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Remuneration Strategy Building Blocks
​By Mansour Baker, SHRM-CP
Posted 16 April 2019
Revised 31 March 2020
Designing a remuneration strategy is to promote several key objectives:
​Long-term value focus
  • The system should place an emphasis on long-term value creation
  • Measurement and compensation (for key executives) should be tied to overall company performance
  • Executives should not be penalized for strategic long-term investments
​Retention
  • The compensation system should address medium-term retention goals (e.g. next three years) by limiting impact on current compensation
  • Long-term retention should be encouraged through a vesting or deferral mechanism
​Competitiveness
  • The compensation system should adequately reward executives
  • The system should ensure compensation is adequately liquid
​Accountability
  • Target setting and performance measurement must be rigorously enforced
  • Incentive plans must be simple and transparent enough so that employees know how to “win”
​HR Development
  • Compensation system should help develop the ability of employees
  • It should serve as a sorting tool for employees in such a way that everybody takes their most efficient location in the organization
​Compensation model design has implications on culture, talent management and performance.
Culture
  • The compensation system is a central piece in the definition of a company's culture 
  • Compensation structure and features will have a deep influence on:
    • How achievement is recognized 
    • How people are perceived inside the organization 
    • Individual's willingness and propensity to take risks 
    • Working style and cooperation among employees 
    • Overall guidance and perceived objectives 
    • Pride in the organization 
​How will the compensation system shape the company’s culture?
Talent Management
  • Remuneration is an important component to attract and retain the best people – key to ensure a strong pool of talent 
  • The compensation system design will have several impacts for talent management:
    • Adverse selection of employees 
    • Overall churn and rotation of people (both executive and non-executive positions) 
    • Employees' willingness to develop and embrace new challenges 
    • Loss / acquisition of key competences 
    • Training effort
​How will the new system change my talent management policy?
Financial Performance
Financial performance will also be significantly impacted by the compensation model, motivated by:
  • Impact on incentives
  • Changes in culture
  • Talent pool evolution
The way system is designed will have an impact on:
  • Business size and growth rates by business unit
  • Shape of expenses curves
  • Profitability performance
  • Volatility of results
  • Risk measures
  • Stock price short-term and long-term results
  • Dividend policy
​What will be the impacts on financial performance evolution?
​Choice of compensation model with implications on culture:
Individual Recognition / Perception
  • Meritocratic system, where performance is recognized and compensated 
  • Individual effort is highly valued by the company and perceived by the entire structure (top management, peers, etc.) 
  • Main objective is to guarantee an egalitarian compensation system 
  • People are remunerated based on overall business performance, seniority and position – but not individual performance ​
Risk Appetite / Propensity
  • Employees are encouraged to take risks and to achieve great results (losses are only partly penalized, while results are highly compensated)
  • Company aims to be a safe ground for shareholders and employees
  • Each employee is the first safeguard of company's risk policies
  • Part of long-term growth is forfeited at the expense of risk minimization
Working Style and Relationships
  • Promotion of a healthy competition environment, which fosters results and guarantees a continuous development for employees
  • There is a hierarchical tension and pressure for results
  • People are highly incentivized to cooperated and support each other
  • Individual success and compensation are intimately linked with overall performance/ others success
Guidance and Perceived Objectives
  • Creation of shareholder value is the ultimate goal of employees
  • Objectives and compensation are leaned towards shareholder value
  • Employees are centered around a common objective of growing the business and fostering company's long-term results
Pride in the Organization
  • Company regarded as top employer, with better conditions than competition
  • Most people are proud to belong to the company
  • Company seen as good employer, but people have a weak link with the company (low loyalty level)
Exhibit 1
Choice of compensation model with implications on talent management
The 8 elements form the basis of a comprehensive incentive compensation system.
​1. Participating employees
  • Definition of which employees are included in the incentive plan 
2. Mix/weighting of components (shape) 
  • Determination of appropriate mix and weighting of various components of performance included - generally varies by level in the organization
3. Metric selection
  • Specification of how performance will be measured for each component defined in “shape”
4. Target setting
  • Specification of the level of performance required to trigger various levels of payouts (minimum, expected, and stretch performance levels)
5. Period of performance measurement (short-term vs. long-term)
  • Determination of time periods over which performance will be measured and rewarded
6. Range and amount of payouts
  • Definition of payout levels by individual for each targeted level of performance
7. Delivery vehicles 
  • Form of payment (e.g., cash, stock, options) as well as vehicles to translate performance versus targets into amount of payout
8. Rules and exceptions
  • Specific guidelines for treatment of special cases
A number of considerations drive participation in incentive plans
​Impact
  • Degree to which individuals at each level can impact firm performance
​Cost
  • What is the total cost of plan as participation broadens
Affiliation
  • Extent to which senior management wants to build greater affiliation with more junior employees, as well as greater focus on overall business
​Values
  • Senior management values: Degree to which junior employees “share the wealth” or “pay for the downside”
The percentage of variable component strongly influences the degree of compensation variability.
High Fixed Components
​Pool split (illustrative) 
Base salary: 70% 
Annual bonus: 10% or ~2 months 
Long-term comp: 20% 
Advantages 
  • Lower risk of wide swings in compensation levels 
  • Variable compensation still significant 
Disadvantages 
  • Reduces incentives for superior performance 
Moderate Variability
​Pool split (illustrative) 
Base salary: 50% 
Annual bonus: 20% or ~5 mos. 
Long-term comp: 30% 
Advantages 
  • Significant upside created for superior performance 
  • Deferred elements of compensation become strong retention incentives 
Disadvantages 
  • Higher risk for individual executives 
  • Potential demoralization if targets missed 
High Variability
​Pool split (illustrative) 
Base salary: 35% 
Annual bonus: 30% or ~10 mos. 
Long-term comp: 35% 
Advantages 
  • Very strong incentives to meet targets 
  • Superior performance well rewarded 
Disadvantages 
  • Potential demoralization if targets missed 
  • Wide swings possible in compensation levels 
Two key issues need to be addressed when determining the composition of the variable component.
1. What mix of performances are included in each participant’s compensation calculation? 
  • Components included 
  • Weighting of components 
​2. How the components are combined into total performance for each individual?
Time horizon for payments defines the period over which performance is measured and rewarded.
Long-Term Incentives
  • Promote sustained value orientation and value creation by linking short and mid-term compensation for key executives to overall business performance - long term (min. 3 years)
Annual Bonus
  • Achieve short-term improvements by linking annual compensation to selected number of individual goals - short term (1 year)
Base Pay / Benefits
  • Basis to guarantee standard of living and provide for retirement
A number of structures are possible for defining the payout range around the target:
  • Straight line
  • More carrot, less stick
  • More stick, less carrot
  • Threshold
  • Greater variation around the target
Straight line or single “kink” typically used due to simplicity, but other options may work well in specific circumstances. ​More stick, less carrot' approach strongly incentivizes achievement of the target performance level.
Most companies use three primary compensation delivery vehicles: cash, stock and options.
Five Key Considerations:
1. Short vs. long term performance payouts
Cash: Short term
Stock: Long term
Options: Long term
​2. Perceived value vs. cost to company 
Cash: Value is clear. Impacts company earnings.
Stock: Minimal value is set (for mid time frame). Does not impact company earnings
Options: Unlimited upside. Does not impact earnings of company
​3. Value at risk (to recipient) 
Cash: None
Stock: Exposed to company and greater market performance 
Options: Highly exposed to company and market performance
​4. Accounting and tax issues
Cash: Simple
Stock: Mid
Options: Difficult
5. Suitable level of participation
Cash: Lower management
Stock: Mid to senior management
Options: Mid to senior management 
  • Capacity to “hold” 
  • Higher upside 
  • Sufficient base pay  
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