Ninety One is a FTSE-listed global active investment manager with over £180 billion under management for clients around the world. Its success rests on the expertise of its people, which makes remuneration one of the most consequential processes the firm runs: every award has to be fair, defensible and right first time. For years the annual review depended on dozens of spreadsheets consolidated by hand under tight deadlines. Beyond built Compensation Manager, an Oracle APEX application, to replace them with a single governed system for proposals, modelling, approvals and MI. Several cycles on, the Reward Team describes the impact in their own words.
A Game Changer for the Reward Team
Ninety One has now been using Beyond’s Compensation Manager tool across multiple annual review cycles, and it has proven to be a genuine game changer for our Reward Team. What started as a solution to move us away from cumbersome, error-prone spreadsheets has evolved into a tool that is central to how we run compensation review each year.
Enhanced MI and Modelling Capability
Beyond has continued to develop the tool’s capability, most notably by introducing additional MI and modelling functionality that has given us far greater insight and flexibility during the review process. This has vastly improved the experience for managers and decision makers, who now work with a much clearer, more intuitive interface than the manual spreadsheets of the past.
Shifting Focus to Higher-Value Work
The time our team previously spent cutting and consolidating Excel sheets is now spent on higher-value work — consulting with managers, advising on proposals, and providing meaningful MI to senior leaders. Manual errors have been cut considerably, and we now have robust version control and a clear audit trail throughout the process. Managers are now empowered to own more of the process and spend their time on critical decision making rather than navigating complex spreadsheets.
Reducing Compensation Cycle Time
Overall, the tool has helped us reduce our compensation cycle time by around 15%, roughly 10 days, while giving us far greater confidence in the accuracy and governance of the process.
Looking Ahead
Looking ahead, we’re excited about the next phase of development with Beyond, particularly integration with Oracle HCM, our HR system, which will further streamline our compensation processes and strengthen the connection between our reward and HR data
A Collaborative Partnership
Beyond has remained a highly responsive and collaborative partner throughout, they are excellent at finding solutions to complex problems/requirements and we’re glad to be continuing that partnership as the tool continues to evolve with us.
— Reward Team, Ninety One UK Limited
When remuneration is central to retaining the people who drive your business, the process behind it has to be as robust as the decisions themselves. Compensation Manager gives Ninety One a review that is faster and, more importantly, one the firm can stand behind: consistent, auditable and built on accurate data. Built on Oracle APEX within their existing Oracle estate, it makes the forthcoming Oracle HCM integration a natural next step.
If your reward process still runs on spreadsheets, we’d be happy to talk.