RETENTION, SEPARATION, AND DISCIPLINE 8 Retention, Separation, ✓ Solved

Human resources are indeed the most significant asset of the business. Human resource management can be defined as a coherent method of individuals that are collectively contributing to the company’s objectives. Compensation structure of the company is arguably the manner in which the organization is compensating its workforce through the use of financial or non-financial means. The salary structure of an organization is developed to attract, retain and motivate employees within an organization. The principle of the initiated reward system in business should always address the long-term challenges or issues of how individuals should be valued for their work in the various organizations.

The goal of this paper is to evaluate the compensations and benefits package of Walmart Company explicitly. The article will address different aspects of the reward system provided by the company with the aim of offering more insight and understanding of the issue of employee compensation and benefits which it has since been a challenge to many businesses. Walmart company is one of the largest employers in the United States of America and their compensation and benefits system has been the most contributing factor for its increased attraction and retention of employees. An efficient and comprehensive payment plan can empower the organizations to motivate and satisfy staffs, and this can increase their competitive advantage in today’s highly competitive industry.

Types of Employee Compensation

It is notable that the company’s human resource management approaches for the benefit are catered on reducing the costs. This is in line with its cost leadership generic strategy it is integrating to remain competitive in the industry. Therefore, Walmart’s compensation package is meant to reduce the human resource expenses. Besides, the company’s human resource management has the mandate to ensure that the compensation packages are considerably reduced, not to a position when it will compromise the performance of the employees.

Challenges in Employee Compensation

Walmart is always criticized by low basic pay including the low wages and salaries that cannot adequately support the needs of the staffs. For instance, the current minimum hourly wage is $7.25, which is below the national average level of $9.93. However, several reformations have been made in the human resource department to ensure that the minimum hourly wage is increased to $10.00. The human resource department projects that this increment will significantly influence the workers’ rate of retention. Similarly, the company also has various benefits including the Company-matched 401(k) contributions, up to 6% of the employees’ salary, associate stock purchase policy with the company match, associate discounts and the comprehensive health insurance policies. These benefits have maintained the motivation of employees. One of the key incentive given to the employees includes the recognition of the high-performance staffs (Thompson, 2017).

Retention Strategies for High-Performing Employees

Retention of high-performing employees is essential in increasing and maintaining the productivity of the company. Various factors such as motivation, pay, working environment among others can influence an employee to leave their respective work. It is advisable for the employer to listen to the needs of the employees and implement an appropriate retention strategy which makes the employees feel valued to increase their retention rate. One important strategy which Walmart have majored on is the integration of the various employees training programs in the plans. Training the workers may enable them to understand their goals hence be productive in their job requirements (Yazinski, 2017).

Compensation Benchmarking

Compensation benchmarking activities will involve the procedures of utilizing internal job descriptions to compare with the reputable salary survey jobs with the aim of identifying the external market rate for every position which is benchmarked. Benchmarking activities plays a significant role in guiding decision-making process for pay decisions and also HR practices such as hiring, promotions, compensation and benefit planning among others. The compensation benchmarking activities will also enable the employer to get the information needed to define the costs linked with salaries and bonuses.

Separation Policies and Procedures

Employees separation refers to the process of managing the employment termination, whether on an involuntary basis, for instance, discharge, and layoff or on the voluntary ground such as resignation. Typically, Walmart offers the process of efficient separation of employees with essential consideration of business needs at the same ensuring the process is free and fair.

Costs of Employee Benefits

Walmart being the third leading employer in the world, it is evident that the cost of employees benefits will be enormous. It is estimated that the 2 million plus employees will cost the company over 14 billion annually. Nevertheless, the company spends $500 million on the hourly associate bonuses within one year as well as $900 million on retirement benefits.

Employee Assistance Programs

Job stress is one of the employee assistance programs offered by Walmart. The program is aimed at motivating the employees by fixing the factors that may influence the job stress in the organization. Substance abuse is also an essential program which attempts to consider the employees’ health and safety.

Communication of Employee Benefits

A well-positioned notice board can be a valuable strategy for communicating to employees. The notice board should be strategically placed in a position where the staffs can easily see the communication. The digital era may also prefer the use of social media platforms. This is because of the increased use of technology which can transfer information to a wide geographical area.

Legal Implications of Separation Policies

It is notable that an organization can expose herself to hefty penalties which may range from minimal corrective measures to monetary fines and in some situations, the consequence can be jail sentences after the violation of the employees’ rights.

Legally Mandated vs. Voluntary Benefits

The legally mandated benefits are the ones the federal and state government requires the employers to offer to the employees. Such benefits may include Medicare tax and Social Security. However, the voluntary benefits have no limitation from any government agency or law including paid leave and health promotion benefits.

Formal Discipline Policies

The three primary levels of the formal disciplinary procedure include the written warning in case there is a minor breach or misconduct followed by final written letter if any case the employee has not corrected the conduct which was written in the first level. Finally, the employee should be dismissed if at all there is enough evidence from the investigation that the employee breached certain rules.

Environmental Factors Affecting Compensation

Market competition and legislation may impact the compensation benefits provided by an organization. Companies may want to match or outdo the competitors’ reward systems to attract or retain the employees. On the other hand, the government legislation may offer specific minimum wages that an employer must comply with.

Dispute Resolution Processes

Firstly, arbitration involves a special procedure where the conflicting parties agree the fact one person can make a decision concerning a dispute after getting evidence from the parties. Secondly, negotiation is a voluntary and informal process through which the concerned parties identify the issues of concern, explore alternatives for the resolution of the problems and look for an acceptable agreement.

Challenges in Compensation and Benefits

Some of the challenges related to remuneration and benefits an organization faces include difficulty in staying current and updated in the ever-changing market, assisting the staffs to understand the compensation and benefits package, making employment decisions which are unbiased and appealing to the diversity of the different regions.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the company needs to understand the various concepts and activities required for an effective HR department. Compensation and benefits plans are one of the essential programs which an organization should focus on as it determines the motivation and satisfaction of the employees, hence, determines the productivity and competitiveness of the business.

References

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• Yazinski, S. (2017). Strategies for Retaining Employees and Minimizing Turnover. Hr.blr.com. Retrieved 28 May 2017
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