Employee benefits are additional, voluntary, and wage-independent payments made on top of salaries or conventional earnings (Peterson 68). Health insurance, bonuses, tuition reimbursement, paid sick days, paid vacation days, stock options, disability payments, child care assistance, and retirement plans are just a few of the advantages offered to employees. These perks strengthen job security, and as a result, businesses may improve retention rates and draw in fresh talent to spur growth and expansion. Therefore, the human resources department should offer fair pay that complies with industry norms and is sufficiently attractive to keep employees at their jobs (Kristal 8). Taking these benefits into account, employees frequently select different employment. To evaluate employee benefits package in different organizations, it is vital to consider essential metrics such as financials, cost and benefits and employee turn-over. In this overview, the history and demographics of three US-based telecommunication corporations; AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon would be analyzed to come up with the basis for evaluating their benefits packages.
AT&T came into existence through Alexander Graham Bell on October 5, 1883(AT&T 8). Since then, the company has grown to be one of the largest telecommunication companies worldwide. Initially, as a subsidiary of American Bell, AT&T has expanded its scale of operation since 1900 and currently commands lead in provision of IP services in the telecommunication industry. It also deals in extensive consumer services like broadband, local search, international service plans, and mobile phone trading. With over 291 million customers on its network, AT&T owns a 4G LTE network which has gained enormous recognition in the United States and beyond. In effect; the company enjoys the biggest market share in the mobile broadband services market.
Founded in 1898 by Carlos Florendo and Cleyson Leroy Brown, Sprint is a mobile broadband company offering telecommunication services in the U.S (Sprint 3). After the unsuccessful merge with United Telephone Limited, the company currently trades in wireless communication services. Later on, Sprint purchased a controlling interest in Nexel to increase its market share and tax benefits. With the majority shareholding in Nexel, the company proposed a merge with Nexel and subsequent renaming of the company to Sprint Nexel Corporation. About 48 million customers have access to the company's wireless mobile network.
Verizon Wireless, founded by William J. Katherein, is well known for providing mobile broadband services across the United States. The successful merging of Bell Atlantic and GTE resulted in the formation of Verizon Communications Incorporation. Verizon is among the fortune 500 companies. So far, it is the most popular wireless company in the U.S. and owns more than 90 million connections, both retail and post-retail (Verizon n.p). The Company's annual revenue is approximately $115.8 billion. Verizon is quoted with New York Stock Exchange NYSE. The current employee population of the company is over 182,000.
All the three companies offer a variety of employment benefits packages. As a result, employee satisfaction levels differ significantly, and that is the discussion here. For instance, AT&T has benefits programs that enable employees to save substantial amounts. Additionally, the moment you become AT&T employee, you qualify for significant discounts up to 50% on a wide range of brands from AT&T, including Digital Life, AT&T U-verse, DIRECTV, and wireline voice (AT&T 15). Furthermore, AT&T offers other discounts to enable its staff shop around for electronics, education programs and game tickets. Such saving avenues come from taking advantage of the company's network services and provisions. The company offers 17% employee discounts on certain branded products like data services, wireless voice services and mobile phones (Heathfield n.p) However, these discounts do not come automatic, and one must apply for them free of charge. The employee discounting program has many benefits to do with standard shipping waivers, reduced fees on upgrade and activation, as well as discounts on telecommunication equipment depending on one's commitment.
Verizon does not provide information concerning its discount rates. As opposed to the percentage, it is the eligibility form that determines how much discount one will receive. This sounds a bit disadvantageous when compared to AT&T. The approach is somehow biased, and one may prove to be eligible at the expense of consuming the company products, which later on can be costly for the company (Heathfield n.p). Hence, it is difficult for an employee to determine the extent of the deductions from consuming the products of the company, making it difficult to quantify the savings (Mamorsky 37). As it appears, AT&T has a competitive advantage over rivals in as far as discounts are concerned before one joins the company. Sprint gives their employees exclusive discounts on services and merchandise from top brands, which deal in clothing, computers, gifts, and tickets. In addition, the company also offers unlimited phone calls at no cost and a 20GB tablet line (Sprint 21). Overall, Sprint offers their employees a maximum of 25% on their products and accessories. While this rate may be perceived as the highest of the three, the company does not provide a wide range of products considering it is a wireless communication company.
Health plan eligibility depends on the duration one has worked with the organization. One can easily become a beneficiary of Sprint's scheme by having worked a minimum of 20 hours weekly (Sprint 14). After enrollment, one can automatically access health benefits. Employees with at least 30 working hours can enjoy premium health coverage with whole benefits. AT&T, on the other hand, the contractual agreement such as date of hire and employee status determines one's eligibility. Since all employees are qualified, the job description of an employee would determine which specific health coverage will suit the employee. Verizon's qualification becomes automatic when one gets hired. It takes 30 days for one to make health insurance application. From these three, we can conclude that Sprint's eligibility and participation benefit program is the best for new employees.
It is also important to look at the financials of these companies regarding wages and salaries one gets once hired. An employee will always consider the basic salary at the first instance, to choose among different employees. AT&T provides a salary of $67,000 to $103,000 to its technical staff, bringing average pay to around about $85,000 in that category (Howe 8). Sprint's RF engineers normally receive a salary ranging from $53,000 to $95,000, resulting in an average of $ 71,000 (Sprint 18). The same position in Verizon Wireless corresponds to the Software engineer. The respective salary starts at a minimum of $69,000, and the maximum is set at $110,000. But the average pay in the Software Engineering Department is $91,000 (Varettoni 3). Going as per the salary structures, Verizon seems to give the most admirable offer.
Employee turnover rate is a concern in the telecommunication industry, and companies must always prioritize to hold their employees by ensuring substantial benefits and perks are in place (Mamorsky 42). Otherwise, a company may end up losing their best employees to rivals. It is advantageous to have a lower employee turnover as it suggests high employee retention levels. In other words, the employee satisfaction levels are relatively, and this could match with more productivity. Employee turnover is not a big problem in AT&T as the turnover rate is low. This can be linked to the company's employee attractive benefits rewarding scheme which compensates lower income payments, unlike what the other companies do. AT&T has a policy of increasing benefits with the years of service as one way of rewarding loyal employees (AT&T 17). Consequently, employees have at times those working have shown greater commitment in their work to increase their benefits. Moreover, most of them have an extended stay in the company, and through their long-lived experienced, there is minimal time wastage.
For Sprint, turnover is high especially for entrants. Many individuals who want to commit to the company find it challenging as they can risk losing their jobs if they take long to adapt. Sprint, therefore, must consider reviewing its training program since the six months' staff training can be a waste of time and financial resources, considering that employees can be laid off before they are one-year-old (Riverbed 17). Evidently, the company's recruitment strategies have impacted negative outcomes on employee's growth and personal development. It is for this reason that newly employed individuals do not prove proactive for fear of losing their jobs. On the other hand, Verizon capitalizes on its training program for employees to manage turnover. The company conducts training and development to build on the employees' skillset in their current positions or when they assume new roles in the organization. An employee would want to be assured of their job security before opting to join a potential employer and training programs are an integral part of these decisions (Kristal 11). Training and capacity building can help explain the increasing trends of productivity in Verizon.
Health savings accounts (HSAs) and Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) assist employees to increase their current income for spending (Riverbed 10). Despite the two accounts being different, they offer substantial tax advantages for offsetting eligible expenses. Contributions to these accounts do not attract any tax; hence employees can make considerable savings. According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the healthcare expenses that are eligible include prescription drugs, lab tests, hospital bills and Chiropractor visits. AT&T operates FSAs and HSAs accounts and provides reimbursements for their employees in case of eligible minor health expenses. Participating in these programs can increase the ability of the employees to afford extra out-of-the-pocket health services.
Sprint FSAs operates two types of FSAs- Dependent Care FSA and Health Care FSA, to plan health services. Dependent care FSA operationalizes when eligible dependents incur minor expenses relating to the elderly care and children assistance (Riverbed 13). The maximum amount one can contribute to a Dependent Care FSA is $5000 in a year. Healthcare FSA is concerned with out-of-pocket expenditure not catered for by medical and prescription drugs plan, including deductibles; co-insurance and co-pays. With Verizon, the plans vary significantly due to a different mode adopted by their FSAs. Individual deductibles require $1950, and this amount can double when dependents are included. But, the deductibles can be paid up to $5250.
Cost-benefit analysis provides an excellent measure to determine the net gains for a company (Kristal 21). For a long time, Sprint has been distributing its video content via satellite transmission. However, their software engineers have developed a better IP network, phasing -out this expense. The webcast has also served to cut the costs of providing services. In effect, this has improved remote interactions between employees without necessarily moving from their places of work. The webcasts have made communication more efficient, and traveling expenses between distant work stations have reduced tremendously. Remote on-site workers continue to receive considerable appreciation, leading to higher employee satisfaction levels (Sprint 22). Being an equal opportunity employer, an employee can opt to stay as opposed to seeking employment elsewhere.
Verizon uses a well- designed training program to cut its operational costs (Varettoni 1). At the end of the training session, the recruits are expected to own high standards and competencies vital to perform their duties. The company also fosters more interactions in the course of the program. As a result, the hires become more open with the trainers and doing so; it assists in solving any potential problems as early as possible. The company stays ahead of others by continuously upgrading its critical infrastructure and hardware systems. In line with this, the employees develop strategies to innovate their skills, making them more efficient (Howe 8). In spite of having stayed in the industry long enough; AT&T has managed to secure a competitive cost package. They can afford the services of highly qualified professionals than the other two. More broadly, the company spends less when it comes to training and hiring, thereby, increasing workplace efficiency.
AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon have no much difference in other benefits such as paid time off (PTO) and tuition reimbursement. AT & T offers paid time off (PTO) for eligible an employee, which includes six company-designated holidays (AT&T 14). Extra PTO will vary based on the employee's bargaining group. Sprint considers many ways of giving employees free days, including PTO, company holidays, unpaid personal absence leaves, and family medical leaves. At Sprint, an employee is eligible to commence coursework and qualifies up to $3,500 annual tuition reimbursement (Sprint 23). Verizon also gives their time off and runs a program dubbed Verizon Tuition Assistance Plan (VZ TAP) to enhance employee's personal and professional development (Varettoni 3).
In conclusion, employee benefits play a significant role in retaining and attracting prospective employees to the company. A comprehensive employee benefits package need to offer a broader array of benefits. These benefits range from medical benefits such as visibility, disability, and health insurance, to flexible spending accounts, tuition reimbursement, employee discounts, time off from work and 401(K) plans on retirement schemes. The absence of these benefits coupled with uncompetitive salaries would lead to high employee turnover and eventually low productivity (Doyle n.p). The present analysis suggests the efforts the three companies use to offer a competitive employee benefits package. While there are differences in eligibility and participation, there are similarities when it comes to increasing expenditure incomes and saving for retirement. Both companies offer employees shopping discounts, though at different rates All in all, Verizon offers the most comprehensive employee benefits package of the three. Unlike AT&T, Sprint, Verizon offer good discounting and diverse saving plans for employees and dependents.
Works Cited
AT&T. AT&T New Hire Benefits Guide. Web. January 2017.
Doyle, Alison. "Types of Employee Benefits and Perks." The Balance. Web. October 17, 2017.
Heathfield, Susan M. "What's in a Comprehensive Employee Benefits Package?" The Balance. Web. December 05, 2016
Howe, Neil. "How the millennial generation is transforming employee benefits." Benefits Quarterly 30.2 (2014): 8.
Kristal, Tali. "Who Gets and Who Gives Employer-Provided Benefits? Evidence from Matched Employer-Employee Data." Social Forces (2017): 1-33.
Mamorsky, Jeffrey D. Employee Benefits Law: ERISA and Beyond. New York: Law Journal Press, 2017. Print.
Peterson, Dawn Denniston. "Employee Benefits." The Encyclopedia of Human Resource Management: Short Entries (2013): 68-74.
Riverbed. "U.S. Employee Benefits Guide". Riverbed. Web. December 31, 2016.
Sprint. 2015 Benefits Summary. Web. n.d
Varettoni, Bob. "Verizon builds on 2Q momentum with strong 3Q." Web. n.d. resultshttps://www.verizon.com/about/investors/protected-download/protected/59e7f057/D-0k-iUPnByeuj_8Mx4OjRvA8QFQNwlIlgZ0N5bSIHc/vzqtr3-press%20release.pdf accessed November 14, 2017
Verizon. "3Q 2017 Quarter Earnings Conference Call Webcast". Web. October 19, 2017
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