HRM-7002 v4: Compensation and Benefits (0377982581) - HRM-7002 v4: Compensation and Benefits (0377982581) 4/2/23, 9:11 PM

HRM-7002 v4: Compens… CS Corey Stewart

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Week 6
Benefit Plans to Meet Specific Needs
In addition to compensation, organizations offer varying benefits as part of their strategy to attract and retain talent.
Benefits, which are generally non-monetary compensation, actually extend the monetary pay received by employees
and provide additional value to the employee. It also allows organizations to design reward systems that promote
health, loyalty, retirement planning, and overall well-being. Benefit programs tend to be costly for most
organizations. Even though they may help meet the needs of employees, they must also be cost-effective and legally
compliant.

For organizations that operate globally, the designing of a benefits package can be more challenging. Each country
may perceive the value of benefits differently, and legal requirements for benefits may vary from country to country.
Also, some countries do not require organizations to provide benefits to their employees. Human resource
professionals must understand that value, cultural, and legal perceptions and differences exist and they must
conduct thorough research of the local laws in the countries where organizations operate. It would also be wise to
seek consultation from local experts to help confirm benefits practices that are in alignment with local laws and
cultural norms.

For example, everyone deserves to enjoy a vacation or leave from time to time and for various occasions such as a
birth or an illness. Therefore, many organizations incorporate various leave plans into their benefits approach to
appropriately meeting the needs of their employees. The approach to leave plans, however, can be heavily regulated
from country to country. Some countries mandate a specified period to be absent from work before it is considered
a leave. Because of this, there are different perceptions and approaches to leave plans as some of these are also
embedded in the culture. Therefore, it is important for human resources to understand the expectations of
employees, along with government regulations surrounding leave in its multiple forms across various countries. An
example is the United States practice of observing leave through the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

FMLA is available to eligible employees based on employees meeting a number of working hours on both a part-time
and full-time level. This means employees can take job-protected leave for up to 12 weeks to care for themselves or
an immediate family member. The HR practitioner works with an employee to ensure proper forms and physician
approval is obtained. The HR practitioner also works alongside an employee’s manager for the duration of the leave
to help meet staffing needs. FMLA applies only to those employees who work for a covered American employer with
50 or more employees, have been employed for at least 12 months, and are employed at a worksite within the
United States. The hours that an American working overseas accrues does not count towards the FMLA.

Internationally, most countries provide some type of maternal leave. But the amount of leave granted varies from
country to country from 2 months to 18 months. Some countries also grant paternal leave so a father can be home
with a newborn child. For example, in Canada, basic maternity leave is 15 weeks. Thereafter, either the mother or
father can take an additional 35 weeks of paid parental leave at 55% of their wage up to a certain pre-determined
limit. In addition, new mothers are provided with job protection for up 63 weeks of unpaid leave (Pantekoek, 2020).

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This is just one example; there are many other types of leaves such as vacation or holiday leave, military leave,
training leave, and more.

Retirement is another key benefit that organizations can offer. Company-based pension plans are practically non-
existent, so organizations develop retirement plans to help employees save for retirement. Retirement plans can be
very financially challenging for organizations. The resources needed to fund such plans are dependent upon an
organization’s profits. Start-up companies often have to use any profits for company sustainability and growth, with
no additional resources to fund retirement plans. In some industries, retirement is guided and/or mandated by local
or state laws, but there are several industries that are not held to offering retirement benefits or packages.

The use of retirement as opposed to company pension plans means that the employee must be more responsible for
their retirement planning. Human resources provide the employee with information on what the organization offers
in terms of retirement plan options. Then, the employee either works with a financial advisor or does their own
research on what financial vehicles would be appropriate in building a suitable retirement portfolio.

So, what are examples of retirement options? In public domains such as fire and police departments, retirement is
expressed as pension plans. In teaching or nonprofit organizations, 403b matching plans are offered. And in for-
profit companies, it is common to find 401k plans. Remember, 403b and 401k are widely known as contributions
plans. The matching provided within each plan can vary with each employer.

Some companies are at times limited in offering retirement options, so individual employees may look outside of
their employer to supplement their individual retirement plans. Examples include personal investing and employee-
sponsored retirement accounts that employees contribute to. While this increases responsibilities for employees,
there are additional options available to them outside of employer offerings.

This week, you will review various benefits programs and how they are related to overall employee well-being. You
will also view other types of benefits programs such as health and wellness, disability, unemployment, insurance,
retirement, and more. You will also learn how different generations of workers and workgroups value some benefits
more than others.

Your assignment this week is to create a brochure. Word offers many templates to choose from. Be sure to identify your
targeted audience for your brochure content. Then, develop your content (e.g., if you are focusing on a process, then detail
the steps of the process; if you are focusing on a plan or program, then offer details about the important aspects of the plan
or program). When appropriate, include appropriate graphics to complement your content. Your goal is to produce a creative
brochure that your targeted audience will read, share, and find useful.

References

Pantekoek, K. (2020). Paid parental leave in the U.S. vs. other developed countries. FindLaw.

Weekly Resources and Assignments

Review the resources from the Course Resources link, located in the top navigation bar, to prepare for this week’s
assignments. The resources may include textbook reading assignments, journal articles, websites, links to tools or
software, videos, handouts, rubrics, etc.

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Week 6 - Assignment: Review Organizational Benefits for Various

Work Groups
Assignment

Due April 9 at 11:59 PM

Benefits and compensation are often one of an organization’s highest operating costs, but also critical to their ability
to attract and retain key talent.

You work in Human Resources within a manufacturing company, and your Director has asked you to develop a
brochure that depicts the various benefits offered by the organization. This brochure will be provided to newly hired
employees as part of their onboarding process. The brochure should address the following:

Explain the benefits that are required by law in a U.S.-based company.

Indicate available benefit choices for three distinct workgroups within the company. Consider that one of the
groups may be unionized or work at the plant’s European facility.
Explain how the organization uses those benefits to help support employees' hiring and retention and why
certain benefits have been chosen.

Your brochure can be in any format you like, using programs such as Word or Adobe.

You are encouraged to include graphics, charts, and any other supportive visual aids.

Length: 2-3 pages, not including title and reference pages

References: Include a minimum of 3 scholarly references.

Your brochure should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course by
providing new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and
current APA standards where appropriate. Be sure to adhere to Northcentral University's Academic Integrity Policy.

When applicable, conduct a Turnitin pre-check and then upload your completed assignment and click the Submit to
Dropbox button.

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