Implementing a total reward strategy in selected South African municipal organisations

Orientation: The role of total rewards in achieving business goals, employee productivity and employee retention cannot be underestimated. A total reward strategy has been linked to the entire employee proposition making it a critical factor in the attraction and retention of talent in organisations.Research purpose: The study focused on investigating the extent to which municipal organisations are implementing total rewards practices.Motivation for the study: The study was motivated by the desire to explore the extent South African municipalities are implementing total rewards as a basis of their reward system and to find out which total reward practices are implemented by municipalities as part of their compensation and reward strategy.Research approach/design and method: The study used an internet-based survey with a questionnaire to assess managers’ perception of total reward strategy and the extent it is implemented in their organisations. A non-list-based random sampling technique was used to draw up a sample of 58 human resources managers from selected municipalities. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the survey.Main findings: The study found out that few of the responding municipalities had implemented the total reward strategy.Practical/managerial implications: Municipalities should re-think their approach to compensation by ensuring that total rewards programmes are developed and implemented.Contribution/value add: The findings contribute to new knowledge that can be used by municipal employers to attract the required talent capable of ensuring effective service delivery, through developing competitive reward strategies that can command high employee satisfaction, loyalty and commitment to the organisation.