Tracking the Trends of Total Rewards

A few decades ago, as employee benefits were just emerging as a component in reward packages, organizations often paid for 100% of employee benefit costs and rarely solicited employees' opinions on desired benefits. Today, that is no longer the case. Employees are actively inquiring about and participating in the total rewards process. Employers are requiring employees to share costs and allowing them to elect specific benefits. This format allows individuals to consider which forms of insurance best meet their needs, the types of paid time off they prefer, and the career initiatives they would like to pursue.

To provide relevant options for today's employees, HR professionals need to stay current with modern trends in compensation and benefits. One way this might be done is to examine and analyze data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Like the wage surveys you explored in Week 4, the BLS provides detailed information about the ways in which organizations are implementing total rewards packages.

In this Discussion, consider how the data provided by the BLS can be used by organizations and HR professionals in developing total reward systems. Explore the BLS statistics (linked below) to analyze statistical data on compensation and benefits. Once you enter the site, select the database and tools dropdown box to access information on a wide variety of variables, including data on compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation by various industry and occupational groups. Be sure to focus your attention on the tables providing various details on compensation.

Addresses the following:

Analyze statistical data on compensation and benefits.

Briefly explain the organization that you have chosen for this week's Discussion.

Include the name, website address, product sold, types of services, and the organization's mission statement.

Explain how the organization you selected could make use of this data to communicate the cost of total rewards to current and potential employees.

Provide three observations about the data that you found interesting or significant.

Describe at least one way each of these observations could help to develop an organization's total rewards system.

As an HR professional, would you use tables such as this to help your organization develop a total rewards system? Why or why not?