3 November 2020

Total compensation: a way to reward your employees

people discuss a report in an office; one person points with a pen at a laptop

When an employee chooses to work for a particular company, he or she does so for a variety of reasons. These reasons are not only related to compensation, but also include other elements of vital importance for the employee to come to the same office day after day. All these motivators together are known as the total compensation model.

Table of contents

What is total compensation

La Total compensation It is that (monetary or otherwise) which the company provides to its employees for their time, talent, effort and results. It is composed of two clearly differentiated elements.

  • Economic or financial elements whether direct remuneration such as salary or indirect remuneration such as social benefits and payment in kind.
  • Non-economic or intangible elements: which encompass recognition, flexible working hours, decision-making power and employee career plans, among many other aspects.

What is the importance of total compensation 

Total remuneration must be addressed as the collection of reward elements that an employee receives in exchange for their work. As has been seen, these elements are not limited solely to economic or financial ones, with non-economic and intangible elements playing a crucial role. In this way, the importance of total remuneration lies in how the employee perceives their own work in conjunction. That is to say, it is an element that has a direct link with the Talent retention in companies, which usually translates into a Low staff turnover

In turn, being able to retain talent and achieve low staff turnover is synonymous with greater productivity and efficiency, which translates into higher business profits. 

How to improve the total compensation employees receive for their work

There are various techniques that will help us improve workers' total compensation. To do this, it is necessary to approach this issue from several perspectives, some of them focused on economic elements and others on non-economic ones. 

Fluid communication between employee and human resources

The best way to improve the total compensation an employee receives for their work is by understanding their needs. To achieve this, the best approach is to ask them directly what they need or what aspects of their job they think could be improved. In this way, by conducting surveys and interviews with employees, the strengths and weaknesses of each job can be identified, which will allow for an understanding of the total compensation offered to each employee. 

Flexibility and adaptability

Generally, greater flexibility and adaptability at work implies better total compensation. This is because, as the employee themselves has this flexibility and adaptability, it is they who choose the working method that best suits your needs or lifestyle. Encouraging smart working, flexible hours, and empowering employees with greater decision-making capacity are some ways to implement this increased flexibility and adaptability in the workplace. 

Focusing on social benefits

In addition to wages, the social benefits are another of the economic elements that play a decisive role in the total compensation an employee receives for their work. In this regard, solutions such as Nursery Ticket, Transport Ticket or Ticket Restaurant, among others, help to considerably improve the employee's perception of their work. This translates into higher total compensation which, furthermore, is easy to identify as it is closely linked to concrete and tangible aspects.


Edenred Spain