HR compensation and benefits

For a company to experience successful growth, it is crucial to recruit and keep a competitive workforce (Bryant & Allen, 2013). The company's human resource department should come up with strategies to entice talent to the organization. This can be done by providing competitive compensation packages, upholding a professional work environment, and making sure that the workforce is motivated (Martocchio, 2017).
Recommendations on the Elements of the Compensation and Benefits Package
Young company YLSS has demonstrated significant growth potential with the recent introduction of new software, despite being a small business. Additionally, there are signs that within the ensuing six months, the company will have doubled in size. The business must carefully manage the company's growth, it must be handled carefully to ensure that the company's objectives remain clear and that all the clients are satisfied by the services offered (Bryant & Allen, 2013).

The company is operating in a competitive technological field. As such, the human resource manager should ensure that they obtain the best staff to implement their strategies successfully. The employees should be highly motivated to continue executing their duties diligently, which needs proper research to determine the remuneration of the employees. Apart from the cash payment, the company should introduce other packages that enhance the welfare of the employees (Lasting Solutions HR, 2016). During their research, the human resource department should ensure that they develop a package that will improve the individual, team, and organizational performance. Additionally, the company should provide that the strategies are sustainable. The following should be considered during the development of the strategy;

Fair Labor Standards Act (1938) as Amended

The company should comply with the laws of the land. The law has set out the compensation practices to be followed by various companies (Bryant & Allen, 2013). This makes it necessary for Yellow Leaf to abide by the law and prevent unnecessary legal battles.

Attraction of Talent

The current expansion situation in Yellow Leaf Software Solutions requires the establishment of a stable and reliable workforce. San Mateo is densely populated with software development companies, some of which are older than the Yellow Leaf (Biswas, 2014). As such, there exists a high competition for quality labor. If the company is to succeed in the implementation of the new software, it requires a highly talented workforce (Martocchio, 2017). During the development of the plan, the human resource manager should compare the packages offered by the competing companies to adopt the most favorable ones.

Satisfaction and Fairness

The employees should be fairly compensated to ensure that they feel incorporated into the company. They should be involved in the decision making of the company to give them a sense of belonging (Bryant & Allen, 2013). This attachment is critical to ensuring a successful running of the company's operations.

The human resource manager should always endeavor to ensure that all the employees are treated equally and fairly. Such initiative prevents disillusionment among the employees and creates a conducive environment for the company's operations (Pianko & Samuels, 2014). If YLSS provides for the improved welfare of the employees, then the implementation of the new software will be smooth, and the company will successfully attract and retain a competitive workforce.

Developing a Competitive Package for the Employees

There is a need for YLSS to devise an attractive compensation plan to obtain competitive software developers and support staff to successfully implement the new software while not compromising the quality of service the company offers, given that there are established competitors in the software development market. While the current system has numerous benefits, they may need slight adjustments to improve their competitiveness. The changes recommended include:

Revising the Benefits to make them More Attractive

From the current compensation plan, it is clear that the rates are below those of the competing companies. As such, it is vital that the human resource department improve the benefits as follows;

Health insurance plan. YLSS should pay 75% of the health insurance premiums on behalf of the employees. The health plan of any given company is critical since employees would be more comfortable to work with an employer that cares about their health (Lasting Solutions HR, 2016). Raising it to 75% should be accompanied by a precise analysis to show a balance of the internal value and the external competitiveness of the package.

PTO benefits. The benefits include the leave days, the sick leaves, and personal leave days, which stand at 21 days annually after the employee has served for three years. The company should ensure that these benefits are timely paid. Additionally, it is important for the human resource manager to exempt the sick days from the three years' service requirement and add bereavement to the package. The two cases should be specially treated as they are not deliberate and are beyond human control (Bryant & Allen, 2013).

Full vesting benefit. The company has shown a great initiative to match 3% of the employee's annual contribution. It is a highly attractive package, and the company will gain significant benefits from the arrangement. However, the human resource manager may consider revising the company's match to 5%, which will further make the software developer job more attractive (Pianko & Samuels, 2014).

Group term life insurance. This is an initiative that should be maintained. It offers security assurances to the employees, making them have a special attachment to the company (Martocchio, 2017). The human resource manager may, however, decide to enhance the scheme by improving the contributions from the current $50,000 to $ 55, 000. The assured protection prevents the employees from shifting their allegiance to other competing companies.

If the benefits are correctly implemented, YLSS will be one of the most competitive software developing companies in the entire California region, which will make it easy for the relatively new company to attract and retain highly competent employees. Additionally, the human resource manager should devise a method to implement the following:

Performance bonuses. The company needs to appreciate the efforts of the employees to achieve the set goals of the company, which can be achieved by developing a sustainable bonuses plan for the software developers and other company's employees (Bryant & Allen, 2013). The bonuses should be paid to employees with direct contact to the clients to enhance their productivity, which may include the software developers, sales professionals, and marketing specialists (Pianko & Samuels, 2014). The bonuses should, however, exclude the administration staff since they do not influence the client's decisions directly. They will be higher for the software developers than those of the customer care and marketing specialists. The software developers may earn $ 20, 000 in commission with a maximum bonus of 30%. Other specialists may earn a bonus of between 15% and 25%.

Spots awards. To attract and maintain quality employees, YLSS should ensure that the employees are motivated to work. One of the most effective methods to achieve this is the spot awards (Lasting Solutions HR, 2016). Such awards recognize daily or weekly employee's achievements. The human resource manager should have a cash budget to award the recognized employee on the spot immediately., which may include awarding of vouchers of between $ 400 and $ 500 (Biswas, 2014). However, the manager should ensure that this system does not create enmity and discrepancies in the employees' relationship. The award should be given purely by performance and other parameters set by the management.

Specific Workforce Strategies to Attract and Retain a Quality Workforce

Apart from the monetary and other benefits, YLSS should develop intangible strategies to create favorable working conditions for all the employees. The reliability and retention of the employees depend on the professionalism that the company conducts its activities (Bryant & Allen, 2013). The human resource manager should consider the implementation of the following intangible rewards:

Educational Opportunities

YSSL should ensure that their software developer gets entitlement to paid software developer courses and certification. The human resource manager should ensure that all the company's employees that have served for more than one year get $2,500 education benefit award. Such strategy should be approved by the company's management to ascertain the authenticity of the employee's needs to further their education (Bryant & Allen, 2013). Additionally, the company should ensure that there are added benefits associated with the certifications such as a salary review (Martocchio, 2017). However, before the review is done, there should be a precise mechanism to evaluate how the skills gained during the training have positively impacted the company's performance. The trained employees can also receive a job promotion.

Reason. When the employees receive the educational benefits, they are likely to be more loyal to the company (Biswas, 2014). The job satisfaction will be achieved, acting as a motivation for the employees to perform their daily duties. Additionally, the human resource department can tap the loyalty and spread into the employee's networks to obtain high-quality software developers and other employees (Lasting Solutions HR, 2016).

Enhance Open Communication Mechanisms

Open communication boosts the employees' trust and confidence in the company (Bryant & Allen, 2013). YLSS should ensure that the employees are actively involved in the company's decision making and are given a sense of belonging, which will highly improve the possibility of retaining them. As such, the company should come up with a system that will allow the employees to air their views and concerns. The views should be considered during the process of making critical decisions in the company (Pianko & Samuels, 2014). It is recommended that the human resource manager appoints team representatives that will aid in gathering the employees' feedback. Alternatively, there should be open boxes where the employees can drop their written suggestions. Also, the employers should have a valid correctional strategy (Lasting Solutions HR, 2016). While some employees will need to be corrected on various wrongdoings during the performance of their duties, it is essential that the method used is humane and will not threaten or victimize the employee (Bryant & Allen, 2013). In cases when the employees feel threatened, their productivity reduces significantly, and it is easy to lose a valuable employee due to the insecurity issues.

Reason: An elaborate communication plan improves lateral movement of information (Martocchio, 2017). The employees are free to pass their suggestions, concerns, and complements to the management without fearing victimization or consequent job loss. Additionally, the employers can efficiently move their opinions and give feedback on job-related issues (Biswas, 2014). Therefore, numerous benefits are brought to both the employers and the employees, and consequently to the entire company. There will be no mistrust, and the operations of the company will run smoothly.

Ensure Flexible Schedules

The company's schedule should be flexible to allow the seasoned employees to have a work/life balance (Pianko & Samuels, 2014). YLSS should, however, implement this strategy with employees that have served the company for more than one year. On completion of one year service, the employee should get the liberty to propose a flexible schedule under the guidelines of the management, which may include up to 18% remote hours of the full-time employee's 40 hours work (Bryant & Allen, 2013). The flexibility will enhance the productivity of the working hours of the employees. The company would rather have few quality hours with quality employees than prolonged hours with unproductive employees, which can be achieved using this strategy (Pianko & Samuels, 2014).

Reason: Flexible schedules have a potential to maximize productivity. However, the human resource manager should ensure that there is a proper implementation of the schedules to avoid abuse and misuse by the employees (Biswas, 2014). Under the strategy, the employees will cover more of the open hours, which will also enhance the employees' creativity.

Recognition

For some employees, taking new opportunities is fulfilling enough. However, most of the employees need to be recognized and appreciated, which is an essential aspect in ensuring that YLSS maintains their employees (Lasting Solutions HR, 2016). Failure to acknowledge the employees lead to disengagement from the company, which may affect the employee's productivity and consequently lead to the loss of the employee (Martocchio, 2017). Such scenario will negatively impact the retention ability of the company's employees, which may hamper the implementation of the new software. It is also important to realize the high cost of hiring that YLSS may frequently be involved in if they fail to maintain their employees (Biswas, 2014). The human resource manager should, therefore, establish a mechanism to reward creativity and innovation, diligence in the allocated duties, and discipline in job-related matters.

Reason: Human beings need to be recognized and appreciated to get motivated in their daily activities; YLSS is not an exception. Ensuring that the employees are motivated prevents indifference and misuse of the company's time and programs and properties (Bryant & Allen, 2013). The recognition can be in the form of offering formal training, mentorship on new skills and career development, special bonuses, and reclassification into new roles. The confidence built using this strategy supports the employees in different ways:

It demonstrates the company's commitment to help the employees and improve their welfare as they carry out their duties. Once their efforts are recognized and awarded, the employees become motivated and work extra hard to achieve the goals of the company (Lasting Solutions HR, 2016).

It enhances healthy competition among the employees, which boosts their productivity and consequently that of the company. (Pianko & Samuels, 2014)

The human resource manager should critically examine and revise the current recognition programs to devise new strategies that will enhance the employee's recognition (Martocchio, 2017). The evaluation should consider factors such as costs implication, relevance, and the impacts the honor would have to the company's performance.











References

Biswas, B. D. (2014). Employee Benefits Design and Compensation (Collection). FT Press.

Bryant, P. C., & Allen, D. G. (2013). Compensation, Benefits and Employee Turnover. SAGE Journals, 34-56.

Lasting Solutions HR. (2016, 12 21). 5 Low-Cost, Intangible Rewards. Retrieved from Lasting Human Resource Solutions: http://www.hrcareertransition.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/5-Low-Cost-High-Return-Rewards.pdf

Martocchio, J. J. (2017). Employee Benefits. McGraw-Hill Education.

Pianko, H., & Samuels, D. G. (2024). Compensation and Benefits. Oxford University Press.