Week 8 Discussion QuestionTop of Form
HR Knowledge 7: Employee Benefits
Thoroughly review the following video:
https://youtu.be/5fX9eQubzEE
Based on your review, please respond to the following:
The video shares a discussion specifically on 9 benefits related to Voluntary Employee Benefits. Review the VEB’s and if you could only have 4 of them, which 4 would you select? Be sure to explain why you made those choices.
Note: Your response to the discussion must be informative, be supported with research, and follow the requirements set by this course.
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Peer Response 1:
5 days ago
David Gaines
RE: Week 8 DiscussionTop of Form
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Out of the many choices of Voluntary Employee Benefits (VEB’s), some are more vital than others. Providing health and dental insurance demonstrates that you as the employer care about your employee’s health and welfare. It benefits the employer as well by maintaining the health and happiness of the workforce. A large number of businesses offer health insurance benefits even when they are not required to by the Affordable Care Act. One in four companies with less than 50 employees provides this benefit to workers and that number is increasing according to recent data (Barghelame, 2017, para 2). For the employer, the employer contributions are tax-deductible and for the employee, the health insurance deductions are pre-tax dollars so there are savings for both. In fact, a recent Glassdoor study found that the top three benefits that make employees the most satisfied are:
Health and dental insurance
Vacation and PTO
Pension plans, 401(k) & other retirement plans
(Barghelame, 2017, para 7)
Next, I would offer the second choice on the Glassdoor list which is vacation and PTO. PTO (or personal time off) is a benefit that the employer compensates an employee for an absence at work. Using PTO can be for a variety of reasons such as vacations, personal appointments or sick time. Often an employee’s total PTO increases with length of employment which helps with the retention of good employees. PTO also helps workers to refresh and reset so that when they do return they are more motivated.
The third most popular choice, retirement savings is another key VEB that should be offered to employees. This benefit impacts the present and future lives of employees. Rich retirement benefits can give an employer a recruiting advantage while gaining significant tax advantages as well, according to SHRM’s recent surveys (SHRM Staff, 2016, para 1). SHRM has also found that when a retirement plan is based on company profits, it may enhance employee motivation and productivity. By 2022, more than 25% of the US workforce will be in the 55+ age range underlying the significance and the impact this will have on workers individually as well as the economy as a whole.
Finally, the last VEB that is helpful in recruitment, succession planning, and employee satisfaction is educational benefits such as tuition reimbursement, paid college, and other educational opportunities. According to CNBC, over the last decade, tuition and fees at four-year public universities rose over 35% (Dickler, 2019, para 4). This increase in costs has an impact on college debt and makes a college education out-of-reach for many. Offering this benefit allows an organization to attract the best workers and the employee to save on the second-largest expense that they may incur in their life next to home purchases, according to the same CNBC reporting.
References
Barghelame, K. (2017). 5 Reasons Why Your Business Should Offer Health Insurance. Gusto.com. Retrieved from https://gusto.com/blog/health-insurance/reasons-why-offer-health-insurance
SHRM Staff. (2016). SHRM Research: Retirement Savings and Planning Benefits. Society for Human Resource Management. Retrieved from https://shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/special-reports-and-expert-views/Documents/RetirementSavingsandPlanningBenefits.pdf
Dickler, J. (2019). Why college tuition keeps rising. CNBC. Retrieved fromhttps://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/24/why-college-tuition-keeps-rising.html
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Peer Response
Angelica Tovar
RE: Week 8 DiscussionTop of Form
The video discusses mandatory and voluntary employee benefits. Anything other than salary or base pay are considered benefits. Of the nine mentioned (health and dental insurance, life insurance, short/long term disability, paid time off, employee assistance, leave benefits, educational benefits, wellness programs, retirement savings) the four most important ones I would say are health and dental insurance, paid time off, retirement savings, and short/long term disability. The reason I chose these benefits is because they seem to be the most utilized non pay based benefits. Health and dental insurance were an obvious first choice, because unfortunately we live in a country where healthcare isn’t universal. Even so, when we utilize our healthcare benefits, we have to pay quite a bit out of pocket so naturally I think it makes the top of the list when it comes to importance of benefits. Paid time off is another greatly important aspect of benefits for organizations. A work life balance can make or break an employee’s sanity. If one is not given the opportunity to decompress and have personal time, then employee’s minds are clouded with only work and they can feel overwhelmed. It is almost just as important to have time off as it is to work. Retirement savings is another key important benefit to consider. If an employee has nothing stowed away for savings, they have no plan for what comes next in life. We all know how important it is to have savings for life’s surprises. It is even more important to have money put away for after we stop working. Life still costs as much as when you are working so it’s great when an organization gives its employees the option of helping them with that. Short and long term disability is another important benefit to be offered by organizations. For something that happens on the job, or any medical issues that may arise during employment, it is nice to know your company has your back. I chose these four benefits because they are the most important to me in my current role, and they even aid in the time after the “working years.” “As per the reviewed literatures it has been found that HR interventions are very much vital for better work life balance, effective workplace practices improve
employee wellbeing. Thereby, the study tried to understand, the various employee provisions and benefits intervened by NRL for its management staff providing them a scope to balance their respective personal and professional lives.” (Das, R, pg.15)
DAS, R. (2021). Employee Provisions and Benefits Facilitating Work Life Balance: A Study of the Management Staff of Nrl, Assam. CLEAR International Journal of Research in Commerce & Management, 12(3), 12–15.
Week 8 DiscussionTop of Form
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Total Rewards Knowledge 7: Planning Benefits Strategically
Internal and external forces will greatly impact organizational strategies and this is also the case with strategies for planning employee benefits. On page 484 of the textbook, review the list of internal forces that influence benefit strategy and select any 2 that you feel might have the greatest influence and explain why. Then, select 1 external force influencing benefits strategy with the greatest influence and also explain why.
Note: Your response to the discussion must be informative, be supported with research, and follow the requirements set by this course.
Peer Response:
Kajuanna McAfee
RE: Week 8 DiscussionTop of Form
Internal and external forces on the organization influence the bottom-line impact of employee benefits. Internal forces originate from changes in business practices and the human resources function that defines attraction, motivation, retention, and engagement strategies. (WorldatWork,
2007) The two internal forces I feel might influence benefit strategies are corporate restructuring and total rewards philosophy
Corporate restructuring: Corporate Restructuring is the process of making changes in the composition of a firm’s one or more business portfolios to have a more profitable enterprise. It also reorganizes the structure of the organization to get more profits from its operations or is best suited to the present situation.
Total rewards philosophy: Toward rewards philosophy shows the way employees invest in their employees. The system is designed to attract and retain employees by offering the best rewards systems for employees
WorldatWork. 2007. The WorldatWork Handbook of Compensation, Benefits & Total Rewards. Hoboken: John Wiley & Son, Inc. Pg. 484-485.
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Peer Response:
Brooklyn Dill
RE: Week 8 Discussion
Internal and external forces will greatly impact organizational strategies and this is also the case with strategies for planning employee benefits. On page 484 of the textbook, review the list of internal forces that influence benefit strategy and select any 2 that you feel might have the greatest influence and explain why. Then, select 1 external force influencing benefits strategy with the greatest influence and also explain why.
Two influences that have the greatest internal impact on benefit strategy are corporate restructuring and total rewards philosophy. Corporate restructuring can involve mergers, acquisitions, or divestitures that can lead to situations where the benefits package must be changed to adapt to the new corporate configuration (1). Large growth for the organization over short periods of time can also require the organization to restructure and change the benefits package. For example, if an organization grows by over 100 new employees in a year, then more benefits may be an option for the employees. Benefits that do not make financial sense for the organization at smaller employee counts may be an option with larger employee counts. This type of corporate restructuring also ties into total rewards philosophy. According to the WorldatWork authors, total rewards is defined as “all of the tools available to the employer that may be used to attract, motivate, and retain employees” (1). Employees do not understand most of the cost involved with benefits but employers must look at the cost of the benefit against the usefulness of the benefit and decide if having the benefit is cost beneficial to the organization.
The external force influencing benefits strategy with the greatest impact is the global economy and labor market. The current labor market caused by the global pandemic is the perfect example of an external feature influencing an organization’s benefit strategy. The majority of organizations prior to the pandemic didn’t offer remote work as a benefit but many are using flexible work schedules and remote work as benefits to attract new employees and retain current employees who enjoyed these benefits the past year and a half. With the tight labor market employees are seeking more than just higher compensation pay and are driving organizations to offer more flexible benefits.
WorldatWork. (2007). The WorldatWork Handbook of Compensation, Benefits, & Total Rewards: A Comprehensive Guide for HR Professionals. [p. 484]. John Riley & Sons. https://search-ebscohost-com.libdatab.strayer.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=194167&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
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