CustomInk has been in service for quite long and has developed a rather efficient system for managing its staff’s satisfaction rates. Particularly, a rigid system of corporate values, quality standards, and employee benefits need to be mentioned as the building blocks for its success. However, a detailed evaluation of the entrepreneurship’s characteristics has shown that some of its compensation system elements may lack sensibility and, therefore, will have to be changed. It is strongly suggested that the company should recognize the significance of trade unions and reinforce their role in the target area.
He considering the current situation and the environment that the entrepreneurship evolves in, one must admit that the positive factors evidently outnumber the negative ones. The firm is clearly geared towards recognizing its staff’s accomplishments and contributing to their further growth. Specifically, the fact that CustomInk focuses not only on the financial aspect of incentives but also on the verbal acknowledgement of the staff’s efforts needs to be brought up (GlassDoor, 2016). Therefore, it can be assumed that decent grounds for staff motivation are created in the organization.
However, the system that the company adopts also has several obvious problems. First and most obvious, the issue of individual needs of the staff needs to be addressed. Although CustomInk has done a lot for the people that work in it in terms of both the benefits and the appraisals, one must admit that the compensations, which the entrepreneurship has to offer, are targeted at a rather generalized audience and tend to omit a range of essential characteristics that some of the firm’s members have. For instance, the issue of the parental leave, in general, and the maternity leave, in particular, needs to be brought up (DePillis, 2015).
The above inconsistencies in the firm’s policy can be addressed by carrying out a large analysis of its members’ characteristics and, therefore, the needs and requirements that the firm has to meet. It would be wrong to claim that the entrepreneurship disregards the gender issue specifically; apart from failing to provide the maternity leave, CustomInk also disregards the concept of the parental leave, in general (Boy & Salamin, 2001).
Similarly, the family-related issues, such as the provision of insurance to married couples, can also be viewed as the aspects of compensation that the firm has overlooked. Claiming that CustomInk’s actions are intentional would be quite a stretch. The company is hardly malicious in its decisions – only a bit thoughtless. Therefore, a better strategy that will be targeted at meeting the needs of every single staff member based on their unique characteristics will have to be viewed as the crucial step toward creating premises for employee loyalty rates increase (CustomInk to acquire represent, tech startup that helps celebrities rally fans for funding, 2016).
It can be suggested that a survey should be carried out among the staff members to identify the issues that the company will have to address and the compensation opportunities that it will have to provide to its members. However, at present, the problems concerning the family leave and the provision of insurance options for the employees who have recently got married (CustomInk, 2016).
The issue regarding the provision of the COBRA insurance also needs to be brought up as one of the details that the entrepreneurship leaders will have to work into their current compensation and benefits package. By definition, the COBRA framework creates ample opportunities for not only the employees but also their family members: “COBRA requires continuation coverage to be offered to covered employees, their spouses, former spouses, and dependent children when group health coverage would otherwise be lost due to certain specific events” (FAQs about COBRA Continuation Health Coverage, 2016, par. 2).
In addition, one must bear in mind that the above framework creates opportunities for receiving a consistent support in case they face regular health issues (e.g., chronic diseases). It should be noted, though, that the use of the COBRA framework will trigger major expenses for the entrepreneurship:
COBRA continuation coverage is often more expensive than the amount that active employees are required to pay for group health coverage, since the employer usually pays part of the cost of employees’ coverage and all of that cost can be charged to individuals receiving continuation coverage.(FAQs about COBRA Continuation Health Coverage, 2016, par. 2)
Nevertheless, the adoption of the above framework is strongly advised to the leaders of the entrepreneurship. By cutting the costs taken for other aspects of the company’s functioning, such as the extravagant use of resources, the firm will be able to facilitate the environment, in which employee loyalty can be fostered. The current approach toward the consumption of resources, in fact, may use reconsideration, since the organization lacks sustainability in its current framework (Philosophy, 2016).
In other words, by reconsidering the strategy that it adopts to manage its resources, the entrepreneurship will be able to reach stellar success in both increasing its current employee satisfaction rates (Dayton, 2014).
Finally, the aspect concerning the cost of living that the entrepreneurship suggests to its members needs to be brought up. According to the existing reviews of the company and the opportunities that it has to offer to its members, the strategy of employee benefits is inconsistent with the cost of living; in other words, while seemingly complying with the current regulations regarding the provision of compensation options, CustomInk gives its members measly financial rewards that barely cover for the basic expenses. Thus, the organization will have to reconsider its current financial strategy, and especially the approach adopted to allocating the costs related to compensation.
Naturally, the challenges that CustomInk will face in the process are going to be beyond extraordinary. Seeing that the above issues require that the entrepreneurship should reconsider its entire financial strategy, it is reasonable to assume that it will take the firm at least four months to rearrange the current approach toward compensation, identify the available financial sustainability options, etc. (Locke, 2013).
Nevertheless, it is expected that a change in the present-day compensation system will inevitably trigger a rapid rise in the employee satisfaction rates. as a result, the staff members will deliver a much better performance and will be eager to enter the training programs suggested by the company to improve their competencies (Unger, 2012).
CustomInk is facing evident challenges in improving its current system of benefits and compensations; however, these changes are crucial to the further functioning of the entrepreneurship. As soon as the staff members realize that CustomInk recognizes their unique needs and requirements and is ready to cater to their needs as well, the performance rates of the employees will rise to a considerable extent. Moreover, by investing in its staff, the firm will be able to increase employee loyalty rates and, therefore, create the premises for building a team of the staff members, who will evolve in the context of the organization, therefore, contributing to its growth.
Reference List
Boy, B. K., & Salamin, A. (2001). Strategic reward systems: A contingency model of pay system design. Strategic Management Journal, 22(8), 777-792.
CustomInk. (2016). Web.
CustomInk to acquire represent, tech startup that helps celebrities rally fans for funding. (2016). Web.
Dayton, G. (2014). Trade mindfully: Achieve your optimum trading performance with mindfulness and cutting edge psychology. John Wiley & Sons.
DePillis, L. (2015). The workers’ compensation system is broken – and it’s driving people into poverty. Washington Post. Web.
GlassDoor. (2016). CustomInk. Web.
FAQs about COBRA Continuation Health Coverage. (2016). Web.
Locke, R. (2013). Reassessing the basis of corporate business performance: modern financial economics’ profit control versus integrated people and process improvement. Real-World Economics Review, 64(2), 110-124.
Philosophy. (2016). Web.
Unger, M. (2012). A focus on culture brought e-tailer CustomInk to $115 million. Web.