Value of Benefits
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Institution:
Value of Benefits
Today, organizations not only pay salaries and wages to their employees, but also include benefits such as health insurance, retirement packages and vacations. The main aim is to motivate and secure the employees from uncertainties in the future. This has been due to recognition of employees as the most valuable asset that is not passive. The welfare of the employee is the success of the organization. However, the management needs to know the most valued benefit by employees as well as design ways of getting the best out of employee. Therefore, management should adopt a criterion that customizes benefits to suite needs, interests and values of their employees, as opposed to standardizing all of them, in order to get the best outcome from their employees.
In my opinion, the most valued benefit for employees is security from uncertainties. They value having their loved ones secured from economic hardships that could occur in the future. In addition, they value the security of knowing even in sickness their families will not suffer. Precisely, employees value financial stability above anything else and security against uncertainties. According to several studies that sought to rank the most valued benefits, the leading was healthcare insurance (Lea, 2004). A health insurance offers security over one’s wellbeing. Recently, medical costs have gone up, meaning employees will be happy to receive help. Another benefit was vacation time, which allows employees to take time away from work while they are still paid (Ward & Daniel, 2012). This reduces the likelihood of a burnout, hence benefiting the organization. In third position is the retirement benefit, which ensures that one does not have to suffer in his/her old days.
The organization, on the other hand, is the one offering the benefits to the employees. However, I think that the most valuable benefit in this case would be the one most sought by employees. Healthcare insurance would be the most valuable because it would increase employee loyalty (Lea, 2004). When employees are satisfied with their benefit package, the chances of retaining them are high. In addition, it not only helps in retaining employees, but also attracting the most qualified people that match the job specifications (Bohlanderv & Snell, 2003). Having top talent is the most valuable benefit an organization can have in the current business world where innovative ideas translate into competitive advantages. Therefore, an organization’s most valuable benefit should be the one highly ranked by employees, considering they are the most crucial asset in any firm.
The management can improve the value of employee benefits to the organization in several ways. One of them is offering benefits for better performance. Benefits should not only be in the form of cash or health insurance and retirement benefits, but also in the form of lessened supervision, increased responsibilities and flexible work schedules. The management should specify a reward criterion in which employees are aware of what results in more benefits. This way, they will work harder towards earning the benefits. Management can also increase the value of employee benefits to the organization by recognizing their efforts (Bohlanderv & Snell, 2003). This can be in form of relationships, where the management engages with the employees at all times, which makes them feel valued as member of the organization. Finally, the management should not offer benefits that are alike to all employees. Rather, it should offer them according to generations. Different age groups will require different benefits. This required customizing benefits according to employee values, lifestyle and interests (Ward & Daniel, 2012).
In
conclusion, I feel that although healthcare insurance is the most valued
benefit, it may not be to employees. Some employee will prefer other kinds of
benefits such as better retirement packages especially for the older ones,
while younger generation might prefer taking vocations regularly. To improve
the value of employee benefits to the organization, management should establish
a criterion that offers more benefits upon better performance. The criterion
should allow employees to work hard towards achieving them. In addition, the
management needs to increase the variety of the benefits to suit the
diversified work force.
References
Bohlander, G. W., & Snell, S. (2003). Managing Human Resources. Princeton, N.J: Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic.
Lea C. (2004). Best Benefits: Employer Perspectives. Common Wealth Corporation, 2 (4): 1-4.
Ward, J., & Daniel, E. (2012). Benefits Management: How to Increase the Business Value of your IT Projects. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley.