For this discussion activity, your scavenger hunt will be completed by finding two examples of where an organization and management excelled in ensuring employees were properly compensated, including benefit packages, and then provide two examples of where an organization failed in this area, along with the end result for the organization (even to the point where the organization takes advantage of employees during hard economic times). Think about examples from the past or from your organization where the employees had great benefits and describe what the work environment was like, compared to some of the examples where organizations are not doing much in these areas and perhaps are even reducing benefits or compensation. In addition, I want you to consider the significant part that healthcare costs play and some of the major issues employees and employers have to deal with in this area. Remember, these examples can come from any organization. If you do find applicable information on your own organization while working on this discussion, please use it where applicable in your SWOT analysis. These examples can be from current events, historical instances, or classic examples, in video or print.

Conduct a web search seeking two examples where organizations are paying and compensating employees in new and innovative ways, and then provide two examples where this is not happening.

• Discuss what you found during your web search.
• Provide a description of your selected key functions and how these functions can and do affect all managers and organizations.

In response to your colleagues:

• Discuss any personal experiences you have had with pay and benefits (both good and bad) and explain some of the different ways organizations are trying to pay and compensate employees while still staying in the black.
• Discuss any similarities or differences with your own perceptions.

Respoind to the following 

Discussion 1

During my research I found that Google is well known for having lots of unique perks employee benefits. Not only is google a company that people want to work for, the average median salary is over $238,000. google even offers free food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They offer on site haircuts for those that want one. A fully equipped gym and a swim-in-place pool. for the employees that play games they offer game rooms filled with video games, ping pong tables, billiards, and even foosball. If an employee works too hard or has no time to do laundry at home they can bring it to work, where they have laundry facilities and dry cleaning services. They even go the extra mile and have medical staff on-site in case they are needed by employees.

When it comes to health, Google offers the employees the following benefits:

• Death benefits where spouses of employees receive 50% of the employee’s salary every year for a decade. Children also receive a $1,000 monthly payment until they reach 19.
• Maternity benefits of 18 weeks paid leave and paternity benefits of six weeks of paid leaves.

Google of course says that working for them is about passion, not perks . Of course, it’s hard not to be a passionate employee when so many great benefits are available to you, right at the workplace.

The other Company that I found that offers great perks for its employees is SAS, the leader in business analytics software and business intelligence, has a number of benefits to offer such as, they give employees 3 weeks of paid vacation and unlimited sick days. They have healthcare centers at many of their offices. for the employees that require it, they have subsidized on-site centers. The main headquarters has recreation and fitness centers and offer reimbursement for those at regional offices for fitness memberships, A college scholarship program for children of employees, and best of all no dress code. One manager noted that people stay at SAS because of the benefits and because they feel seen, attended to, and cared for.

I would so work for both of these companies!!

You would be surprised of the companies that I found that do not pay or compensate that well. the first company that came up on the list is WALMART… Take for instance the average workforce is $1.4 Million, The CEO makes over $ 18 Million. The companies revenue rakes in a whopping $447 Billion dollars a year, while their net income of $15.7 Billion dollars which is astronomical. They do this with only 3,868 stores.. Unreal!

Even the labor practices are crap! The labor practices of Wal-Mart have long received negative media attention, but not penalized investors. Wal-Mart’s share price rose more than 48% the past five years. In 2008, Wal-Mart agreed to pay $640 million to settle dozens of class-action lawsuits that claimed the company didn’t pay workers for hours worked. In October, a class-action lawsuit was filed in a Chicago federal court, alleging the retailer violates minimum wage and overtime laws. Wal-Mart workers have begun to strike, and some walked off the job on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year. Wal-Mart filed an unfair-labor-practice complaint against the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union in protest.

The next company that I found was a company called DineEquity.

DineEquity, the parent company of Applebee’s and IHOP, has more employees and more stores than Darden, a company similar to others in this list. Yet, DineEquity’s revenue is less than Darden’s, as its executive compensation. Zane Tankel, who owns 40 Applebee’s franchises in the New York metropolitan area, recently raised the ire of Applebee’s employees and customers when he said he would freeze hiring and consider cutting employee hours due to costs of implementing the Affordable Care Act. DineEquity has declined comment.

DineEquity’s US workforce relates to 173,350 people, the CEO makes approximately $5.4 Million dollars a year. The company’s revenue is $1.1 Billion, while their net income is $75.2 Million a year. they do all this with only 12, 903 stores.

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Hines, K. (n.d.). 4 Companies Attracting Quality Talent with Unique Perks. Recruiterbox Blog. Retrieved February 24, 2021, from https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2012/… 

Discussion 2

During my search, I found many companies that offer many monetary benefits for their employees, but I choose to talk about Google and Ernst & Young.

Google: The company offers bonuses for those who get creative and making new stuff and provides free lunch and dinner, car maintenance and cleaning, massages, yoga, child care, and tuition reimbursement. These are benefits for everyone in the company, not just bonuses.

Ernst & Young: This is a company that offers the same benefits for couples of the same sex, even in states that do not recognize same-sex marriage. Also, many other uses for those who are working parents like leave and concierge services.

Companies that are not that good with their salaries or benefits I found I few. One of them is “Williams-Sonoma,” a store for kitchen accessories costly and probably unnecessary; their sales members get $11 per hour. Still, they have limited opportunities to grow in the company. Another one is Steak and Shake, and this company is a cheap food seller, which means fewer tips for those waitresses that get $4 per hour. Also, they have many complaints about their irregular shifts. Just 28% of the employees recommend this company for jobs.

As managers, compensation is key to maintain your employees motivated and relax. Why? Simple because that is the main reason they are working for. They have responsibilities and goals to reach, and if the company cannot meet their necessities or standards, they will move out. In my last job, I was working by “Professional services” for 4 years. I was getting $16 per hour, but the mentally exhausting environment was not worth it. Also, I didn’t have any benefits like vacations or free days, not even insurance. That is why I change to Active duty after 8 years in the National Guard. So, yes, compensation is very important for everyone, including stability and a healthy work environment.

Reference:

1. Salary.(2021).14 Companies with Incredible Employee Perks.Salary.