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Korn Ferry 9th Global Rewards Pulse Survey

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GLOBAL REWARDS PULSE SURVEY
Trends in Rewards Program Strategy and Salary Forecasts for 2024

FOUR KEY TRENDS

impacting the adaptation and evolution of reward programs and salary design for the coming year

  1. A cooling economic and talent acquisition environment has placed more focus on retention and engagement of current talent vs the acquisition of new talent.
  2. Many respondents felt their existing rewards programs weren’t engaging or motivating employees as much as they’d like.
  3. The biggest changes in reward program designs are in job grading, reward communications, and benefits and well‑being.
  4. In most countries, there are lower median planned increases in 2024 compared to 2023, and minimal variation in increases across employee groups

APPROACH TO REWARD STRATEGY

Perceptions of current reward strategies

This is a bar graph depicting the perceptions of current reward strategies where people strongly agree

Light green: Agree

  • Aligned with business goals and objectives: 83%
  • Fair and equitable: 82%
  • Effective: 76%

Medium green: Moderately agree

  • Competitive: 72%
  • Cost-effective: 70%
  • Reinforces our target culture: 69%

Dark green: Agree

  • Engaging and motivating: 67%
  • Understood by employees: 58%

Objectives by importance

Small bubble cloud with relevant sizing for each characteristic. 

01.  Achieving and aligning with business and financial results (largest)

02.  Retention of talent (second largest)

03.  Engagement and motivation of talent (third largest)

04.  Attraction of talent (smallest)

Pullout data point: 61% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the link between their reward program and their organization’s DEI/ESG objectives would increase. 

Viewpoints and involvement

Bounded graphic in, contrasting two stats within it:

75% of respondents cite employee viewpoints as the most important in determining reward strategy, behind leadership.

However,

81% of organizations report zero-to-limited involvement of employees in advising the guidance of reward programs. 

DRIVERS OF CHANGE

Degree of change

Shows an arrow up the middle, with past two years on the left and next two years on the right, showing percentages of change (indicated in middle) in 5 rows listed as No change, Minimal, Moderate, significant, and extreme.

Past 2 years shows 15% no change 34% Minimal 34% Moderate 16% significant 1% extreme.

Next 2 years shows 7% no change 34% Minimal 39% Moderate 19% significant 1% extreme.

59% of organizations report a moderate to extreme degree of change in evolving their reward strategies to meet their ongoing needs.

External factors prompting change in rewards programs

Top line

Roundel/graphic Competitive landscape: 89%

Roundel/graphic Availability/price of talent: 85%

Roundel/graphic Economic environment: 83%

Bottom line

Roundel/graphic Regulatory landscape: 55% 

Roundel/graphic Evolving tech and AI: 42%

Note: Data reflects percentages of respondents who agreed or strongly agreed

Internal factors prompting change in rewards programs

Change in reward strategies is now being primarily driven internally by a need for more direct alignment with business and talent strategy.

Roundel Business strategy and goal alignment: 85%

Roundel Talent strategy alignment: 81%

Then doughnut graphs of Other Internal Factors from left to right, strongly agree/agree, Neither agree/disagree, and disagree/strongly disagree:

Improved communication and transparency: 66% / 28% / 7% 

Change in employee expectations: 62% / 32% / 7%

Change in leader perspectives: 61% / 30% / 9%

Shift in culture: 52% / 33% / 14%

Change in shareholder expectations: 41%/ 43% / 17%

Diverse and inclusive workforce: 62% / 27% / 12%

Most substantive changes in reward program structure

Slider graphs showing Little to No Change / Moderate Change / Significant change for:

  • The job grading/levelling/architecture processes: 45% / 31% / 24%
  • The reward strategy for key segments or subsets of the workforce: 39% / 44% / 17%
  • Reward communications and transparency strategy: 43% / 41% / 16%
  • The linkages between pay and performance: 45% / 50% / 15%
  • Employee benefits and well-being programs: 34% / 52% / 15%
  • The competitiveness philosophy of total rewards: 47% / 40% / 13%

SALARY INCREASE

Approximate percentage of workforce that will receive a salary increase this year

Bar chart, from left (lowest) to right (highest)

Little to no change:

1-24% - 3%

24-49% - 3 %

50% - 2%

70% - 4 % 

Moderate change:

80% - 6%

90% - 11%

Significant change:

96% - 25%

100% - 44%

Country salary increase data for 2024

Median salary forecast increases for employee categories by country

  • 119.5% ARGENTINA
  • 5.9% BRAZIL
  • 4.0% CANADA
  • 5.3% CHILE
  • 10.1% COLOMBIA
  • 6.1% MEXICO
  • 5.0% PERU
  • 4.0% AUSTRALIA
  • 5.1% CHINA
  • 4.0% HONG KONG, CHINA
  • 9.8% INDIA
  • 3.0% JAPAN
  • 5.0% MALAYSIA
  • 3.9% NEW ZEALAND
  • 4.0% SINGAPORE
  • 5.5% CZECH REPUBLIC
  • 20.0% EGYPT
  • 10.0% HUNGARY
  • 10.0 % KAZAKHSAN
  • 7.4 % LITHUANIA
  • 8.0% POLAND
  • 8.4% ROMANIA
  • 6.3% SLOVAKIA
  • 50.0% TURKEY
  • 11.9% UKRAINE
  • 4.1% UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
  • 4.3% BELGIUM
  • 4.0% DENMARK
  • 3.0% FINLAND
  • 4.0% FRANCE
  • 4.2% GERMANY
  • 4.1% GREECE
  • 4.0% IRELAND
  • 4.0% ITALY
  • 4.9% NETHERLANDS
  • 4.3% PORTUGAL
  • 4.0% SPAIN
  • 2.5% SWITZERLAND
  • 4.8% UNITED KINGDOM

ALIGNMENT AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT WILL OFFER A COMPETITIVE EDGE

The results of this survey show that to meet ongoing needs, businesses will need to focus on alignment with business goals and workforce communication when revisiting their approaches to reward. To find out how you can create impact in your business talent strategies, contact us here.

This survey was fielded in October 2023, and reflects responses from 3,983 participants in 124 countries. Survey respondents are typically HR and total rewards professionals, and their organizations cover a broad range of size, geography, and ownership structure.

Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm. We work with our clients to design optimal organization structures, roles, and responsibilities. We help them hire the right people and advise them on how to reward and motivate their workforce while developing professionals as they navigate and advance their careers.

Business advisors. Career makers

Is your rewards program working as hard as it should be?

Is it keeping pace with the market, helping to ensure your organization can attract and retain top talent?

In October 2023, we spoke to more than 4,000 people across 124 companies to find out how different companies are planning to modify their rewards strategy in the coming year. Find out which trends emerged and determine whether your organization’s rewards are set at the right level by reading our 9th Global Rewards Survey report.

Download the full Global Rewards Survey 2024.

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