with the challenge of attracting and retaining suitable talent. Exit interviews conducted by the HR team confirmed that employees considered other opportunities primarily because of better compensation structures available at competitor organisations. We were approached as their exclusive partner in talent management and executive search.

Given the problem, we initiated a comprehensive compensation benchmarking exercise to determine market rates for employees at all levels across the organization. We worked with the Client Human Resources team to identify a suitable comparator basket and collected compensation related data from 15 competitors to cover all roles identified for the exercise. Due care was taken to ensure that roles were mapped to ensure similar size and complexity to make like for like comparisons.

The process included information on all aspects of remuneration, i.e. fixed salary, variable pay, and benefits. Armed with the data, we prepared individual comparison tables for each key role, with comparisons to the market. Our detailed recommendations allowed the Client to align salary levels, variable pay components, and benefits with the market, thus creating a cohesive C&B Strategy.

The renewed compensation structures allowed the client to reverse the talent drain and aided them through the recruitment cycle in attracting and retaining talent, thus delivering a positive impact on business performance.