National Deaf Children's Society

In 2023, the National Deaf Children’s Society embarked on an ambitious, multi-year transformation, driven by the ambition to become a truly responsive, innovative and high-performing organisation that delivers for deaf children and their families – and part of this was an impactful new reward and recognition initiative that impressed the PMAs judges for achieving “so much” on a limited budget and having an impact in a short period of time.

The charity recognised that its reward and recognition offer was outdated, with a heavy emphasis on length of service and managerial status rather than on expertise. Staff reported limited opportunity for career or pay progression, and take up of some benefits was low, with many unaware of the rewards on offer.

Only 13 per cent of employees agreed that the pay and progression framework motivated them, with a third feeling they were paid fairly for their skills and experience. Exit interview data indicated growing dissatisfaction with pay, with around half of staff citing it as the main reason for leaving. The performance framework was ineffective, objectives didn’t reflect broader strategic aims and feedback wasn’t a part of the charity’s culture – there was hesitancy to give colleagues growth feedback for fear of reprisal. 

In response, the team held workshops with a management consultancy to review its current approach and seek recommendations, and worked to create a transparent pay, performance and reward framework to complement the charity’s new organisational design, with competence, contribution and agile behaviours as key factors for progression and recognition. 

Subsequent actions included a new pay structure to address challenges around progression and competitiveness, with new grades starting at sector median. Bespoke chapter contribution maps were co-designed with people leaders, complementing pay scales and replacing job descriptions to create a clear progression model, and a culture of continuous and 360-degree feedback was championed. 

The new framework was introduced in April 2024, with the project taking 12 months to complete, and there has since been a 120 per cent rise in feedback and a 25 per cent increase in staff agreeing the organisation provides career development opportunities, with 80 per cent of staff saying they’re proud to work for the charity (6 percentage point increase on previous years). Staff turnover has reduced from 20 per cent to 10 per cent.