How companies are planning remuneration schemes and rewards post-COVID-19?

The Rewards Summit 2021 themed “Rewards Transformation in the New Now” was held on October 22 by Talentnet – Mercer, with the participation of over 800 business leaders and HR professionals, as well as 12 leading guest speakers from local and global HR fields.

Speakers at The Rewards Summit 2021

The conference focused on presenting the result of the Talentnet-Mercer Total Remuneration Survey 2021 Report (TRS), as well as discussing the trends in rewards, remuneration, as we are experiencing changes in both working model and perspectives on compensation and benefits of employees post-pandemic.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, deputy CEO at Talentnet commented: “The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated businesses to adjust their human resources (HR) policies. Compensation policies will be one of the main competitive advantages for businesses in the New Now. Besides the increase in Vietnamese companies joining the survey, the TRS 2021 Report also indicates many interesting trends in rewards and remuneration strategies. Simultaneously, the webinar also updated the latest regional information, practices and trends to provide a diverse perspective for HR managers."

At the conference, Hoa Nguyen, senior principal of Mercer Surveys and HR Consulting Service, Talentnet Corporation, shared a holistic view on the rewards and remuneration policies of both Vietnamese and global companies in 2021, as well as directions for 2022.

In 2022, 3.4 per cent of multinational companies (MNCs) and 2.2 per cent of Vietnamese companies are expected to maintain the same level of pay rate. The basic salary range at Vietnamese companies is 35 per cent lower than at MNCs. At the specialist level, the highest-paid functions are data analytics, project management, and legal, respectively. At management level, data analytics, treasury service, investment management/asset management are the highest-paid functions.

The performance bonus at MNCs was also expected to be increased from 15.9 per cent (in 2020) to 16.7 per cent (in 2021); while the Vietnamese company was expected to increase the performance bonus from 20.7 per cent (in 2020) to 22.8 per cent (in 2021). The top 3 industries with the highest expected bonus rate in the MNCs group are FS - Non-banking (24.9 per cent), FS - Banking (20.8 per cent), agriculture (19.8 per cent).

At the same time, Hoa also mentioned the recruitment plan of companies in 2022. According to the Talentnet Report, 38 per cent of companies are planning to recruit more personnel, 38 per cent will maintain headcounts, 3 per cent will have layoffs, and 21 per cent do not have a specific recruitment plan.

Furthermore, guest speakers also commented on the changing working environment as well as compensation trends that companies need to consider in order to retain talents, improve employer branding, as well as optimise their budget post-pandemic.

Kulapalee Tobing, regional industry and solutions leader, Asia-Pacific, Mercer Singapore, highlighted the increasing popularity of the hybrid working model in the future. According to the Mercer Survey, 54 per cent of Asia-Pacific companies are in the process of implementing or actively developing a long-term strategy for flexible working. Flexible working is no longer a requirement of companies but will become the choice of employees when they start to ask for more flexible working time.

At the conference, HR experts also pointed out that physical and mental health are the core benefits that companies need to prioritise. Besides, many new benefits were also implemented to adapt to the new situation, such as “emergency nanny”, allowance for employees to choose to work at any location, “plan your own funeral”, and “music to your ears”, among others.

Additionally, the guest speakers also shared about the trend of “skill-based reward and compensation”, requiring companies to adapt their culture and strategy. Kabir Nath, principal of Mercer Singapore, emphasised: “Skill is a future currency. The transformation from job-based to skill-based pay has been implemented eventually to catch up and meet the demands of the market.”

End of the conference, all guest speakers agreed that changing compensation and benefits policies and focusing on mental health, upskilling for employers are necessary for businesses in the New Now.