At Stairwage, Gérald Darmanin s recent statements calling for employee share ownership to become widespread in companies have not fallen on deaf ears. Indeed, we firmly believe that tomorrow s remuneration will require different models. That s why we re proposing pay-as-you-go. This system enables employees to gain financial flexibility, by accessing payment for part of their hours worked throughout the month.

And as the country slowly gets back to work, against the backdrop of an unprecedented economic crisis, the question of attractiveness for companies arises. When it comes to hiring the talent that will help them regain their competitive edge, salary is a key factor, but in the current sluggish financial climate, it cannot be the decisive factor.

That s why encouraging companies to make use of other compelling remuneration packages, such as employee share ownership (and, of course, proposing the legal simplifications that will facilitate its use) is a quantum leap in thinking. We re encouraging companies - and especially SMEs and ETIs that focus on salaries to the detriment of other benefits - to pay differently.

This is a good opportunity to take a look at these other benefits and provide an overview. Because with budgets at half-mast, it might be in the interest of Human Resources departments in the months to come to give them back their letters of nobility?

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1. Employee share ownership

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Employee share ownership is one of the various forms that employee savings schemes can take. It enables companies to associate their employees with the company s share capital. Employees can acquire shares at a lower cost, in exchange for certain seniority conditions.

In other words, employee shareholders no longer work for "one" company, but for "their" company. In other words, employee shareholders no longer work for "one" company, but for "their" company.

As well as having a vested interest in their company s profits, they also have a say in its governance. At shareholder meetings, they have a say in strategic decisions and orientations.

And the benefits flow both ways. In addition to the boost to employee motivation already mentioned, opening up company capital to employees has other virtues. As the Fédération de l Actionnariat Salarié points out in one of its latest press releases, employees have saved during the confinement period, and making them the investors who will help with the recovery is a strong HR differentiation strategy.

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2. Variable compensation

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Variable remuneration is particularly popular in the sales and marketing professions, but not only there, since it does not systematically reward performance. They are intended to motivate employees by shifting from "task-based" remuneration to "result-based" remuneration.

For example, this may take the form of commission on sales, bonuses based on a personal and/or collective objective, a budget envelope distributed to teams on the basis of a ranking, bonuses linked to working conditions (risk bonuses), family events (birth or marriage...), and so on.

But this category can also include profit-sharing, which is optional or mandatory for companies with more than 50 employees.

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3. Benefits in kind

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No employee is any longer surprised to receive benefits in kind as part of their salary package, since some of these have long been a legal requirement (reimbursement of Pass Navigo, luncheon vouchers, etc.).

While fixed remuneration is often confidential, benefits in kind can be openly displayed in company job advertisements.

They give the company s employer brand an identity and engage the younger generation, who attach great importance to their working environment. Company cars, telephone, sports club memberships, leisure activities, language courses, health insurance, provident schemes, etc. The list goes on. There s a long list of benefits that could potentially encourage a candidate to choose one company over another.

We ve already talked about Belgian cafeteria plans, which allow employees to choose benefits in kind from a pre-selected package. Without increasing salary costs, they motivate employees by offering them benefits that meet their needs as closely as possible. While the legal framework in France does not allow them to be transposed literally, they nevertheless remain an interesting avenue in principle for HR departments.

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4. Training and career management

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It s not often thought of as a remuneration benefit, but that s a mistake, because training and upskilling employees comes at a cost, and attitudes are changing fast on this subject.

We had already seen that employees had taken full advantage of the period of confinement to hone their personal skills... Numerous online course platforms have been made available to them free of charge to acquire new knowledge. And it was not necessarily to perfect their skills in their current position, but to manage their skills needs over the long term that they turned to these platforms.

In other words, the company is no longer trusted to finance training only if it is useful to them, to help them manage their careers. And in a constantly changing world of work, where skills quickly become obsolete, it s true that this is common sense!

The skills and career management policy, if it isn t already, must therefore become a flagship benefit for attracting talent and engaging employees.

The traditional fixed remuneration system has more than ever shown its limits in the face of the unprecedented economic crisis that is beginning to affect the world. To remotivate employees, Human Resources departments are going to have to show flexibility and creativity to shuffle the deck and renew themselves.

And to do so, variable pay and benefits will be a decisive argument and a differentiating employer branding strategy to exploit.