"Companies don't look for people who fulfil their role, but rather people who commit"
21 de July de 2017
21 de July de 2017
The diverse range of salary remuneration policies is no longer merely a routine task within the administrative duties of the human resources sector. Nowadays, they have evolved to become a fundamental part of the company's strategy, the objective of which is to manage the needs of employees, by offering them a comprehensive and suitably remunerated professional career.
On this occasion, the session was run by Francesc González, the General Director of AQPE and a lecturer at EAE, who began the webinar by emphasizing that "if we understand how we are as a workforce of the present and future, we will also understanding how our employment and salary relations should be in terms of remuneration".
We must be aware that jobs are changing. New technologies have gradually been incorporated into the market and their presence is slowly but surely gaining ground. There will be a rise in the number of companies that decide to implement robots within their workforce, to perform repetitive tasks. "Let's be clear that we are not just speaking about jobs such as cashiers or sales clerks. In the world of marketing, a high percentage of Directors will be replaced by machines and robots", explained the presenter.
This whole technological revolution will lead to the creation of new jobs, such as engineers specializing in making body parts, nano-doctors, experts in science ethics, architects and space tour guides. "The thing that all of these future professions have in common is that there is nobody with experience in the fields and, as such, what we will be looking for is competences", added Francesc.
Nowadays, companies that are looking for a candidate have a profile with a very detailed breakdown of competences. Leadership, responsibility, management, communication and interpersonal skills, as well as commitment and ethics, are all required by the perfect candidate. "A different type of workforce is needed. Companies don't look for people who fulfil a role, but rather people who commit", emphasized the lecturer.
Giving a general overview, Francesc González explained the evolution that remuneration systems have undergone, starting with Ford's "Five-dollar day" policy in 1911. "It was a revolutionary policy, because people at the time were earning two dollars per day. In exchange, Ford achieved integration, commitment and productivity from its employees".
Another remuneration system worth highlighting is the one that started to reward the competences acquired by employees, with a salary increase of between 1% and 3% for employees depending on their degree of improvement in terms of their professional competences. "We are now seeing systems in which the salary structure itself rewards, the input, contribution and value of each employee based on these competences", explained the expert.
Over the course of the session, Francesc explained that, when we use the term salary, we cannot simply think in terms of financial remuneration. The concept goes far beyond this narrow definition. A good salary also includes factors such as having a good boss, a professional in charge of ensuring the proper evolution of the employees, who is approachable and has an effective strategic vision. Other factors such as having professional prospects, training opportunities, an innovative working atmosphere and a variety tasks are also some of the many elements that comprise a good salary.
It is important that employees have the capacity to decide how they receive their remuneration. With respect to this issue, there are already many companies that give their employees flexible tax contributions, which involves "the option of exchanging part of their salary in euros for services, such as a nursery, training or public transport, which, as they are paid through the flexible remuneration program, save employees the obligation of the corresponding taxes", said the lecturer.
Francesc highlighted the great importance of a company's strategic objectives, which are not always properly managed. They must be clear and concise, as well as adapting to the needs that arise over time or, in other words, they should not always be the same. The presenter explained that "the employees' incentive system must be aligned with the company's strategy".
To bring the session to a close, the lecturer stated that "there is a constant challenge that companies face to increase this remuneration through salaries. Let's think of the capacity that we have to change things, such as flexibility, recognition and the empowerment of people. All these factors that make of the salary of the people who work with us".
At the end of the session, Francesc González gave a live response to the various questions that arose in relation to the topic in question, with the virtual attendees using the hashtag #EAEConference to put forward their enquiries.