FedEx Express Employment Rewards Program

FedEx Express Employment Rewards Program

Fed Ex Employee Rewards

FedEx is considered one of the most outstanding employers for entry-level work. In fact, the company is so excellent that it has won numerous prestigious awards for its excellent employee rewards and benefits. Among those awards are the 2010 Business Award, 2010 Great Place to Work Award, and the 2006-2010 Fortune 500 World's Most Admired Companies (Recognition for FedEx). One reason why this company has become so admired and received so much praise is the time and attention the company pays to its employees. In fact, according to FedEx, over half of the company's annual spending is for employee pay, incentives, and benefits (Compensation and Rewards). This paper will review the FedEx Express rewards program, entry level compensation, and benefits offered to employees as a means of determining the quality of the company.

FedEx Express

FedEx Express is an affiliate company of what was originally called Federal Express, a package delivery company that could provide overnight air delivery during Vietnam. The CEO and founder of the company is Federick W. Smith. A former Marine veteran (Smith, 2008). The company's key goal is to, "To provide the level of service and quality necessary to become, and to remain, the leader in the air express cargo transportation industry." (FedEx Attributes). FedEx's key slogan exemplifies the company's key objective, "Putting People First" further exemplifies this ideal of the company. Primary challenges for FedEx are growth and success in the current stagnant economy. Again, the overall value of the company is to put people first. This includes customers and employees as is exemplified in the numerous awards given to the company over the years. Finally, FedEx is focused on education and betterment of their employees and have implemented a mandatory education program known as LEAP for anyone seeking to obtain a managerial position within the company.

Rewards Program

There's nothing that makes an employee happier than being rewarded for exemplary work. This is exactly the goal of the FedEx Express rewards program known as Bravo Zulu. This program inspired by the U.S. Navy semaphore signal for "well done" is awarded regularly in the company to those employees who go the extra mile to perform their job. According to the FedEx Express website, "Managers reward employees for outstanding efforts and achievement on the spot. Rewards include "quick cash" bonuses, theatre tickets, dinner gift certificates, and other gifts of similar value." (FedEx Attributes Success). The Bravo Zulu award is given out at all levels of the business and to all types of employees. Just one example of an employee of FedEx Express to receive the Bravo Zulu award is Larry Cox. According to his profile, he received the highly coveted award in 2004 for his efforts with job creation and retention within the company (Larry D. Cox).

The ultimate slogan for this award is "I will make every FedEx experience outstanding." (Case Study). Those employees who follow this mission are bound to receive this highly coveted award at some point. The overall goal and purpose of this program according to the FedEx website is to "Reinforce actions taken by employees to improve quality and customer satisfaction." (FedEx Attributes).

Segmentation of the Workforce

The FedEx workforce is broken down into three sections: hourly, salary, and executive. The hourly employees are the package handlers. This is an entry-level position that requires no experience or education. The average salary for a package handler is $11.09 per hour. This position's schedule is flexible and this job is a low obligation, low income position. (FedEx Salaries)

The next positions up in the company are the salary leveled positions. These include analysts and supervisors. The average salary for these positions is between $50 and $90 thousand. These positions require set hours each week and often overtime. This position has a set schedule with standard benefits such as sick time when needed. These positions still have less obligations with slightly higher income.

The final positions are the executives. Executive positions are highly specialized requiring education and experience and the average salary is between $70 and $130 thousand depending on the type of executive within the company. These positions are high obligation with a very high income and compensation package.

Requisite Competencies

Entry level delivery positions do not require any additional training, education, or experience. The only requirement is the ability to lift and carry 50 lbs. packages. These requirements are not likely to change regardless of the market, as this is an entry-level, hourly position.

The salary leveled positions often require either education or experience, depending on the position. For instance, in order to move up from a delivery person to a manager, the company requires an excellent record of service, ideally recognition within their department, and the completion of the LEAP leadership training program.

The executive positions require years of experience, college and graduate education, and a proven track record of leadership within either FedEx or another company. These positions also require an ability to interpret data, make decisions, and an advanced knowledge of the managerial role.

Changes to the Total Rewards Program

As effective as the total rewards program is within the company, it could certainly be improved. The primary problem with the program is that it is nomination based, not necessarily merit based. While in most instances, a hard-working employee would be nominated for the reward, it is possible that excellence could be overlooked. Instead, I would change the program to be metric based as a means of encouraging individual employees to achieve optimal metrics for their particular position within the company.

I would still keep the name of the program as Bravo Zulu, but instead of being a single reward, I would then take the military ranks and apply them to the program. Every employee begins at the lowest rank and works their way up through 10 different military ranks. With each rank that they work through, certain metrics must be met and maintained for a specific period of time. At each "promotion" in the ranks, the person receives their prizes including movie passes, gift cards, and a raise at the last promotion stage.

Justification for Recommendations

The reason that I would use this type of program is simple; employees are pressed to take individual ownership of their own improvement within the company. For those employees who are not interested in moving up or do not wish to take the job seriously, they cannot complain when they never receive an award. For those employees who wish to move up through the company and remain with the company for a long time, they can use the program to gain recognition and credibility and prove their worth to the company.