Namita Bharadwaj leads Total Rewards, Analytics, and Digital People Experience at Pernod Ricard, enhancing employee experience through technology. With over two decades of experience across Total Rewards, Talent Management, and People Strategy, she has advised diverse industries, including over a decade at Mercer. A recognized speaker on Rewards and Performance.
In an insightful interaction with Women Entrepreneurs Review Magazine, Namita shares her insights on the evolving landscape of Total Rewards in the beverage industry, highlighting key drivers of change, alignment with organizational goals, and the role of women leaders in shaping impactful rewards strategies.
How would you describe the current landscape of Total Rewards in the beverage industry, especially given the shifting economic climate and increased focus on employee well-being & engagement?
With the industry going through its fair share of changing (& ever more demanding) consumer; in the alco-bev industry specifically, the need for product that has lower alcohol content, the younger generation reducing frequency of consumption & at the same time inflation & its impact on the raw materials is causing stress in the ecosystem but also an opportunity for change.
With increased agility in the business, internal ways of working are also seeing significant changes. Our colleagues want to work for organizations which offer choice & agility in their value proposition - responsible rewards, provide tools for overall well-being and what aligns with not their hierarchy but importantly their life stage.
As the Total Rewards leader, the challenge is to constantly balance flexibility with cost-effectiveness, while adhering to core principles like performance and organizational goals. Additionally, both the external regulatory environment & DEI principles which push us in the direction of being more open with matters of compensation & beyond (a la pay transparency), building equity in the way we offer rewards (read equitable not equal) are aspects to continuously consider. Staying ahead in today's dynamic environment—where employee demands, market conditions, and external trends are constantly evolving—demands continuous research and strategic advice to guide critical organizational decisions.
From your experience, what are some key drivers that have propelled the evolution of Total Rewards to take on a more holistic approach?
The main driver in my view, whether we like it or not, is shrinking/tightening budget available on compensation. What this has resulted in is certainly for one to re-examine ways to make the Rupee stretch that much more through focusing on basic principles &organization philosophy as well as look beyond salaries to find focal points in building careers, benefits and well-being amongst others.
The other key driver is that employees are demanding personalized & meaningful benefits ¬not just a tick in the box. To facilitate this, organizations have realized the importance of a consolidated positioning which allows them to leverage their strengths within the TR framework at the same time balancing employee needs & asks. As a result, organizations are looking at their benefits in the light of cost vs. value derived.
The third driver is that parameters like average tenure of employees, demographic mix within the organization has & will continue to change. With the employee-employer relationship changing, leveraging a holistic view is and will be the differentiator in the medium to long term for companies & also what employees are coming to recognize.
Why is it essential to view Total Rewards as an integrated system rather than isolated components? What are the potential pitfalls companies face if they fail to take a holistic approach?
Total Rewards is something akin to a cricket team (or any sports team of your choice) – you have varied players with their expertise who come together for the team to achieve the common goal of victory. Misusing or neglecting any player (reward component) will hinder the team's (organization's) overall performance. Effective strategy requires data-driven decisions.
The old adage to “not putting all your eggs in one basket” holds true when it comes to Total Rewards. Every organization during its journey will see the mix of TR changing (e.g. in the start-up phase, when talent attraction is super important, but cash flow is not high, we see organizations focusing on LTI and the role being more stretched are the key levers & as the company evolves, benefits & well-balanced compensation structure may become more useful), focusing your resources only on one element is bound to create problems of spend & effectiveness.
As Total Rewards programs take time to demonstrate outcomes. immediate pitfalls will be usually financial driven – e.g a continuous higher ask for budgets to drive compensation only.
More medium to long term outcomes will be the organization’s ability to attract the right talent & also be able to retain them for a period of time, consistency of employee experience. For example, a company promoting internal mobility needs comprehensive relocation and support programs.
Inability to communicate the value proposition & that in a customer-friendly way will result in limited participation, understanding &lack of reverse feedback. Therefore use of simple tools like Total Rewards Statements, communicating policies through stories are great to counter this.
Finally, overly complicated programs which either have a long gestation or require extensive handholding or are downright confusing with myriad if-then-elses will rarely work effectively& inadequate or ineffective use of technology is bound to topple the carefully constructed apple cart of TR components.
In today's fast-paced environment, a poorly balanced & poorly communicated rewards package will certainly lead to employee disengagement.
In today’s rapidly changing business environment, why is it crucial for Total Rewards to be aligned with organizational goals? How do you ensure that these goals remain relevant during times of transformation, and is it necessary to stick strictly to the organization’s philosophy when these goals are shifting?
Total Rewards has the unique “power” to help the organization achieve strategic objectives (e.g. linking org goals to employee performance to pay for performance, support transformative events by building flex into programs) as well as help the individual colleague achieve her/his individual objectives (e.g. flexibility of work schedules to mange personal & professional priorities, insurance cover for my dependent siblings rather than a standard family definition).
In changing times, to be able to deliver on the macro µ-outcomes, it’s important that Total Rewards keeps its ears to the ground. Staying true to the fact that philosophy is the guiding principle for any rewards decisions, balancing consistency with adaptability, prioritizing org values are all essential to navigate the downstream impact of change & stay relevant for the employee cohorts. Underpinning all this, will be the ethical considerations of all decisions taken.
As a woman in the Total Rewards and Talent Management space, what unique challenges and opportunities do you see for women leaders in shaping Total Rewards strategies? How can female leaders leverage Total Rewards to empower and elevate other women in the workplace?
As women in this field, many of the issues that Total Rewards & Talent Management is trying to solve for today are those that impact us and therefore makes us very well placed to champion for their solves– be it advocating for equitable compensation, promoting flexible work arrangements, championing career development, mentoring or most critically fostering an inclusive culture; each key priority lends itself to solves that through our or others’ lived experience can help us craft better programs & also bring the strength to see them through.
To be able to have a rewarding career in this area requires a mix of problem understanding, solutioning, understanding &managing stakeholders (who are often senior within the organization) & be able to hold your stand. With everyone within the company thinking they know more about how to compensate people, how to (or how not to) engage colleagues; having a super strong spine is the most important “skill” to possess. What critically will hold you in good stead is knowing the context of the problem/statement and then determining solves for it based on a balanced view of internal & outside-in perspectives. Finally, yes – Total Rewards does need one to have a head for numbers but what is important is to glean what the numbers are telling you & how will that enable the change you want to effect.
