| |
| |
|
Management Information |
|
|
|
Tales From the Corporate Frontlines:The Importance of a Competitive Wage and Benefit Package
This article relates to the Compensation and Benefits competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. It tells the story of a company that needed to attract new employees and discovered how a competitive wage and benefits package was integral to this process. The Compensation and Benefits competency focuses in detail on how your employees feel regarding their compensation and benefits packages. The questions included in this competency will help your organization determine whether your employees feel they are fairly paid for the work they perform when compared to a similar job at a different company. This competency also queries their feelings regarding the adequacy and quality of their benefits package. A fair and attractive compensation package is critical for hiring and retaining quality employees. A high satisfaction level in this competency requires that your compensation structure and benefits package be fair, balanced, and understood by your present employees. This short story, The Importance of a Competitive Wage and Benefit Package, is part of AlphaMeasure's compilation, Tales From the Corporate Frontlines. It illustrates how one company discovered the importance of evaluating its wage and benefits package and adjusting it to stay competitive and attract new employees. Anonymous Submission The Importance of a Competitive Wage and Benefit Package My business partner and I recently took control of a small company that provides products and services to a very specific and narrow market segment. One of our first tasks was to fill a number of open positions in various departments. Most of the employees were long term, but we learned that the open positions had been filled and vacated several times over the past year. We wondered why it was so difficult to attract and retain qualified people with the specialized skills we needed. In a discussion with some friends, an executive for a manufacturing firm asked if the compensation and benefits package had been evaluated lately. He told us that if it's been a long time, low salaries and/or benefits might be the obstacle we needed to remove. In fact, it was. In our first weeks at the company, we launched an employee satisfaction survey that showed us how many employees felt that they were not being paid competitive wages when compared to people doing similar jobs at other companies. Further analysis of the results convinced us that we needed to reevaluate and adjust the salary and benefits structure in order to attract and retain the caliber of skilled employee needed to operate the company profitably. First, we gathered detailed information from a number of Internet databases on salary structures. Then we compared our structure and saw that we were on the lowest fringe of the salary range. Unable to manage large-scale increases all at once, we developed a plan to phase in the increases over a period of time, and broke each position down into ranges according to expertise and experience. We offered a hiring bonus, and developed a competitive bonus plan based on performance, staggering the payments over several quarters to encourage employee retention. Then we examined the fringe benefits portion of the package. We also added an optional long-term disability insurance plan, with employees paying a portion of the premium. Our company achieved the desired results by making these changes. As it turned out, the timing was perfect - long time employees would have moved on if we had taken no action. Next time, we'll be sure to make it a priority to reevaluate and adjust our compensation and benefits package on a regular basis. © 2005 AlphaMeasure, Inc. - All Rights Reserved This article may be reprinted, provided it is published in its entirety, includes the author bio information, and all links remain active. Measure. Report. Improve your organization with AlphaMeasure employee surveys. Josh Greenberg is President of AlphaMeasure, Inc. AlphaMeasure provides organizations of all sizes a powerful web based method for measuring employee satisfaction, determining employee engagement, and increasing employee retention. Launch your employee satisfaction survey with AlphaMeasure.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Communicate To The Four Main Personality Types You probably know this already, but there are generally held to be four main personality types, which I call: Extrovert, Amiable, Analytical and Pragmatic . Let's take a moment to consider each of them in the workplace. Dont Wait for Tax Time to Look at the Bottom Line A curious thing happens to entrepreneurs in the spring of every year. They wake up one day and realize they had better figure out how much money they made last year so they can pay their taxes. The Death Spiral Sometimes things just happen. Maybe we lose focus and take our eyes off the ball. The Idol-Makers The end of the television season in May included the usual array of cliffhangers on shows like "Alias," the departure of Noah Wylie from "ER" and the finale of the highly-rated "Everybody Loves Raymond" after 210 episodes. On the last day of "Sweeps," more than 29 million people tuned in to see the crowning of the fourth "American Idol. 9 Tips for Getting the Most From Your Conference Investment Tips for Getting the Most From Your Conference Investment All professionals attend conferences, seminars, and trade shows each year. Through my observation and person experience here are my top tips for maximizing your time and monetary investment in these events. Create Your Methodology Based on a Standard Framework - Part One OK. So you have decided that your organization has to improve the way in which it works. New Job, New Culture: Do You Fit In? It seemed like a good decision at the time. A 10-percent raise, an easier commute and a chance to move up the corporate ladder. Quick Tip - Effective Meetings Have SMART Goals The first step in planning an agenda is to identify the goals for the meeting. Properly done, goals have five S M A R T characteristics. Employee Performance - If You Want the Best, Get Personal! This is a story about a man and three dogs.I walk a lot - usually for about half to three-quarters of an hour most mornings. Business Innovation - Organizational Culture Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas. Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Coworker and Caretaker This article relates to the Coworkers competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. It tells the story of a coworker whose performance consistently facilitated effective cooperation, collaboration, and communication between the employees within one organization. Help for the Meeting-Weary Manager Most of us have found ourselves working on a team at one time or another. That means we have been asked to attend, and even participate, in lots of meetings. Organisational Culture for Continuous Improvement I have been working with leading Business Improvement guru, Tim Franklin, preparing the PR for his latest book which offers an introduction to Continuous Improvement (CI) at beginner level, encompassing Lean, TQM, Six Sigma and the other related methodologies of CI.He was developing an analogy of a geographic expedition to describe Continuous Improvement. Sweet Parting Of Ways Why settle for bad feelings when your employee leaves the firm? Human resource managers can help to sweeten the occasion during the exit interview, and get valuable information to help the company in the new knowledge age.More often than not, human resource (HR) managers place more importance on job interviews than on exit interviews. Mantra for Managers What do organizations look for in a prospective employee with special reference to fresh MBA graduates? The two key assets that an organization looks for is the potential of the individual and ability to pursue his goals in all situations. Every organization expects its team of fresh recruitees to grow into top quality Managers and therefore it is very important to evaluate the potential of the fresh graduate. Problem Solving - Think Cleopatras Ass Picture the scene. Anthony pops down to the guardhouse, partly because he wants a break with the lads, but also because he has a problem. Get Meeting off To a Great Start When asked what part of their job they find a major time waster, many will answer loud and clear.. Assertive Communication - 6 Tips For Effective Use What IS assertive communication? Assertive communication is the ability to express positive and negative ideas and feelings in an open, honest and direct way. It recognises our rights whilst still respecting the rights of others. Performance Evaluations Can Be Beneficial THE PERFORMANCE REVIEW MEETING: It's a fact - most supervisors and employees have negative feelings toward performance appraisals and appraisal interviews. It's often necessary to shift people's thinking from the perception that the interview is a time of judgment to the perspective that supervisors can provide support and direction to employees who want to improve their productivity and be involved in the process. Déjà Vu MCI to Qwest International Inc: Can this Corporate Marriage Survive? Current Situation:As of this writing, the MCI Board of Governors has given Verizon Communications Inc. one week to sweeten their $7.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
