Global enterprise software organisation IFS employs over 5,000 employees in more than 50 countries worldwide. With its total reward approach, it aims to ensure that everyone is paid fairly for their contribution to the organisation’s success which helps to foster a strong team spirit and positive culture.
Kate Bishop, chief human resources officer (CHRO), explains: “Our bonus plan guides everyone’s efforts towards a common objective: maximising group cash earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA), and enabling everyone to share in our success. We can also be agile in the way we reward staff. For example, we have over 2,000 Sri Lanka-based employees and we have implemented an economic relief allowance there that is reviewed and adjusted regularly to factor in inflation.
“We included these employees in a cash share scheme in January, which paid out a significant sum in March when we welcomed a new minority shareholder. Across all our operations, we maintain a flexible hybrid-working model and intend to retain that approach, as we know employees value it.”
This approach has helped IFS to unify its organisational culture across different geographical borders, and also across different working patterns, including hybrid and remote working. The organisation is committed to maintaining a positive environment that fosters diversity in all aspects, from skills and ethnicity to gender equality and sexual orientation, and its total reward approach has helped to support its diversity, equality and inclusivity (DE&I) strategy.
Bishop says: “We have enhanced our parental leave policies and, in the US, are working on the issue of abortion and ensuring that employees have access to the care and support they need for their personal choice, regardless of their choice of state. We listen to our employees through our Heartbeat survey, in which we ask them to tell us what they think and share what ideas they have.”