Compensation

Services

	Services
	Compensation
	Sales Effectiveness and Compensation
	Total Reward
	Strategic Reward Consulting
	Executive Reward
Global Share Plans
Employee Share Plans
Long term Incentive Plans
Present Economic Value
Executive Reward Survey
	Market Data & Benchmarking
	Reward Training

Executive Reward Survey (ERS)

Rewarding and motivating your top executives appropriately is essential to ensure they deliver business goals. Remuneration Committees therefore have a vital need for access to accurate and comprehensive market data on remuneration policies and packages. In today’s business environment of intense public scrutiny over how much executives are paid this need is even greater in order to meet corporate governance responsibilities to shareholders.

How can we help?

Watson Wyatt’s Executive Reward Survey (ERS) is a practical reference source for remuneration committee members, chief executives and HR professionals to enable them to determine the appropriate total reward packages for their senior executives.

ERS contains detailed comparison of the key elements of senior executives’ remuneration packages against the market providing a benchmark for your executive remuneration.

The survey also includes extensive commentary and guidance on trends both past and future. This information has been drawn from both the survey data and our own experience as remuneration advisers to a wide range of companies across Europe, the US and Asia-Pacific.

This is a participant-only study, with data available exclusively to companies who have agreed to provide data on their own executives.

Key benefits:

• A ‘live’ database enabled by electronic input via the internet, providing participants with greater access to up-to-date market data.
• Market comparison of individual remuneration packages tailored to individual company requirements against all the ERS participants.
• Data on main board positions, executive and non-executive directors, and their direct reports, business and function heads.
• An interim report of current data at a date convenient to the participant.
• Participant workshops held during the year to discuss trends in the market.
• A customised copy of the annual ERS report published annually.

Content of the survey

Comparative data

Detailed market data on each element of the remuneration package and overall is shown - including basic salary, bonus, share incentives, company cars and pension entitlement.

Watson Wyatt’s proprietary job-sizing methodology, encapsulated in the Global Grading Survey™, is used to benchmark level of basic salary and total compensation, according to corporate size (based on market capitalisation, turnover, number of employees, complexity and the extent of international operations).

Policy and practice

A summary of current trends in executive remuneration is provided, including:

• corporate governance issues.
• structure and terms of reference of remuneration committees.
• inputs used in the pay determination process.
• pay review dates and budgeted plus actual increases.
• developments in notice periods and other terms and conditions.
• non-executive fees and conditions.

Incentives

Details of cash incentives are presented, including performance measures and target payments. Practice on long-term incentives, both cash and share-based is analysed, including recent developments in the regulatory and tax environment. It also covers the design and performance conditions for such plans and share ownership guidelines.

Pensions and benefits

Detailed information on pension practice and valuation is provided along with how companies are dealing with the current trends in this area, such as the move from defined compensation, and increasing legislative intervention. Comprehensive information is also included on practice and benefits to defined contribution for the full range of executive benefits, including life cover and company cars.

Reference data

Background data is included on international economic trends and appropriate reference documents issued by a variety of regulatory bodies, to provide guidance and direction for remuneration committees when dealing with executive remuneration packages.

Why ERS?

ERS is a compendium of the most up-to-date information on all aspects of executive remuneration practice. It combines detailed market data with an analysis on future developments in policies and practices to assist companies and remuneration committees in making informed decisions on the most appropriate means of rewarding, retaining and motivating their key executives.