BENEFITS
Employee benefits typically refers to retirement plans, health life insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, vacation, employee stock ownership plans, etc. Benefits are increasingly expensive for businesses to provide to employees, so the range and options of benefits are changing rapidly to include, for example, flexible benefit plans.
Benefits are forms of value, other than payment, that are provided to the employee in return for their contribution to the organization, that is, for doing their job. Some benefits, such as unemployment and worker's compensation, are federally required. (Worker's compensation is really a worker's right, rather than a benefit.)
Prominent examples of benefits are insurance (medical, life, dental, disability, unemployment and worker's compensation), vacation pay, holiday pay, and maternity leave, contribution to retirement (pension pay), profit sharing, stock options, and bonuses. (Some people would consider profit sharing, stock options and bonuses as forms of compensation.)
You might think of benefits as being tangible or intangible. The benefits listed previously are tangible benefits. Intangible benefits are less direct, for example, appreciation from a boss, likelihood for promotion, nice office, etc. People sometimes talk of fringe benefits, usually referring to tangible benefits, but sometimes meaning both kinds of benefits.
You might also think of benefits as company-paid and employee-paid. While the company usually pays for most types of benefits (holiday pay, vacation pay, etc.), some benefits, such as medical insurance, are often paid, at least in part, by employees because of the high costs of medical insurance.
COMPENSATION
Compensation includes topics in regard to wage and/or salary programs and structures, for example, salary ranges for job descriptions, merit-based programs, bonus-based programs, commission-based programs, etc. (Also see the Related Info (including Benefits).)
Compensation is payment to an employee in return for their contribution to the organization, that is, for doing their job. The most common forms of compensation are wages, salaries and tips.
Compensation is usually provided as base pay and/or variable pay. Base pay is based on the role in the organization and the market for the expertise required to conduct that role. Variable pay is based on the performance of the person in that role, for example, for how well that person achieved his or her goals for the year. Incentive plans, for example, bonus plans, are a form of variable pay. (Some people might consider bonuses as a benefit, rather than a form of compensation.) Some programs include a base pay and a variable pay.
Organizations usually associate compensation/pay ranges with job descriptions in the organization. The ranges include the minimum and the maximum amount of money that can be earned per year in that role.
Employees have certain monies withheld from their payroll checks, usually including federal income tax, state income tax, FICA (social security) contributions, and employee contributions to the costs of certain benefits (often medical insurance and retirement).
Exempt and Non-Exempt
Jobs in organizations have two classifications, exempt and non-exempt.
Jobs in organizations have two classifications, exempt and non-exempt.
Professional, management and other types of skilled jobs are classified as exempt. Exempt jobs get a salary, that is, a fixed amount of money per time interval, usually a fixed amount per month. It's not uncommon for exempt positions to receive higher compensation and benefits than non-exempt jobs, although non-exempt jobs often can make more money than exempt jobs simply by working more hours.
Unskilled or entry-level jobs are usually classified as non-exempt. Non-exempt jobs usually get a wage, or an amount of money per hour. Non-exempt jobs also get paid over-time, that is, extra pay for hours worked over 40 hours a week or on certain days of the week or on holidays.
Each job must have the same pay range for anyone performing that job, that is, one person can't have a higher maximum pay than someone else doing that same job.
COMPENSATION PLANNING FOR YOUR EMPLOYEES
Compensation - what you pay someone to entice them to continue to do work for your company - is a critical facet of any manager's job.
Often, unless you are the president or owner of the company, you have others helping you deal with compensation issues - like a human resources department or consultant.
Compensation includes many things beyond straight salary. It also includes benefits, perks, stock options, etc. You have to balance what these cost against what your employees perceives as their value, and that varies by employee.
You have to measure compensation levels against other employees in the company, against other employees in other companies in similar positions, and against performance.
You have to determine salary ranges for existing positions and adjust those periodically to compensate for economic factors (cost of living changes, inflation) and competitive pressures (industry demand for that type of employee, profit margins).
You often have to determine a salary for a new position, or if you promote someone to new responsibilities.
Plus you have to comply with government regulations regarding discrimination, contractor versus employee determinations, and union or other contractual obligations.
However, as if all of this isn't enough to keep you awake at night, the most important aspect of a compensation plan for your employees is:You have to keep them motivated to do the job the best they can.
