1. Managing reward with the
help of computers

2. Employee reward processes can benefit
considerably from the use of computers to
provide administrative support and to assist in
decision making.
Uses for computers are:
 Providing an employee reward database
 Pay review modeling
 Job evaluation, and
 Pay structure

3. Employee reward database:
 The employee reward database allows data
on employees pay, earnings and benefits to
be held , processed and communicated as
information to user.
 The data base consists of systematically
organized and interrelated sets of files.
 It allows for combinations of data to selected
as required by different users.

4. Benefits of database:
Produced listing of employees by job category, job
grade, rate of pay, position in range and size in actual
or percentage terms of the last increase and , if
required, previous individual performance pay
increases.
Generate reports analyzing distribution as a whole,
to assist in managing and auditing the reward
system.
Initiate and print notifications of pay increase and
update the payroll database.
Use electronic mail facilities to transmit data.

5. Limitation:
In using database and distributing data the
personnel function must, however, ensure that the
provisions of the data protection act 1984 are met. If
data are going to be downloaded it will be essential to
control who gets what.

6. Pay review modeling:
General pay reviews require information on the cost of
across the board increases in terms of increases in basic
payroll costs and the knock-on effects of such increases
on the other pay and employment costs performance
pay,pensions,etc.., Alternative scenarios may have to be
modeled to assess the costs of different levels of increase
as under.
a. Central data
b. Departmental data
c. Checking and monitoring
d. Use of spread sheet
e. Software packages

7. a. Central data:
individual pay reviews require information at the centre
on the aggregate costs of the total review. Again “what if
"calculations may be require to estimate the costs of different
levels and distribution of rewards .
Variables for the estimation may include:
Alternative budget costs for the whole organization including
both basic payroll increase and knock-on effects.
The costs of different distributions of award in relations to
alternative distributions of ratings.
The costs of performance related pay increase in relation to
budget.
Different configurations of a pay matrix and the compa-
rations of individuals in each grade.

8. b.Departmental data:
line managers can be provided with programs which enable
them to manipulate the pay data for members of their
department and calculate the costs of alternative distributions
awards within their budgets. The data for these what if
calculations can be downloaded from the central database.
c.Checking and monitoring proposal:
To assist in conducting and monitoring departmental reviews
scatter grams can be produced showing the distribution by
grade of the current rates for example highlighting any
irregularity which may have to be dealt with.

9. d.Use of spreadsheet :
spreadsheets such as lotus 1-2-3 and excel can be used
for pay review modeling. They provide the user with a
worksheet divided into cells, into which can be inserted text,
numbers or formulate. This allows the user to carryout
complex what if analysis and gives the flexibility to make
adjustments in accordance with alternative levels and
distributions of awards and policy changes on budgets or
distributions. Analysis can be saved as a separate file for future
recall when the proposals are approved. Spreadsheets can be
report or graphical form.

10. e.Software package:
Micro- based software packages have been developed to carry-
out the various processes referred to above. Proprietary
software is usually designed as a standard software shell within
there are a number of functions that allow users to customize
the system to meet their own needs.

11. Computer assisted job evaluation:
Computer assisted job evaluation supports job evaluation in two
ways:
It helps with the administration and maintenance of a job
evaluation scheme keeping evaluation records and auditing the
operation of scheme.
It helps with the whole process of evaluating jobs rather than
simply administering the scheme.
Aims of CAJE:
Set-up and maintain a database of job analysis and
evaluations.
Help to achieve consistency in evaluation judgments by
reference to the database of previous evaluations.
Speed-up the process of evaluation.

12. Pay structure modeling:
Software package can be developed which use the output
from a computerized job evaluation exercise as contained
in the database it model alternative grade structure by
reference to the distribution of points scores. The
computer analysis where existing employees would be
placed in the proposed grade structure and produces a
report which assesses the cost of increasing the pay of
those who are under grade following the evaluation up to
the minimum of some other designated point the new
grade.