Assignment: Discussion-Pay and Benefits

A company's compensation strategy is most effective when it remains in line with the organization's overall business strategy. While human resources departments must strive to attract and retain the best workers for each position, the incentives needed to engage those workers must be balanced with the costs to the company.

Using the Argosy University online library resources and the Internet, research best practices regarding compensation strategies.

For this assignment, you are to research compensation strategies and consider general compensation programs for the following two scenarios:

1. Scenario 1: A midsized company with a proven product. Executives are looking to keep labor costs at a minimum.

2. Scenario 2: A small company that is still trying to prove itself in the industry while striving for product leadership and innovation.

For each scenario, describe the base pay and major incentives that are included in your benefits package and respond to the following:

• Does your program include stock options, profit sharing, an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), healthcare, etc.?
• Are your specified options provided for employees of all levels or just for certain positions?
• What are the costs to the company for each added incentive?
• How do these incentives shape/determine the type of employee you attract?
• How is employee performance rewarded? Include a strategy for raises and bonuses. How do your strategies differ by job level and function?
• Why do your packages differ between the two scenarios? What changes do you recommend if each firm moves from a large city to a minimally populated rural area?

For base pay, be sure to provide percentile ranges in lieu of hard numbers. For example a firm may target being competitive with the market at the fortieth percentile, the seventy-fifth percentile, or some chosen range (e.g., between the twenty-fifth and fiftieth percentile).