Assignment #5

Bernard Mitchell

Mar 15, 2013

HRM 533

Dr. Jean Gordon

Assignment #5 New and Improved Rewards at Work

1. Determine how innovations in employee benefits can improve the overall competitive compensation strategy of the organization. When you have a very desirable benefits package and you have innovations constantly contributing to making the benefits better it definitely catches the eye of job seekers trying to get a job with a specific employer and also it will help keep employees who are already on board. If a business wants to be competitive when it comes to getting new talent they need to make sure that they are well informed of benefits offered by their competitors as well as new standards in their respective industry when it comes to benefits. This type of mindset will also allow them to keep the already talented associates that they have on board. When you are innovative when it comes to benefits than employees will appreciate the effort and job candidates will be more intrigued to look into your company. In order to stand out amongst the competition you need to make sure that competitive compensation and benefits work hand in hand so that employees feel like they are getting rewarded for being a part of your company, Below are some examples of benefits that employers offer to employees to advance the lives as well as their careers Education Benefit are the benefits from employers that offer assistance to employee who are trying to further their education. This assistance can help can come in the form of tuition reimbursement and discounts that help employees trying to accomplish a secondary education.

 Scholarships some employers may choose to offer scholarships to employees for students who get a certain grade level or certain accomplishment within the company that warrants a student getting additional assistance. These benefits could come in addition to tuition reimbursement. Referral Bonus If an employee refers someone to work for the company and they are hired they may receive some type of additional bonus. This type of bonus is usually contingent on how long the associate being referred lasts with the company. Matching Gift Program This usually deals with charitable contributions that employees receive and how sometimes the company may choose to match or double the contribution that the employee have received. Employee Discounts An employee would be able to save additional money based on where they work at cell phone companies, insurance agencies, and for travel expenses. Examples of these benefits are discounts on cell phone bills as well as accessories due their place of business. Employee Move Program In some cases when employees have work related moving expenses employers will offer moving expenses that will help them move them and their families into a new a home. Also there is a benefit offered by the employer that may help you get a better rate when it comes to employees attempting to buy a home.

Child/Day Care Center

 Flexible Spending Accounts This allows employees to use their incomes to work for them and it is put into an account that can be used for child care. The great part about this is it covers child care and multiple other items needed for family wellness on a pretax basis. Disability Benefits This would include sick leave, short-term disability and long-term disability. Employee Contribution Plans which are employee stock purchase plans, 401 (k) plans and 403 (b) plans? All of these plans will need monitoring and it is not something that can be administered and not followed through. One of the things discussed early in the class was that benefits need to be monitored at all times to ensure that they are being handled properly, and so the company can make sure that they are keeping up with industry standards. If the company falls behind then they may lose out to other employers who operate in their field 2. Explain how innovative benefits could be tied to specific jobs. Innovative benefits could be tied specific jobs according to Allis (2011), going from a detailed job description with specific tasks and rigid instruction to a how to do the work to flexible, diverse work assignment allowing self- regulation, variety and challenge will improve an organization productivity. Companies will need to have innovative benefits the more diverse there company is. If there company is one that is full of changes then they will need a benefit package that is able to be adjusted to reach the employees that they represent. When youre looking at pay levels you need to make sure that the employees and managers pay are in line with other employers and managers working for the company and that

the pay matches what the industry is offering to your competitors. When it comes to getting the best employees you need to make sure the pay that youre offering will catch their interest immediately. In some cases you may be able to get away with less pay if your benefits package is better. This is why benefits are so important when it comes to the grand scheme of a companys success. Job evaluations are an important aspect of knowing when to increase or change pay levels. The level of importance for each position may increase or decrease over time. When positions tend to lose importance lower the company may not get any raises at all or may see layoffs or deduction of pay. Jobs are often ranked alphabeticallyA positions are those on which the companys value depends, B positions are somewhat less important in that they dont deliver as much upside to the company, and C positions are those of least importance in some cases, these are outsourced (The Roles Of Pay Structure and Pay For Performance) It is important to make sure that while an employee is working for the company regardless of what grade they are in the grand scheme of things. Each employee deserves fair treatment and equal benefit opportunities. The only aspect that should differ is the compensation benefits due to the fact that associates are on different pay scales. In order to make sure that your reaching the employees needs as far as benefits you need to make sure you do certain steps such as follows: Familiarity with employee aspirations, needs, and opportunity for advancement. When employees feel that there is a chance for advancement then they tend to strive and work harder to achieve their career goals.

 Employer should conduct customer surveys and hold forums to make sure you are aware of the needs of your employees. If you are unaware of employee needs than you will not be able to assist them properly 3. The reasons that equity based rewards systems are more effective versus those with more creative approach is due to these are rewards systems that are used to inspire their employees to reach new heights (Ruddy, 2007, p.366). Here are some of the approaches to support the effectiveness of equity based rewards. Compensation Stock Options, 401k, and other monetary compensations packages that can lead to increased wealth for the associates of their company. Benefits- These funds consist of employee stock (ESSP), purchase plans, retirement plans; defined contribution plans (DC), employee stock ownership plan (ESOP, and 401(k). When a customer has a stake on the stability of the company they tend to take ownership of what is being done to increase the profitability of the company. Stability plays a major factor on their decisions and it tends to make the associates work harder to achieve their goals as well the goals of the company. The employees can sell their interest in the company when it becomes available and this gives them the opportunity to reach goals outside of the workplace, such as how ownership and money to send their children to school Motivation There is a lot of factors that can go into motivating employees. One of the most obvious is monetary forms of motivation. This is a tool that will never get old and you will see a lot of companies trying this method.

 Creation of Wealth Benefits gain that you get when you associate achieves and obtains wealth Tax advantages. Equity reward program may offer tax advantages to the employee and/or the employer. In some cases, employers may significantly reduce their tax obligations through the use of various equity reward programs. Attraction and retention. When your benefit package has equity based rewards along with other benefits this can attract potential job candidates and keep talent u already have. 4. Discuss the key elements of integrating and innovation into a traditional total rewards program. Because of the equity based rewards system, legislation specifically addressing equit y rewards dates back to the 1920s and has been instrumental in the creation and revision of many programs (Ruddy, 2007, p.371). The equity-based reward system is a very successful rewards system and is used by employers to rewards their workforce for numerous of reasons according to (Ruddy, 2007, p.366, 367): Today there are a lot of equity rewards systems that are replacing the traditional rewards systems. This is something that there is an extreme need for. Below are a few of the economic systems out there.

1950- Revenue Act

1959 The Accounting Principles Board

 1976 Tax Reform Act

1978 401 (k)

1981 Economic Recovery Act

2001 Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA)

2004 American Job Creation Act

5. Recommend a process that optimizes an employee-based suggestion program to continually refresh the total rewards of the organization? The process is one that would attract and retain motivated, talented people who are committed to the organization aspirations and who help us win in the marketplaces. The process would be to add value to our customers by making available a broad range of mission-critical, cost-effective, computerized transaction processing and information services to selected markets on a global basis. The process would include the below: Knowing customer service comes first and foremost

Happy and motivated employees who share the same vision and aspirations as the company they represent

 To offer the correct information at all times is extremely important. The last thing you want is to have two separate parties saying two different things. This will take away the credibility of the company. You want to make sure that youre being fair to all of your associates and take every situation seriously when it comes to a benefit problem. When there is a problem with benefits you need to make sure that there is a chain of command put in place and some rules and guidelines to solve the problem. The way benefit issues are being handled should be put into to the associate handbook so that they know what to expect when a problem arises. The last thing to remember is that you are not going to please everyone and that you must look past certain areas to make sure that you are taking care of the majority of the associate issues. You have to be mindful that is business and that there will be times you may not get approval of the individuals on the first round of your budget. When associate feel empowered on the major benefits they will be more patient when it comes to getting decisions on other benefits. As we learned earlier in class when a benefits program is rushed it can be very detrimental the success of the business. The HR team must always plan for the future when it comes to dealing with benefits. If you have old technology then you will lose future candidates and have others leave looking for a better opportunity.

References

Retrieved on 03/15/2013 from http://www.web-books.com/eLibrary/ON/B0/B58/099MB58.html

Retrieved on 03/16/2013 from http://www.zeromillion.com/business/personnel/employeeproductivity.html

Retrieved on 03/16/2013 from http://www.business.ca.gov/StartaBusiness/AdministeringEmployees/EmployeeBenefits.aspx

Watson, T. (2012). Total Rewards. The Right Time is Right Now. Retrieved on 03/16/2013 from https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:INFeNF5_3aUJ:www.towerswatson.com/assets/pdf/718 4/TowersWatson_Total-Rewards-The-Right-Time-RightNow.pdf+how+to+optimize+an+employee+based+program+to+continue+to+refresh+the+total+rewards &hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESj4Zj8Wui9cQwVYIwbzxIHxDGZ3kswjJo_TdkqU_0enbIAlmt8ght19G 2IIZGMRNHNJgksA9ymWcNFO3IaiO4iaGo36SvevWCxtFFsB7hhEoGAVpuNS3TUboNJw_NZfYhIqeeka&sig =AHIEtbT3BXJrosd5bY8yPihiAeoNivXTcw

Ruddy, A. (2007). The WorkatWork Handbook of Compensation, Benefits of Compensation.