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1. Compensation Management
(Original Content Only) (400 words per reply)
(APA citations) (in-text citations are a must)
(AT LEAST 2 SCHOLARLY SOURCES, AND 3 INTEGRATED BIBLE VERSE)
(MUST INCORPORATE BIBLE VERSES IN RESPONSE TO THE TOPIC AT HAND)
(Any sources cited must be peer-reviewed and have been published within the last 3 years)
MUST USE/LIST THESE SOURCES:
Martocchio, J. J. (2020). Strategic compensation: A human resource management approach (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Tessema, M. T., Hahn, H. J., Buck, S., Burke, M., Coppola, T., Kasprzak, K., Kral, W., & Petropoulos, G. (2024). Sustainable business: Practices, trends, benefits, challenges, and innovative strategies. Journal of Sustainable Development, 17(2), 73. https://doi.org/10.5539/jsd.v17n2p73
Vătămănescu, E., Mitan, A., Andrei, A. G., & Ghigiu, A. M. (2022). Linking coopetition benefits and innovative performance within small and medium-sized enterprises networks: A strategic approach on knowledge sharing and direct collaboration. Kybernetes, 51(7), 2193-2214. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-11-2020-0731
Kelsey Sandoval
Jul 25 2:11amLast reply Jul 25 10:49am
Manage Discussion by Kelsey Sandoval
Reply from Kelsey Sandoval
Benefits represent a major cost to employers and are an added cost over annual salary that a company must budget for. This is an important component of compensation as it will help add significant value for candidates, allowing the company a competitive edge towards attracting and retaining the best talent. Martocchio (2020) estimates that legally required benefits cost approximately $10,000 per employee, which is over 15% of compensation costs (p.239) and discretionary (optional) benefits cost even more at approximately $18,000 per employee, which is almost 25% of payroll costs (p.212). That means the average employee’s compensation is a 60-40 split of salary to benefits.
Though costly, discretionary employer-offered benefits are an important means of attracting talent, so companies must take this seriously and consider which types of discretionary benefits potential and current employees will perceive as the most valuable or beneficial. Not only can this attract better talent, it may also improve employee performance. Balkin & Werner (2023) note that discretionary benefits can be strategically leveraged, and that generous and well-selected discretionary benefits can positively impact employee perceptions of both equity and organizational support – both of which are drivers of employee performance. Thus, it is important to consider what types of innovative benefits exist and whether they may be helpful in recruitment and retention strategies.
Four-day workweeks is one important consideration when seeking to innovate and add value to the benefits package offering. In fact, surveys have shown this to be a growing consideration on the part of candidates and studies suggest productivity is not undermined due to how much time is normally wasted during a regular 5-day workweek (Miller, 2022). Longer working hours can lead to decreased hourly outputs, can negatively impact productivity, can degrade employee mental health, cause increased instances of absenteeism, and can even cause physical health of employees to worsen (Okazaki et al., 2019). It is quite typical in the US to see employees working at least 40 hours per week, but often more. Many employees are concerned about attaining a work-life balance and many consider the quality of their life to be eroded by having to dedicate so many of their hours to working. This isn’t about laziness; consider commutes, for example, which can add an hour or more to the average employee’s workday. Though many employers now allow for remote work or a hybrid schedule, hours are not necessarily decreased; further, many roles are simply not eligible for remote work, such as the case for nurses doing bedside patient care. To make this benefit truly impactful on an employee, the 4-day workweek should not take the standard 40 hours and create four 10-hour workdays. Employers would probably be surprised to find that productivity remains at par given how much time is normally not well-utilized in the first place. To ensure performance doesn’t slip, an employer should require an agreement that the same productivity is expected and that if it decreases, a return to a 5-day workweek will be needed, or a weekly rotation of a 5-day workweek followed by a 4-day workweek could be implemented.
Another interesting innovative benefit is a well-being allowance. This benefit provides employees funds for certain wellness related expenses such as fitness classes, spa visits, training/courses, and so forth (Forbes, 2023). This is distinct from offering a discounted rate on gym memberships or having an onsite gym in that the employee can choose which well-being benefit is right for them and be reimbursed up to a certain amount. For example, though many employers offer discounted gym memberships, the employee may have a specific gym they like to visit at which a discounted rate isn’t available, or perhaps they have a home gym already or have one available in their apartment complex, or perhaps their partner is active duty military and they have a free membership that way. The freedom to use the allowance on other wellness-related costs is a powerful way to recognize employees have unique lives and unique situations, making the benefit flexible and useable for a wider array of options. Wellness is not limited to just physical fitness; it encompasses the mental, emotional, and social well-being of an individual as well (Solnet et al., 2020). Since the well-being allowance isn’t necessarily tied to fitness, this also allows the employee to apply the benefit to another type of wellness cost. This allows the employer to also realize benefits as poor employee wellness has been studied and shown to have negative economic organizational impacts due to higher absenteeism and higher health insurance costs, and it can also undermine employee productivity levels (Solnet et al., 2020). Thus, choosing to offer a flexible well-being allowance will go far to improve an employee’s wellness based on their individual situation and will lead to better attendance and performance, thus decreasing organizational expenses.
These are just a few of many innovative benefits that employers can offer, and there are undoubtedly many more that can be considered. Hebrews 12:11 states “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (English Standard Version Bible, n.d.). Though there will be upfront costs in discretionary benefits, and though it may take a bit of time for employers to see a return on that investment, it will ultimately be work the price paid. Nobody benefits from absenteeism or lost productivity; not the worker who gives up their time or sees negative impacts to their mental health, and not the employer who pays wages and other expenses for a diminished return. Thus, innovative benefits can be leveraged to make a positive impact for both the employee and the business, leading to improved attraction of talent, higher retention, better productivity, better employee wellness, and overall a higher return on investment.
References
Balkin, D. B., & Werner, S. (2023). Theorizing the relationship between discretionary employee benefits and individual performance. Human Resource Management Review, 33(1), 100901. doi:10.1016/j.hrmr.2022.100901
2. Compensation Management
(Original Content Only) (400 words per reply)
(APA citations) (in-text citations are a must)
(AT LEAST 2 SCHOLARLY SOURCES, AND 3 INTEGRATED BIBLE VERSE)
(MUST INCORPORATE BIBLE VERSES IN RESPONSE TO THE TOPIC AT HAND)
(Any sources cited must be peer-reviewed and have been published within the last 3 years)
MUST USE/LIST THESE SOURCES:
Martocchio, J. J. (2020). Strategic compensation: A human resource management approach (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Tessema, M. T., Hahn, H. J., Buck, S., Burke, M., Coppola, T., Kasprzak, K., Kral, W., & Petropoulos, G. (2024). Sustainable business: Practices, trends, benefits, challenges, and innovative strategies. Journal of Sustainable Development, 17(2), 73. https://doi.org/10.5539/jsd.v17n2p73
Vătămănescu, E., Mitan, A., Andrei, A. G., & Ghigiu, A. M. (2022). Linking coopetition benefits and innovative performance within small and medium-sized enterprises networks: A strategic approach on knowledge sharing and direct collaboration. Kybernetes, 51(7), 2193-2214. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-11-2020-0731
Leah Proper
Jul 23 3:14pm
Manage Discussion by Leah Proper
Reply from Leah Proper
Paid Time Off
A common theme while researching the topic of innovative benefit practices was employee-life balance. Work life balance is a concept that can be understood as the current relationship between work and personal life with an impact on factors such as, well-being, organizational performance, and overall health and wellness (Sanchez-Hernandez et al., 2019). Paid time off (PTO) is a customary practice and is the second most offered employee benefit (behind health insurance) as 33.75 percent of job postings contain PTO (Indeed, 2024). PTO allows employees to take time for several reasons including holidays, vacations, sick leave, or recreational leave (Martocchio, 2020). A way in which companies can make their PTO offerings more innovative and inclusive is through offering a certain amount of PTO for Jury Duty, Military Leave (this is especially important for those in reserve units in the armed forces as they are mandated to fulfill a two-week obligation of service during the summer months) and a break period.
Family Obligation
PTO is a significant benefit offering for both the employee and the employer because it allows the company to build good report with its employees by allowing them to balance work and nonwork interests and at times demands (Martocchio, 2020). Furthermore, PTO enables the company to keep random and unforeseen work absences to a minimum as employees will seek to use their PTO benefit to not lose out on a paycheck. An article found that paid parental leave is a way in which companies can take their PTO benefits package to the next level as this is not a benefit that is mandated by law to offer (Rigby, 2022). A poll showed that 68 percent of Americans believe companies should allow for mothers and fathers the option to get paid parental leave especially in the very beginning (Rigby, 2022). This type of offering specifically shows that the organization values family customs. The first book of Timothy 5:8 states, “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (English Standard Version, 2024). Employers that follow Christian teachings understands that their employees must have a healthy work-life balance to properly fulfill their professional and family obligations. Employees are increasingly interested in flexibility in the workplace (Sanchez-Hernandez et al., 2019). This concept is becoming increasingly important as younger employees enter the workforce claiming that professional development needs to be fluid and flexible (Sanchez-Hernandez et al., 2019).
Harmony
From personal experience the need and urgency for organizations offering flexibility and PTO benefits is increasing. For those with small, under-school-aged children, the cost for daycare is substantially higher today than in previous years. One of the parents would need to be making beyond a reasonable salary as daycare often can take half of what is being earned monthly. Therefore, when companies utilize a strong benefits package that consists of a decent amount of PTO (usually this looks like two plus weeks annually) it would be seen as a major perk and may help recruitment and retention (Bloom et al., 2022). A study found that the era we are entering into with younger workers entering the workforce is dramatically different as people are seeking a harmonious integration between their personal and professional lives (Sanchez-Hernandez et al., 2019). Furthermore, Human Resource management is finding that the inter-generational differences in professional expectations present crucial challenges in effectively managing a healthy and fair workplace environment (Sanchez-Hernandez et al., 2019). Therefore, the key factor to an innovative benefits package entails using a competitive, and highly sought after PTO benefit. If the new generation is seeking harmony between their personal and professional lives, PTO is going to be the key in achieving this. PTO helps ensure that the employee remains loyal not only to the company but to their job duties as well.
References
Bloom, J., Syrek, C., Kuhnel, J., Vahle-Hinz, T. (2022). Unlimited paid time off policies: Unlocking the best and unleashing the beast. National Library of Medicine.DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.812187Links to an external site.
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