What’s going on in reward?
17th December 2025
Julia Hanna
As we close out our tenth year, we’ve been taking a step back to look at what’s really going on in the reward world—and what clients tell us they’re prioritising right now. So, we’ve pulled together our top ten “must do’s” for anyone working in reward today.
1. Fairness, transparency & good governance
If there’s one theme that’s everywhere right now, it’s fairness. Between pay-transparency legislation, gender and ethnicity pay gap reporting, and employees demanding clarity, organisations are feeling the pressure to tidy up their pay practices.
Here’s what we’re seeing more and more companies doing:
- Running proper equal-pay audits (gender, ethnicity, contract type, location) and sharing the findings internally.
- Creating a clear reward strategy and pay philosophy—and actually communicating it.
- Introducing transparent job grading frameworks and associated pay structures so people understand where their role sits in the organisation and how pay decisions are made.
- Going beyond the legal minimums with wider pay gap reporting to include ethnicity, disability and other groups.
2. Data, analytics & technology are no longer optional
Reward decisions are becoming more data-driven, and honestly, it’s about time. Clean data and good analytics now underpin decision making.
What does this mean for our clients?
- Getting their HRIS and reward systems properly connected (e.g. linking pay, performance, skills).
- Training HR and reward teams in data literacy (because analytics only work if people understand them).
- Using analytics proactively—spotting risk areas before they become issues.
3. Personalised benefits are the new standard
People want benefits that actually fit their lives—not a one-size-fits-all package.
Personalisation is growing fast through modular benefits so people can mix and match what suits them or using straw-people (early career, remote worker, working parent, etc.) to guide benefit design.
4. Reward that supports wellbeing, purpose & culture
Reward is more than pay—it’s also about experience, purpose and the whole-person.
That often means bringing wellbeing (mental, financial, physical) into the reward conversation, communicating the ways reward supports life outside work, like flexibility or volunteering days and making sure reward links to organisational values.
5. Recognition as a continuous culture
Recognition has really started to shift from “annual ceremony” to “everyday behaviour”. A multigenerational, hybrid workforce expects more frequent, more human recognition.
We’re seeing more peer-to-peer recognition platforms, managers nudged to recognise little wins more often, typically linked to behaviours and values, and tracking of recognition uptake and connecting it to retention and engagement.
6. Communication matters more than ever
Here’s the truth: lots of employees don’t actually understand their reward package. Not because it’s bad—just because it’s not communicated well.
So, organisations are training and coaching managers to talk openly and confidently about pay and benefits and using simpler, clearer communication and multiple channels.
7. Hybrid work & geography are reshaping pay
Hybrid working and regional pay differences are leading to a rethink of old pay structures.
This might involve reviewing regional pay differentials and allowances, clarifying exactly how remote or hybrid working impacts pay, progression and benefits or offering benefits that fit different working patterns, like home-office allowances or commuting support.
8. Skills-based pay is picking up steam
With skill shortages and compressed pay structures, organisations are getting serious about paying for skills, not just roles.
This might be building clear skills frameworks and linking them directly to pay or mapping out career mobility paths that show the financial value of developing new skills
9. ROI & cost efficiency are front and centre
With cost pressures everywhere, organisations want investment in reward to show its value.
This might be defining specific reward KPIs—cost per employee, turnover savings, etc., or rebalancing fixed vs variable pay to stretch budgets further.
10. Embracing of AI
Whether its through automating administrative processes to save time and money, proactive or real time analysis to support decision making, or reshaping reward programmes to reflect the AI era, AI is transforming reward.
A decade in, and reward has never felt more complex—or more exciting. Whether it’s fairness, data, wellbeing or strategy, organisations that invest in smart, transparent, people-centred reward practices will be the ones that thrive.
Here’s to the next ten years and everything still to come.
How we can help
At Verditer, we are specialists in pay and reward, including reward strategy, pay benchmarking and structures, bonus design and pay gap reporting. Do get in touch if you’d like to discuss your requirements.
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