Companies listed on Fortune magazine\'s list of \"100 Best Companies to Work for

Question

Companies listed on Fortune magazine's list of "100 Best Companies to Work for in America" seem to recognize the importance of offering a wide assortment of benefits. They offer the assortment in order to meet the needs of the employees and address many of the needs in Maslow's hierarchy (Maslow, 1954).The companies appear to use a total rewards approach to compensation to attract, retain, and motivate their employees. In addition to what has become rather standard as a set of rewards including medical, dental and vision insurance; paid time off; and ample room for career growth, some mix of the following benefits is often present: education reimbursement, employee training, on-site child care services, financial counseling, and retirement benefits (Bates, 2003). But it is important to remember, just as with consumer purchasing decisions, that what is valued by one employee is not necessarily valued by all. Therefore employers must research what the requisite employees in their organization desire. One way in which information about preferences is gathered is through surveys or interviews, and more than one method of gathering data about the important decisions of rewards is better. Information internal to the organization and outside the organization is recommended. Table 3.2 summarizes a report from a survey conducted by Aon (2002) demonstrating the average range of preferences when individuals taking the survey were asked to rank the benefits from most preferred to least preferred, if given a choice. In this survey, the data revealed that the benefit most often ranking the highest was medical insurance and the lowest was wellness programs. As you read the list of preferences, think about how you would rank your own preferences. Surveys similar to the A on survey can provide information to organizations that can be compared against internal or other external research. Table 3.2 Employee Benefit Preferences Benefit preference, in order of most desired medical insurance paid vacation and holidays employer-paid pension retirement savings plan prescription-drug card ability to choose benefits to meet needs sick leave and short-term disability long-term disability insurance preventative/wellness coverage (Source: Aon Survey, Benefit Preferences, 2002) When making the decision to offer a benefit, organizations must be careful that the benefit can be continued after it is implemented. Once offered, there can be negative repercussions if it has to be taken away. Employee scan quickly grow accustomed to having benefits and can develop a sense of entitlement to them. In one of the offices of Hewlett-Packard, for example, employees receive free fresh fruit throughout the day, and have now come to expect it, thereby making it difficult for the company to stop doing it. Another large company decided, as a cost-cutting measure, to eliminate the annual free holiday turkey for its thousands of employees. The news created such wide spread negative reaction that the decision was quickly reversed. There are a few benefits for which there is entitlement by law. Many employees mistakenly believe that their major benefits are mandatory, or required by law to be provided. In fact, however, few benefits are required by law. While the benefits listed in Table 3.3 (the major federally mandated benefits) are certainly more than those offered to employees prior to World War II, they represent only a small portion of the benefits most organizations offer today. Table 3.3 Federally Mandated Benefits Workers Compensation Social Security Unemployment Insurance Time Off for Family or Medical Care (FMLA) Continuation of Medical Insurance Coverage (COBRA) Health Insurance Compare the list of government-mandated benefits to the list of typical optional benefits in table 3.4 below. With this list it is easy to see how the cost of benefits can be as much as 40 percent of the overall payroll cost. Table 3.4 Typical Optional Benefits paid time off during working hours: vacation, sick leave, personal days, bereavement, jury duty child care facilities or services

Select one benefit and compliance issue identified in Module 3 and share how you feel it is a potentially risky one of which all organizations need to be aware. I NEED ONE REFERENCE PLEASE

Explanation / Answer

The workforce and productivity of any organization are depending on employees working standard. To maintain the efficiency of the workforce it is necessary to improve the employee frameworks by providing them all the benefits that are desirable for them. The most important aspect that has come from the survey that the employees are not attending their proper health functions; the companies are neglecting about their health conditions. Likewise, from the survey, it was revealed that the employees are getting their benefits only on medical insurance, not on any wellness program which is also needed to include in their tough working hours.

Due to the improper working hours, the employees suffer a lot due not maintaining proper health standards. Different health issues are occurring to the employees those are affecting the daily working environment; it is leading to a loss in production of the company. So it is required to make health benefits to the employees, the wellness program activities should be incorporated into the organization so that all the employees should take part in it and organization should arrange everything to co-relate with the working process as well as to ease the opportunity so that employees can take part in this program.

The company should make a tie-up with different health fitness and training organizations who provide gym facility and the employees should also accompany with the process it will give them the benefits to sustain their health effectively. A doctor along with a basic medical apparatus should be kept in the organization for a weekly examine the employee’s health standards. The reports are to be sent to the company managers who will take the responsibility to guide the employees those who will need proper treatments. For any serious issues they must be given sick leave for optimum days it will help the organization to boost its manpower properly because the weakness of the employees will get identified easily with a quick remedial measure. The employee’s benefits and individual care for any organization working purpose are very necessary to sustain the growth in the organization; the organization should keep a keen focus on all the employees’ health and benefits. It will bring more profit for the organization; the employees are the workforce through them only the production and manufacturing are depending so it is very necessary to maintain a wellness program in the organization.          

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