Reward Heads

Case Study: Pay Benchmarking and Reward Framework Design in a Charity

"Fair pay shouldn't be guesswork."

Client

Health support charity with a mix of clinical and non-clinical roles, operating in a highly competitive and cost-constrained talent market.

Solution

Agreed clear reward principles aligned to the organisation's role mix, supported by market benchmarking and a new pay framework to address fairness, affordability, and consistency.

Challenge

Pay was under pressure from multiple angles: competing with the NHS for clinical talent, growing concerns about fairness and consistency, and known pay compression following the removal of an outdated pay spine.

Impact

Improved pay transparency, clearer consistency in pay decisions, and renewed confidence that reward was fair internally and positioned appropriately against the external market.

Context

The organisation employed two distinct populations—clinical and non-clinical—each operating in very different talent markets. Pay concerns were particularly acute for clinical roles, where competition with the NHS made attraction and retention challenging. A previous pay framework had been withdrawn due to cost and compression issues, leaving no clear structure in place to guide decisions.

The Problem

  • Clinical and non-clinical roles competed in different external markets, but without a consistent internal framework.
  • Affordability constraints limited the organisation's ability to match NHS pay.
  • Legacy structures caused compression and were no longer viable.
  • Leaders wanted consistency, transparency, and better cost forecasting.

Which meant:

  • Pay decisions were difficult to justify or explain.
  • Budget planning lacked confidence.
  • The risk of inequity increased.

The Tension

The organisation lacked internal reward expertise and relied on assumptions rather than data. While the Executive Team was aligned on the need for change, cost pressures, funding constraints, and competing priorities created tension. Finance needed control and predictability, while the organisation still had to attract and retain specialist talent.

What Reward Heads did

  • Diagnosed the issue by facilitating an Executive reward workshop to establish shared principles and clarify sources of pain.
  • Designed a bespoke job evaluation and internal levelling framework.
  • Benchmarked roles against relevant external markets to understand true pay positioning.
  • Built job families and pay bands informed by market data and organisational affordability.
  • Supported implementation with a formal reward policy and a People Team technical guide.

Business Impact

  • A clear and agreed reward approach with Executive buy-in; improved cost modelling and forecasting; and confidence that pay decisions were fair, consistent, and evidence-based.

People Impact

  • Clearer career pathways, improved pay transparency, and accessible guidance for managers when handling pay-related questions.

Which resulted in …

A new pay framework that brought consistency across the organisation. Executive leaders could follow the same process when making pay decisions, reducing the risk of isolated or inequitable outcomes and creating a sustainable foundation for future reward decisions.

If this feels familiar …

Many organisations move away from legacy pay structures without putting a robust alternative in place. At Reward Heads, we help organisations cut through complexity and make reward actually work.