Compensation and Benefits Specialist

Experienced compensation and benefits specialists are valuable commodities to large and small businesses as they are key to acquiring, rewarding and retaining high calibre employees.

A desirable candidate will have extensive previous experience in a compensation role, providing them with the ability to effectively judge what an employee should expect to earn relative to their skills and experience. This is essential when ensuring that the employer is not under-paying talented employees who could seek work elsewhere if they receive less than they deserve.

Responsibilities

A compensation and benefits specialist is responsible for the organisation of a business’ compensation program. Throughout the recruitment process a business should be aiming to find candidates with the ability to fulfil the following tasks:

• Calculate employee pay and benefits – they must be able to achieve a middle ground between what the employee believes they deserve and what the employer can afford to administer;
• Industry benchmarking and analysis – they must have an up to date knowledge of competitors’ pay structure and compensation packages;
• The ideal candidate will be able to set out suitable job descriptions and pay structures whilst determining graded incentives, pension schemes and executive compensation.

Industry benchmarking is a particularly desirable skill in a compensation and benefits specialist, as the most talented and sought after employees will expect a benefits package to consist of more than financial rewards. The candidate must be able to determine which employees should receive advantages such as premium gym memberships, life insurance and private health care within their basic package.

Portfolio CBR guides clients in the right direction

Our team recognises that compensation and benefits candidates may not have worked in your specific industry before, or in this role. However, top candidates will possess a range of skills and experience in relevant areas that give them the knowledge and understanding required for a compensation and benefits specialist role.

For instance, the daily responsibilities of a global benefits professional include that of a benefits officer and more. Benefits play an important part in a high calibre employee’s decision process with regards to moving abroad, and it is the responsibility of the global benefits specialist to ensure that their benefits package reflects the commitment they are showing to the company. This means a global benefits employee will bring the following skill set to a business:

• The ability to work with other reward, benefits and compensation teams throughout a business
• Capable of developing benefits packages using benchmarking and salary assessments
• Experienced in implementing benefits packages throughout a department as well as for employees abroad
• Excellent negotiation and numerical skills

As a member of the HR department in the company, it is necessary that any potential candidate for a compensation and benefits role is able to demonstrate excellent people skills and the ability to create cost effective benefits packages while maintaining the key objective – to retain the candidate.

It is also worth considering that dependent on the sector the vacancy is in, the candidate may be required to have a substantial amount of knowledge of that industry.

Expert recruitment guidance

At Portfolio CBR we specialise in helping businesses recruit the right candidate for employee benefits vacancies. We provide in depth knowledge on the criteria a candidate should fulfil and how they will become an asset to your company.

Whether you are looking for a permanent compensation and benefits specialist or compensation, benefits and rewards temps, contact the team at Portfolio CBR on 020 7650 3190 to find out more about our extensive talent pool of candidates.