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Cautions in the variable remuneration program

By October 10th, 2022No Comments
Cautions in the variable remuneration program

When approaching a new organizational policy, it is necessary to be attentive to the details, such as what the variable remuneration program that management must follow.

Companies that want to transform their results and establish themselves ahead of their competitors focus their actions on best practices to optimize their resources and achieve their goals and objectives.

A people management makes sure that processes are carried out in an organized and strategic way. Therefore, a thorough understanding of every detail of the program and its most important points is fundamental to the tool's success.

In this post, you who have already adopted the Variable Remuneration program in your management, but still have some difficulty in implementing it, you will be able to clear up your doubts about the technical details of the variable remuneration policy.

Read our article and learn more about it!

You'll see:

The importance of variable remuneration policy in HR management

The practice of variable remuneration must be fully in balance with the job and salary plan within organizations, which must be very well structured. And for this, the role of management is essential in making the processes viable and reaching employees effectively.

In this scenario, HR must plan the entire process of integration into the VR program based on the revenue made available by the company and also on the interests of the employees.

Investing in valuing professionals and improving the organizational climate also involves taking care of the remuneration system. Therefore, understanding what the best practices would be and adopting an attitude aimed at the growth of the institution should be the initial focus.

With an efficient and dynamic program, HR has the chance to restructure its positions in a hierarchical way, aligning its remuneration with the job market and standing out with a strategic differential through VR and the Positions and Salaries Plan.

In essence, these internal processes help to foster various other advantages for the company, such as: transparency and alignment in its internal and external processes, valuing employees, improving the organizational climate, clarity in defining real and flexible goals, among others.

And finding the right tools to carry out this work requires a lot of research and knowledge on the part of companies. That way, they can decide on the platform that will meet all their objectives and processes.

A management focused on the quality of its deliveries will certainly invest in the well-being of its employees!

Best practices in Variable Remuneration

It's no longer news that organizations are increasingly embracing bonus programs as a way of establishing their strategic edge in the market and also attracting potential new talent.

But what should be discussed about this issue is precisely its efficient implementation. That is, with quality through the care taken in the variable remuneration program so that results can actually be achieved.

Therefore, what is expected of companies that adopt strategic variable remuneration planning are good practices to make the program even more efficient and successful.

That's why we've put together some tips that you can't leave out of your planning. See below!

Learn about the legislation

In order to build a quality VR model, it is above all necessary to pay attention to its legality. In the initial phase of the program, it is essential to emphasize that its entire process must be linked to the requirements of the law in Brazil.

This means that those responsible for implementing the variable remuneration program must delve deeper into this area, in order to define what the legal payment limits are, for example.

Understand each VR model

Another important point of best practice is to understand the particularities of each type of VR, such as: bonuses, commission, PLR and incentive campaigns. Each of these models needs to be very well aligned with the goals and objectives of both the company and the expectations of the employee.

This is because, when there is no clarity on the VR models that will be adopted by the organization, there is the possibility of gross errors and compromised quality results. Since certain types of VR are paid annually and others over a predetermined period, for example.

That's why, throughout the implementation process, it's necessary to prioritize care in the variable remuneration program!

Define the criteria for Variable Remuneration

One issue that should not be overlooked is the definition of the criteria that will be used to pay bonuses. In other words, management needs to clearly design how the process will be implemented.

In this case, the indicators need to be individual and collective, as well as realistic and measurable. Not to mention that the targets must be consistent with the stipulated deadlines, with indicators directly linked to the organization's goals.

In order for management to be able to qualify the team's performance, defined indicators are the means to achieve this, as well as performance and financial indicators.

Encourage adherence to the program with clear and objective communication

It is very important to emphasize that for the program to be successful within companies, HR needs to provide all the support and assistance necessary for employees to achieve their goals and engage satisfactorily.

Therefore, the strategy that should be followed for the disclosure of the variable remuneration policy is to make the processes more transparent and fair. 

And how is this possible? It's possible by bringing clarity to the program, explaining the rules, the criteria the company will follow, who will be able to participate and how everything will be evaluated. 

HR must align the management model that will be followed with the company's culture, and thus also strengthen the company's ties with its employees.

Monitor the entire process and make adjustments

In any program and internal policy that an organization adopts, it is essential that those responsible carry out all the action on an ongoing basis, monitoring progress and identifying possible errors or even whether adjustments are needed.

Strategically, it is necessary to understand how processes are taking place and how employees are receiving the implementation of the VR program. 

For HR, it's important to understand whether employees are really committed to achieving the goals and whether the bonuses are attractive enough to engage the whole team.

In this context, the ideal is to monitor all planning using tools that can optimize and automate processes. In other words, choosing management software that delivers results transparently and automatically is essential!

Use technology to your advantage

Finally, it is important to note that the bonus program is one of the tools that management uses to achieve its goals, engaging and including its employees in the company's objectives.

With that in mind, it's worth mentioning that regardless of the segment or size of the company, the program is efficient. But it's important to say that the project only tends to be even more efficient when carried out properly. 

So imagine a company with more than a thousand employees having to calculate bonuses and monitor the performance evaluation metrics of each employee using spreadsheets or even manually.

It would be a lot of work, wouldn't it?

The conclusion is quite clear: say goodbye to spreadsheets and use specific tools to manage your VR program with quality!

Main mistakes in the variable remuneration program

Cautions in the variable remuneration program

Objectively, can you tell us why many VR programs don't achieve the expected results in companies? 

Perhaps it's true to say that some organizations don't focus on the most basic variable remuneration program and only concentrate on the bottom line, forgetting what should be a priority and falling into common mistakes when implementing their processes.

So that this doesn't happen to your management, in this topic we'll cover some of the main mistakes you should avoid if you want to achieve success in your Variable Remuneration program. Follow along!

Ignoring deadlines

Management must always be on the lookout for what has been planned!

This includes not exceeding the predetermined deadlines for the payment of bonuses. If a target has been set with a deadline of 6 months, it is essential that this deadline is not ignored, precisely so that the opposite effect does not occur and delays end up demotivating employees.

When deadlines are not respected and this type of error becomes frequent, it is very difficult to gain confidence in the program again, and employees tend to believe that everything was a huge waste of time.

Calculating wrong

Mistakes are common, but should be avoided as much as possible, especially within a program whose aim is to encourage and motivate employees through rewards.

There is nothing more damaging to the smooth running of a variable remuneration system than collecting the data and information pertinent to the objectives and targets, calculating the defined percentages and getting the results wrong.

This is because, depending on the case, the error will only be discovered much later, which can lead to a number of setbacks, dissatisfaction and a lot of rework.

To avoid this situation, there is nothing more efficient than using tools that perform the calculations automatically and allow you to access the information in a clear and uncomplicated way.

Meaningless bonuses

Planning the actions that will be implemented to make the bonus program work includes mapping out the possible interests of employees and identifying what makes the most sense for them as a form of reward, for example.

Management must take a strategic approach and define rewards flexibly. There is no way to stipulate that incentives will be given through actions that are not relevant to the employee.

Learn how to define an attractive variable remuneration model for your employees!

Main focus on finance

In order to improve performance and motivate teams, the rewards program should not be focused on the financial, as this can compromise the quality of deliveries and, consequently, the results.

Aligning the company's goals and objectives with those of its employees means understanding that both parties are fundamental to the company's growth. Therefore, it is essential not to lose focus on the process of activities.

Quality deliveries must be the priority!

Offer bonuses only to leaders

Not all companies adopt VR only for leaders and managers, and of course this strategy works. But it's necessary to understand that teams should receive as much encouragement as their leaders.

Being part of the team is also being involved in achieving the objectives, which is why it is vital that employees are paid according to their deliveries.

Attracting talent to the company with Variable Remuneration

Large companies that have already understood the most efficient strategies for attracting and retaining talent are investing in a variable remuneration program, work flexibility, organizational climate and corporate benefits.

Reward strategies, for example, are excellent initiatives for a relevant variable remuneration policy. As a result, there is an increasing number of these actions to promote meaningful experiences for professionals.

Recognition for a job well done can come in many forms, but its purpose and consequence are always the same. The greater the employee's satisfaction, the greater tends to be their commitment and engagement in carrying out their duties.

How the Jano platform can efficiently support your VR program

With the variable remuneration module we make available to our clients, it is essential to always pay attention to the care taken in the variable remuneration program, in order to make the best use of the panels available, monitoring targets, objectives, bonuses, etc.

There is a huge range of possibilities within the tool, as it works with automatic operational processes that allow for the transparency and alignment needed to achieve goals.

For a better understanding, some of the tool's functionalities are:  

  • parameterizationThis is the initial part of the activity, where the user can configure their bonus program in a customizable way. This is because many companies already have their model ready, with all the variables (ranges, target), so it can be included in the tool.
  • auditing, is used by companies to generate complete reports for their own audits. Since the tool facilitates access to the result of the values that generated the bonuses, the ranges of achievement and the weight of this achievement for each employee.
  • Automatic calculation brings greater security to the results and a reduction in the bureaucratic processes of the VR program. This allows for more assertive and uncomplicated financial planning.

This is the only way to develop a quality VR policy with real results! Find out how to develop a variable remuneration in your company with Improvefy.

Co-Founder of Improvefy, professor at FGV and C-Level executive with extensive experience in OKRs and strategic planning.