Singapore – Top compensation and benefits leaders say customised salary packages and transparent compensation policies can help in attracting and retaining talent.

While career development opportunities remains most important, high potentials around the world view compensation packages as the second most important motivator in their jobs, according to a Hewitt survey.

Thus, for employers to keep their workforce job satisfied, compensation plans must be tailor-made accordingly for different talent.

Speaking at a Hewitt conference last week, Edmund Ang, VP of global rewards, Neptune Orient Lines, says that C&B packages cannot be homogeneous because of the various cultural imperatives of operating in various countries.

However, Ang says companies have to focus on keeping up with market equity as employees are a lot savvier due to the availability of market salary surveys on the internet.

“As far as progressive practices concerned, companies just have to be up the mark,” Ang warns. “If not, you are just not going to be able to operate and not get respect from both managers as well as employees.”

Molly Ang, executive director, compensation & benefits, Seagate Technology International, feels transparency in communicating compensation and rewards to employees is equally vital.

She says, “Base regular pay and long term incentives will be introduced to all our employees so we can have greater transparency in terms of what their total compensation is.”

She adds this will help their employees understand what the company is offering to them in terms of total rewards rather then just the compensation element.

However companies should always be prepared for all negotiating possibilities, suggests Tom Farmer, VP, compensation and benefits, InterContinental Hotels Group, Asia Pacific.

“We are always faced with key people leaving and they have offers being very lucrative,” says Farmer. Hence, he says that HR has to plan to react in the right way.

"A little more discipline around the same things but retain flexibility around the appropriate terms and package,” he says.