Free Essay

Compensation & Benefits

In:

Submitted By brandyjefferson
Words 621
Pages 3
HRM 430 Compensation & Benefits
Devry University

Compensation Definition
Compensation is defined as the amount of total monetary and non-monetary pay to an employee from an employer in return for work performed as directed in the job description (Heathfield). Compensation can also be thought of as direct financial compensation, indirect financial compensation, and non-financial compensation. Compensation is the reason why millions of people go to work every day. Some forms of monetary compensation can include payments such as profit sharing, bonuses, overtime pay, sales commissions, and checks. Then there are the forms of non-monetary compensation that could include things like a company-car or a company-paid house. For example, in the military we have company-paid housing. Some people might not think of the military as a company but many companies have modeled their staffing just like ours and we have forms of monetary and non-monetary compensation as well.

Overview of Compensation Philosophy A good compensation philosophy shows an employers’ commitment to how much it values its employees. It gives employees something to reference when talking about pay during any type of negotiations. Its purpose is to attract the best candidates and to motive and retain its current employees. In order to ensure that a company can attract, retain, and motivate its employees it compensation plan must contain the following components: base pay, incentive pay, and benefits. A good compensation philosophy will contain a mixture of all three of these components. A compensation philosophy should also be in line with the size of an organization.

Critical Components of a Compensation Strategy
A compensation strategy is an important statement and it defines the position of the company on the job market. The compensation strategy sets the tone and rules for the compensation and benefits packages in the organization. The compensation strategy comes from the HRM strategy. These two strategies must be fully united. When preparing you compensation strategy the critical components that should be considered include: salary & wages, bonuses, long term incentives, life/disability insurance, retirement plans, time off & flexible schedules, and other forms of miscellaneous compensation. It may seem simple of enough to put together a compensation strategy but if it is not well thought out a lot of money could be spent and the organization may not have funds to provide all those types of compensation. Building a well thought out compensation strategy and compensation package is critical to recruiting and retaining employees.

Example of an Effective Compensation Practice/Policy While there are several compensation plans to choose from, a total compensation philosophy would remind employees that their compensation includes more than just their base pay. An effective compensation practice would be to tailor the plan to the organizations culture and values. I t would also combine compensation with the organizations vision, mission, and strategy. Another good practice would be to reward employees for their skills and behaviors. Changes can be made to the culture and the environment of the company by using compensation. A good example of this type of compensation program would be the Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft has been recognized as one of the leading companies for having one of the strongest compensation and benefits packages in the country. They offer competitive pay, bonuses, and stock awards to eligible employees based on individual performance (Perks & Benefits, 2012). Rewarding employees through compensation can make those changes permanent. Finally, rewarding individuals and groups should be a company-wide mission.

References

Perks & Benefits. (2012, November 17). Retrieved from Microsoft Careers United States: http://careers.microsoft.com/careers/en/us/benefits.aspx
Heathfield, S. M. (n.d.). Compensation. Retrieved from About.Com Human Resources: http://humanresources.about.com/od/glossaryc/g/compensation.htm

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Compensation and Benefits

... | |Compensation and Benefits | |Human Resource Management Coures | | Employee compensation and benefits are critical factors in the new hire acceptance process and in employee retention. Firms must develop and offer exceptional compensation and benefit programs to attract and retain the best and most talented employees while making them feel proud, valued, and as appreciated members of the organization. An organization’s fundamental purpose and objective of compensation is to provide appropriate and equitable rewards to employees at a level that matches their skills, abilities, and contributions to the organization (DeNisi, Angelo S., Griffin, Ricky W. 2008, p. 284, para.1). Compensation is the human resource management function that deals with every type of reward that individuals receive in return for performing work – including financial and nonfinancial rewards. Financial rewards include direct payments (e.g. salary) plus indirect payments in the form of employee benefits. Nonfinancial rewards include everything in a work environment that enhances a worker’s sense of self-respect and esteem by others (Cascio, 2006, p.418, para. 1). Direct compensation is an employee’s base...

Words: 1684 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Compensation and Benefits

...Sentara Healthcare Benefits Packages Rodger Walker, Student # 4121227 American Military University Professor Jennifer Halsey Compensation and Benefits (HRMT 412) 06/22/12 Introduction I chose to use Sentara Healthcare as my subject organization for this paper. Sentara Healthcare is an acknowledged leader in patient safety and quality innovation. Founded in 1888 as the Retreat for the Sick in Norfolk, Virginia, Sentara has ranked for more than a decade among the nation's top integrated healthcare systems by Modern Healthcare magazine and is the number one most integrated health care system for the last two years (Sentara). Sentara, a not-for-profit health system, operates more than 100 sites of care serving residents across Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. The system is comprised of 10 acute care hospitals, including seven in Hampton Roads, one in Northern Virginia, nursing and assisted-living centers, a 3,680-provider medical staff, and three medical groups with 618 providers. Another reason I chose Sentara Healthcare for my subject is that the organization offers one of the most diverse and comprehensive benefits packages I have ever seen. Body Sentara offers a Flexible Benefit Plan (FBP) that allows employees to choose from numerous grouped plan options, or employees can pick and choose individual benefits. Employees have the option of choosing health coverage including medical insurance, dental insurance, or vision insurance. For other health...

Words: 1871 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Compensation and Benefits Plan

...Compensation and Benefits Plan Compensation and benefits curriculum have a considerable amount of influence in a business’ capability to allure and retain workforce. Understanding the company’s goals, attracting experience candidates, and reward the existing employees will expand benefits and compensations to fit the potential position and work environment. By built on a strong working characteristic, respected core benefits package with insurance, and superior compensations Freeley & Driscoll can expand and fill a new position more effectively. In response to Feeley & Driscoll, P.C.’s (the “Company”) operational goal of 10 percent annual revenue growth, a market development and expansion manager position will be created to lead the Company’s expansion into new markets beyond the New England demographic. In order to attract experienced candidates for the position, the compensation and benefits package must include a variety of options to meet the needs of the employee. At the same time, the proposed package should reflect the Company’s expectations for the position, utilizing a combination of fixed and performance-based compensation, and benefits to ensure the candidate is thoroughly invested in the Company’s success. Since its inception, the Company has built its success through the hard work and dedication of its employees. As a result, the Company has rewarded its employees with the highest salaries in its industry and region. The Company believes a mutually beneficial...

Words: 1756 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Compensation & Benefit Strategies

...Compensation & Benefit Strategies Compensation and Benefit Strategies In today’s world, assigning a right compensation for a right job position and matching it with individual’s expectation has become a challenging task. For large scale organizations, defining compensations and benefits is even harder and border challenge. In this case organizations need to consider various demographic factors prior to defining favorable compensation strategy. Any compensation strategy applicable in given organization cannot be matched with similar job functions in other organizations or in other regions for same organization. A constant review of compensation and benefits strategy is needed with various benchmarks to attract right talent. Organizational long term strategies, span of organization, hierarchical structure, policies and future internal expansion in organization determines overall pay scales and promotions. For a large organization as referred in video ("Atwood and Allen," 2014) which is already having multinational presence and looking forward to expand further in various demographic regions, needs to consider various factors to fulfill organizational strategies. Attracting right talent, retaining existing talent and improving upon existing talent of employees are some major challenges faced by all such types of organizations. For such organization with its multinational existence I will choose a multinational based compensation plan which will account for regional...

Words: 1074 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Compensation and Benefit Plan

...Compensation and Benefits Plan Based on the job analysis performed previously by Team B for the program manager position, the success of the new engine program would bring in a big jump in sales for the company. Thus, the program manager position is important to ensure a quality completion of the program. Keys to successful compensation and benefits plan are to provide fair compensation to attract and retain employees and to align with the company’s strategic goals. The proposal for the compensation and benefit plan for the program manager is competitively based on U.S. national averages in aerospace industry, company size, education, and experience. The base salary range is formulated by using the Formal Salary Structures (Culpepper and Associates, 2010). They are consistent with aerospace industry standards. The proposed base salary range is between 25% -75% companies offer in accordance to Salary.com. The plan includes benefits that are consistent with company budgeting plan and strategic plan. The compensation and benefit plan is as followings. Salary: The base salary shall be in the range $126, 396 - $154,343. The salary range shall reflect an employee’s work experience, education, and skills as a mid-level program manager. The range is corresponding to the company’s pay grade PM-9 to PM-12. Annually, management will review the employee’s overall individual performance and job responsibilities to make any salary adjustments as necessary. Benefits: All employees are...

Words: 1276 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Compensation and Benefit Recommendation

...Compensation and Benefits recommendation Learning Team C Luis Heredia Alberto Cuen Ramon Castillo HRM-531 March 26th, 2014 Claudia Camacho   A market evaluation and analysis conducted using common available internet sources for the compensation that a Limousine service company should offer in the Austin, TX area for the limousine driver’s job compensation package in order to stay competitive in its local area is described in the following paragraphs: Employee compensation is composed of two parts: Cash compensation is the direct pay provided by employers for work performed. Cash compensation has two elements: base pay and pay contingent on performance (e.g., merit increases, incentive pay, bonuses, gain sharing, and tips). Fringe compensation refers to Employee Benefits programs. Fringe compensation is also broken-down into two parts: mandatory programs (Social Security, workers’ compensation, etc.) and discretionary programs (health benefits, life insurance benefits, pension plans, paid time off, tuition reimbursement). According to the bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor (2014) website, the median annual wage for taxi drivers and chauffeurs in the state of Texas was $22,820 in May 2012. Adjusting for an annual 4 percent inflation rate during the years 2013 and 2014 the cost of living adjustment to the median annual wage should be around $24680. Our recommendation for now is to create a market match wage policy, in which...

Words: 1431 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Compensation and Benefits Plan

...Compensation and Benefits Plans In week three, the team openly discussed evaluating pay and incentive systems, as well as, direct and indirect compensation topics in their related fields. Feedback revealed two out of the three members believed compensation to be relatively equitable. Working for a publicly traded organization, one member wondered why stock options were not included in her current compensation package. Understanding effective merit-pay systems and what they entail made her realize that stock options are generally offered as incentives to executive level managers who are responsible for achieving a company’s long-term strategic goals. However, the chapter also illustrates smaller firms do offer employee stock-ownership plans (ESOPs) as an additional benefit. She has decided to investigate the issue further. The team’s reflection on an employee’s general attitude toward benefit packages concluded that employees differ in his or her preference for choosing benefit plans characterized as defined-benefit, defined-contribution, and cash-balance plans. Allowing employees the flexibility to select a plan most compatible to his or her individual need benefits both the employer and employee, resulting in greater job satisfaction, employee retention, and costs control. Additionally, the team discovered employees often misunderstand the benefits package offered and fail to take full advantage of its perks. The members agree that employees should take a proactive...

Words: 367 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Compensation and Benefit Strategies

...Compensation and Benefit Strategies HRM/531 Compensation and Benefit Strategies In the development of a compensation and benefit strategy for Clapton Commercial Construction, the Atwood and Allen Consulting firm will research multiple factors, and provide a comprehensive recommendation proposal to the firm. The proposal includes the development of clear job descriptions and employee performance plans, a local market evaluation, market position, performance incentives, and laws pertaining to Arizona compensation, as the construction company is expanding the operation in the near future. The Clapton Company requests the recommendations allow the company to remain comparable to other Arizona construction firms and meet the parameters of their annual net revenue of $10,000,000. The primary goal of the package is to provide a fair yet competitive pay structure to employees while maintaining the financial standing of the firm. Market Evaluation With more than 35 billion dollars in post-bid commercial construction projects currently underway in Arizona, the construction market is likely to continue to remain quite competitive (Reed Construction Data, 2013). “Nationwide, the construction industry stood at 5.83 million workers in October, up 3.3 percent year-over-year. That also was up by 11,000 from September, marking the fifth consecutive month of job gains, making the industry competitive at best” (Hansen, 2013, p. 1). Although the market is robust in the state, Arizona...

Words: 592 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Compensation and Benefit for Landslide-Limousine

...Compensation and Benefits Strategies Anthony Montes, Dima Gammoh, Leah Osmena, Umang Mehta, Zachary Hoferitza HRM/531 05/08/2014 Dr. Victoria Wintering University Of Phoenix MEMORANDUM To: Traci Goldeman From: Anthony Montes, Dima Gammoh, Leah Osmena, Umang Mehta, and Zachary Hoferitza Subject: Compensation and Benefits Strategies for Landslide-Limousines Date: May 08, 2014 Thanks for forwarding Mr. Stonefield phone message to us. We understand Mr. Stonefield likes our recommendation for pay and benefits strategies. He likes to have pay and benefits comparable to other limousine services in Austin, TX market. He likes to plan for 25 employees. He is also projecting annual revenue for first year in red (-$50,000) but he is expecting revenue to grow at 5% rate over next couple years. In today market, not just base pay but, complete benefit package is very important to attract new employees and keep them. Managerial attitudes and organization ability to pay have a major impact on wage structure and levels (Cascio, 2013). We have taken following steps in order to come up with our recommendation for compensation and benefits strategies for Landslide-Limousines. Market Evolution of Austin, TX • Position in the market • Total limousines company in Austin – if lots of company then high employee turnover ratio. • Total limousines drives in Austin – Market Base pay and benefit package. • Why and why not limousines service will do well in Austin...

Words: 883 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Compensation and Benefits Strategies Recommendations

...Compensation and Benefits Strategies Recommendations May 20, 2014 Steven Colon James Thompson Oscar Caldera University of Phoenix HRM/531 Robin Sully Compensation and Benefits Strategies Recommendations The following paper will be about the development of the compensation and benefit recommendations for Mr. Bradley Stonefield. This development will have a market evaluation with researches on what companies in the relevant market are providing to employees from a total compensation perspective. With the results of the research, we will then take a look at the compensation structure. With these two outcomes, we will be able to recommend a position in the market. We will also be creating a total compensation and benefits strategy, consider the use of performance incentives and merit pay to recognize and engage employees. In creating these compensations we will have to identify laws related to the benefits and pay program. Results for the Market Evaluation The results for the market evaluation will show that it will be very competitive for a small startup business to hire qualified and experienced limousine drivers in Austin, Texas. According to the Yellow Pages (2014), Austin has over 113 limousine business competing in the same market. With these many companies operating in the same market may result in several issues when it deals with human resources (HR). One of the issues with this type of market is that should assume high employee...

Words: 1444 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Compensation and Benefits Strategies Recommendations

...Compensation and Benefits Strategies Recommendations Learning Team B HRM 531 May 28th, 2014 Ms. Joyce Harada Compensation and Benefits Strategies Recommendations Introduction Mr. Jason Galvin (Human Resources representative with Bollman Hotels) is consulting with Ms. Traci Goldeman (Atwood and Allen Consulting) for recommendations specifically for pay and benefits strategies. A few of the items Jason wants Traci to keep in mind are first, Bollman Hotels wants to be comparable to other international chains. Second, the expansion to India is new so the pay and benefits strategies must work well there. Third, Bollman Hotels plans to add 20% to their current workforce. Lastly, the annual net revenue is $100 million with an expected 15% growth after the first year. To be comparable to other international hotel chains, Bollman Hotels must know the standard pay and standard benefits offered to U.S. citizens working abroad and the pay and benefits offered to local, national employees in those countries. The expansion to India is preferred due to India being the world’s preferred outsourcing destination. “Companies are able to stay ahead of the competition, control cost, increase quality and reduce time to market. India is one of the ten fastest growing economies in the world. In a recent survey conducted in the US, 82% of US-based companies have voted for India as their first and most preferred choice." (Outsource2India, 2014). The addition of 5,000 employees is a positive...

Words: 2267 - Pages: 10

Free Essay

Designing Compensation Systems and Employee Benefits

...Designing Compensation Systems and Employee Benefits Compensation 1 Describe the differences between job analysis and job evaluation and how these practices help establish internally consistent job structures. A job analysis is a step-by-step specification of an employment position's requirements, functions, and procedures. Just as a seed cannot blossom into a flower unless the ground is properly prepared, many human resource management (HRM) practices cannot blossom into competitive advantage unless grounded on an adequate job analysis. A job evaluation is the process of analyzing and accessing the various jobs systematically to ascertain their relative worth in an organization. Job is evaluated on the basis of their content and is placed in the order of their importance. To achieve internal consistency, a firm's employees must believe that all jobs are paid what they are "worth." In other words, they must be confident that company pay rates reflect the overall importance of each person's job to the success of the organization. Because some jobs afford a greater opportunity than others to contribute, those holding such jobs should receive greater pay. For instance, most would agree that nurses should be paid more than orderlies because their work is more important; that is, it contributes more to patient care, which is a primary goal of hospitals. Compensation 2 For pay rates...

Words: 1214 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Well Defined Compensation and Benefits Plan

...The Effects of a Well-Designed Compensation and Benefits Plan on Employee Behavior The Effects of a Well-Designed Compensation and Benefits Plan on Employee Behavior Compensation can be defined as “all forms of financial returns and tangible services and benefits employees receive as part of an employment relationship” whether directly (compensation) or indirectly (benefits) (Katz, 2012). A strong and competitive compensation and benefits package is a powerful instrument for attracting and retaining the best talent. The development of a flexible compensation and benefits plan has an impact on employee retention and recruiting activities. The goal is to design the compensation and benefits package to attract qualified and talented applicants, as well as retain the current employees that are important and bring value to the organization. Reducing Turnover with a Compensation Strategy HR Function. HR serves in a consultative capacity to the managers and leaders of the organization and is responsible for the implementation of activities or policies in staffing, recruitment, data analysis, reward and recognition, and advising with regard to federal law compliance (Pophal, 2010). The human resource function “serves to align the wants and needs of the employee with the wants and needs of the employer” (Rothwell, Prescott, and Taylor, 2008). Recruitment and retention should be the main focus of HR and if not effectively managed can prove to be a huge risk to the organization...

Words: 3272 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Holland Enterprises Benefit & Compensation Analysis

...Mr. Scott Byron Freeman Compensation & Benefits Management, BUS4343 Holland Enterprises Benefit & Compensation Analysis Instructor: Jason Sheedy Tuesday April 11, 2011 Holland Enterprises Benefit & Compensation Analysis The purpose of this analysis is to review the current status of Holland Enterprises benefits program including the current philosophy, pay structure, base pay incentive, external versus internal equity, and principle benefits. Recognizing the current employee loss rate and understanding the results of the exit interviews; this analysis will give answer to why employees are leaving. This plan will also create a process that will sustain employment levels while creating a positive employee growth rate. The reasons and development process created for Holland Enterprises will attract and hold the type of employee that will allow them to be successful in the future. Current Status of Holland Enterprises Holland Enterprises is a company that currently employs 3,500 employees. Although this is a high number it needs to be understood that the company has actually lost 25% of the staff since 2007. At that time the personnel count was approximately 4,667 employees. When workers ended their time of service with the company exit interviews were held. The top reason given for leaving the establishment for other options was that the compensation and benefits offered by the Holland Enterprises were not competitive with other companies recruiting like-minded...

Words: 2096 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

New York Times Compensation and Benefits

...New York Times Compensation and Benefits New York Times Company is a leading media company that has two point four billion dollars produced for the 2010 revenue. There are other companies that also are included in the production such as The New York Times, The International Herald tribune, The Boston Globe, and 15 other newspapers that are delivered on a daily bases with over 50 web sites that provides the daily news through the country. There are some wonderful web sites that I would recommend reviewing, NYTimes.com and About.com; I have viewed both sites and there is a lot of detailed information regarding what is going on in our country today. The key sole purpose for the New York Times is to keep all of us entertained with high-quality news throughout the country; but focused on the city of New York. This company has accomplished many rewards and recognitions from August of 2006 to present. This newspaper was recognized in the Forbes Magazine annual list, it was also ranked number 16 on Information Week’s top 500 and the company has also received one hundred percent rating on the HRC Corporate Equality Index. This company has proven the purpose of why they have been established since 1851 and has won 106 Pulitzer prizes which is more than any other news organization. New York Times has always pushed hard to charge less and give employees more when speaking of compensation and benefits. They give the opportunity to access the news paper online for free up to twenty...

Words: 1743 - Pages: 7