The first thing most people who seek jobs try to explore is the benefits package offered by a potential employer. Benefits are often defined in the literature as the reward system for an individual’s knowledge, skills, and work performance (Laundon et al., 2019). For example, many firms encourage acquiring better training by providing high pay for a higher degree or more profound understanding of a specific topic (Martocchio, 2017). In fact, the personalized approach to wages serves as an incentive for workers to improve (Martocchio, 2017). However, benefits plan only include non-financial compensations such as health insurance, retirement savings, paid leave to receive training, career development, financial assistance, and flexible schedule (Laundon et al., 2019; Werner & Balkin, 2021). Establishing these plans at various levels demands a thorough evaluation of each position and workers’ roles in a company to treat employees fairly. Specifically, job analysis comprises assessing “content or job duties, worker requirements or job specifications, and … the job context or working conditions” (Martocchio, 2017, p. 122). For instance, a technician’s position in a biotechnology company may require only a bachelor’s degree. At the same time, senior research will need to have a Ph.D. with ten years of experience in the field. Moreover, it is essential to conduct market research to explore the average compensation in rivals to provide competitive plans and recruit the best professionals (Martocchio, 2017). If a firm does not understand the importance of stimulation through benefits, it will always have a high turnover rate (Martocchio, 2017). Indeed, maintaining high compensation standards helps motivate staff to work harder, set strategic goals, take initiatives, and cooperate with colleagues, contributing to an organization’s prosperity.
The benefits plan that I want to review is the County of San Diego’s compensation non-management program. I chose this particular package because it represents the advantages that a human resources specialist may receive in this organization. In fact, the position’s duties include recruiting new staff, working with benefits packages, and answering employees’ questions about human-resources-related topics (County of San Diego [COS], 2022). The County of San Diego likely created this plan based on market analysis; hence, it can be used as an example of average compensation in this field. This governmental agency’s program provides flexible conditions, allowing employees to choose from a variety of options. For example, it includes medical insurance with or without a dental and vision plan, retirement savings, accidental death, tuition, travel, and membership fees (COS, 2022). Health care insurance is provided not only to the person hired for this role but also to one’s family (COS, 2022). Notably, each employee is eligible for $10,000 as basic coverage from San Diego County for dismemberment and accidental death (COS, 2022). Furthermore, permanent workers of this organization are automatically signed up for a retirement plan (COS, 2022). Moreover, if an individual is physically damaged at a workplace or needs a family leave, this agency will provide about 60% of the monthly payment to that person until one recovers (COS, 2022). In case of a critical illness, a worker will be paid a lump sum that ranges from $10,000 to $30,000, based on the previously selected options (COS, 2022). It appears that this organization values its employees’ knowledge, skills, and expertise, giving them adequate benefits that may incentivize them to perform well in this position.
The field of wages and compensation is constantly evolving, adding novel features to remain competitive on the job market by not under-or-over-paying. Specifically, the current COVID-19 pandemic requires introducing an additional feature by allowing employees to be vaccinated against the virus (Mayer, 2021). Furthermore, the companies started to restructure their benefits packages to enable their staff to have more significant emergency savings since COVID may require hospitalization to intensive care (Mayer, 2021). Since the pandemic does not seem to decline and social distancing is desired, firms will need to consider linking compensation and benefits to the quality of work and participation for those who work remotely (Mayer, 2021). Companies should also continue to encourage their staff to wear masks and undergo testing that may be funded from the company’s budget as part of a benefits package. However, apart from the issue of the ongoing pandemic, organizations have to manage a growing trend of compensation claims. On average, companies pay for workplace strain injuries about 18% of legally required benefits to office staff and 35% to construction workers (Martocchio, 2017). Another trend in this field is offering high compensation to executives, creating a substantial wage gap between CEOs and other employees. For instance, the median pay for CEO promotion ranges from $7 to $10 million annually (Martocchio, 2017). Still, in recent years, governments started to focus on mandating private firms to provide higher pay and better benefits plans. The policymakers of the South-East Asian countries, where many clothing brands base their manufacturing, increased the minimum wage by 24% (Martocchio, 2017). Overall, companies seem to move toward improving compensation programs for employees, whether by their own initiative or due to governmental regulations.
References
County of San Diego. (2022). Confidential non-management benefit program. Web.
Laundon, M., Cathcart, A., & McDonald, P. (2019). Just benefits? Employee benefits and organizational justice.Employee Relations: The International Journal, 1-17. Web.
Martocchio, J. J. (2017). Strategic compensation: A human resource management approach (9th ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.
Mayer, K. (2021). 7 benefit trends to watch in 2021. Human Resource Executive. Web.
Werner, S., & Balkin, D. B. (2021). Strategic benefits: How employee benefits can create a sustainable competitive edge. The Journal of Total Rewards, 31(1), 8-22.