Introduction
In this paper, a comprehensive employee compensation and benefits package will be developed. The package is for a secretary who will work in the human resource department of a company that manufactures ice cream in Brooklyn. The paper will begin with an overview of the compensation and benefits package. This will include a discussion on the additional benefits that might be considered in future to enhance motivation and performance. The possible influence of government regulation on the compensation package will also be examined. In addition, the proposed package will be compared with those provided by other ice cream companies to justify its suitability.
Overview of the Compensation and Benefits Package
The package will consist of an annual salary and several benefits. Executive secretaries in the manufacturing industry in the US earn approximately USD 40,000 annually (BLS, 2014). In this regard, the new secretary will earn USD 45,000 per year. The salary has been set above the industry level to attract the best talent. The salary will be increased annually under two situations. First, it will be increased according to the prevailing level of inflation in the country. This will help the secretary to maintain his/ her purchasing power during periods of high inflation (Dhar, 2008). Second, the salary will be increased if the secretary exceeds her performance targets. In this case, the salary increment will serve as a tool for promoting excellent performance.
The benefits will include the following. First, the secretary will be entitled to a health insurance package that covers vision and dental care, as well as, inpatient and outpatient medical services. The immediate family members of the secretary will also be covered by the health insurance. Consequently, the secretary and his/ her family members will have access to quality medical services, which in turn will boost her productivity (Millmore, 2007). Second, the company will offer a defined benefit pension plan that will provide regular income to the secretary after retiring. The income will depend on the secretary’s salary and years of service. The secretary is likely to be committed to the company and work for it for a long time if she expects to receive a steady income after retiring. Thus, the pension plan will help the company to retain the secretary. Finally, the secretary will be entitled to a paid sick leave. This will improve the secretary’s wellbeing and performance by ensuring that she has adequate time and financial resources to seek treatment.
Exempt vs. Nonexempt
The secretary will be an exempt employee. This perspective is based on the fact that her compensation package and responsibilities meet the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In particular, the secretary will be paid a monthly salary rather than hourly wages. Moreover, the proposed annual salary exceeds the USD 23,660, which a salaried employee has to earn in order to be exempt (Goldman & Corrada, 2011). The FLSA requires exempt employees to engage in white-collar jobs. The secretary meets this requirement because she will be responsible for professional and administrative duties.
As an exempt employee, the secretary will not be entitled to overtime pay (Goldman & Corrada, 2011). However, she might occasionally be required to work for more than 40 hours per week to enable the HR department to achieve its objectives. In this regard, the company will make special arrangements to compensate the secretary for the extra hours. This benefit will be provided to ensure satisfaction and fairness in the company. Generally, the secretary is likely to be satisfied with her job if her pay reflects the extra effort and time that she devotes to her work.
Other Benefits
The company will consider the following additional benefits to enhance the secretary’s performance and motivation. First, the company will consider providing paid holiday/ vacation time after the first twelve months. This benefit will entitle the secretary to an annual leave of 10 working days. The secretary will be entitled to her full salary during the holiday. The paid vacation is justified by the fact that it will enable the secretary to find time to attend to her personal issues. It will also enable her to recuperate by resting and engaging in leisure activities. The resulting reduction in work-related stress will improve the secretary’s performance and motivation (Dhar, 2008).
Second, the company will provide an annual bonus pay. The amount of the bonus will depend on the extent to which the secretary achieves her performance targets. For instance, she will be paid 70% of a predetermined amount of money if she achieves 70% of her annual performance targets. Thus, the secretary will be motivated to improve her performance in order to increase her income (Millmore, 2007). Finally, the secretary will benefit from employee assistance programs such as professional counseling services to help her and her household members to cope with life challenges.
Government Regulations
Government regulations will influence the compensation package in the following ways. At the federal level, the FLSA is one of the major laws that will influence the package. For instance, if the government increases the minimum wage for exempt employees, the company will have to raise the secretary’s salary to avoid breaching the regulation. The Equal Pay Act will also influence the package. In this case, the company will have to align the compensation package to those of employees whose jobs require skills, effort, and responsibilities that are similar to those of the secretary (Goldman & Corrada, 2011). This will help the company to avoid lawsuits that are likely to result from pay discrimination.
At the state level, the company has to ensure that the secretary’s salary is above the minimum wage rate in New York. In addition, employers in New York are required to provide all the supplementary benefits that they promise their employees (Goldman & Corrada, 2011). Therefore, the company will not be able to change the compensation package in a manner that will leave the secretary in a worse-off situation. For instance, the company will not be able to eliminate the paid sick leave since New York’s Earned Sick Time Act made the benefit compulsory in 2014.
Packages Provided by Similar Companies
At Carlton Ice Cream, secretaries are paid a fixed annual salary. In addition, the secretaries are entitled to health insurance. However, the insurance does not cover vision and dental care. The company also provides paid sick leave to its secretaries. In addition, the company has a defined contribution pension plan (Carlton Ice Cream, 2014). This benefit provides a payout to the secretaries after they retire from the company.
Steve’s Ice Cream also pays its secretaries an annual salary. Moreover, the company provides paid sick leave and unpaid annual vacation time. The company’s secretaries are also entitled to health insurance and bonus pay that depends on the level of their performance (Steve’s Ice Cream, 2014). Steve’s Ice Cream provides a defined benefit pension plan to enable its secretaries to maintain financial stability after retiring.
Clearly, the compensation packages provided by the two companies are less generous. For instance, the companies do not provide paid vacation time and their health insurance packages do not cover vision and dental care. In this respect, the proposed compensation package should be implemented because it will enable the company to attract and retain the best secretary in the industry.
HR Strategy
The company’s HR strategy focuses on creating a work environment that is characterized by high job satisfaction, motivation, and performance among employees. The proposed compensation package is aligned to this strategy in two ways. First, it ensures job satisfaction and motivation by providing above industry average salary and benefits. This perspective is supported by the fact that employees are often motivated to work for the company that provides the best pay in the labor market. Second, the package links compensation to performance. In this regard, the company will achieve the desired level of performance as the secretary increases her effort in order to earn a high bonus.
Conclusion
The compensation package provides an annual salary and various benefits, which include a comprehensive health insurance package and paid sick leave. Moreover, the package provides a defined benefit pension plan. Other benefits that can be considered in future include paid holiday, employee assistance programs, and bonus pay. The package should be adopted because it will enable the company to improve its competitiveness by attracting the best secretary in the market. Moreover, the company should take into account the government regulations that might affect the package during its implementation.
References
BLS. (2014). Payments and benefits.
Carlton Ice Cream. (2014). About us. Web.
Dhar, R. (2008). Strategic human resource management. London, England: Oxford University Press.
Goldman, A., & Corrada, R. (2011). Labor Law in the USA. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Millmore, M. (2007). Strategic human resource management. New York, NY: Prentice Hall.
Steve’s Ice Cream. (2014). Our story. Web.