In their latest White Paper “Managing Reward: Why line managers are the vital link“, the Hay Group surveyed 1,186 organisations in 78 countries and found a universality to the importance of the line manager in the success of any reward program.

The research found that the success of any reward scheme was largely determined by its implementation and not by its design. The reward programs with the best return on investment were those where HR and the line managers had worked as a streamlined unit to communicate the value of the rewards, having a positive influence on how the reward scheme was perceived by employees.

Effective communications rely on the relationship that already exists between the line manager and the employee. Many organisations ignore the key role the line manager has to play, limiting the ultimate success of any reward scheme from the very start.

In addition to overlooking the significance of the line manager, the Hay Group found that only 35% of organisations in the survey said they did an effective job of educating and training in the area of reward scheme implementation.

Offering its advice to organisations considering the inplementation of a reward scheme, the Hay Group said;

• Don’t leave it solely to HR
• Use line managers to communicate the value of the reward scheme to employees using exisiting communications channels
• Make sure that HR makes the goals of the reward scheme clear and easily understood
• Ensure that line managers receive thorough training and that a support structure is in place post-launch.