Factors driving changes to remuneration policies in South Africa

Abstract

This study was conducted in 2012 and replicates Bussin and Huysamen’s (2004) work, conducted in 2003, on remuneration policies. It investigates the factors driving remuneration policy in South Africa and determines whether these factors have changed since 2003. Anonymous e-mail questionnaires were received from 131 senior company representatives. All participating companies were members of the South African Reward Association (SARA) or clients of a large remuneration consulting firm. Data were analysed using a chi-squared test and factor analysis. Results support Bussin and Huysamen’s study, which found that the two main drivers of change in policy were the retention of talented staff and the financial results of the organisation. However, three components of remuneration are receiving greater prominence than they did in 2003: governance in the organisation, merit pay and retention strategies. These findings suggest a greater shareholder expectation that pay should be linked to performance, and that pay acts as a retention strategy for critical staff.