Hr Managers and Compensation

Human Resources

Impact that Technological Advancements have on Compensation and Benefits Processing

Advancement in technology has been of significant benefit for compensation and benefits processing. In particular, benefits administration has been drastically transformed, owing to the internet. More so, the kinds of benefits desired have also gone through some changes in recent years. In the present, administration of benefits is now more of a self-service undertaking on the organization's website or Intranet. In turn, personnel are now able to go online and finish their contact information, chosen desired options and make changes as required. The technology has considerable consequences for freeing up HR employees, and to a lesser magnitude, the organization's managers for more important activities. Technology makes it possible to have greater flexibility in the compensation and benefits plans and places more of the responsibility of selection in the hands of employees. In addition, technology has provided employees more access to pertinent information regarding compensation and benefits. For instance, with respect to process, they can look up websites such as Salary.com to assess their organization in relation to others (Ensher et al., 2003).

Components of Employee Compensation and Benefits

Employee benefits are optional, non-wage compensation provided to employees in addition to their normal wages or salaries. The components of employee benefits may include group insurance, which encompasses health, dental and vision insurance, disability income protection, retirement benefits, sick leave, vacation, funding of education as well as flexible and substitute work schedules (HR Council, 2017). An example of compensation is annual wage and also health care coverage. Government mandated benefit include Medicare. A retirement benefit example is employee pension. A non-retirement benefit example is and discretionary benefits for employees include vacations and sick leave.

Impact of 2 major Federal Employment Legislation and Regulations on Human Resource Compensation and Benefits Package

One key Federal employment legislation and regulation includes the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA). The impact of this regulation on compensation is that an organization is mandated to compensate for the disability or death of federal employees, emanating from personal injury sustained during work. Another regulation is the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Its impact on compensation and benefits is that employers are necessitated to pay covered employees who are not otherwise exempt from the federal minimum wage and overtime pay (U.S. Department of Labor, n.d).

Compare and Contrast Commercial Insurance (Fee-For-Service) and Self-Funded Insurance

Employers that have self-insured personnel health programs pay for medical claims and fees from the current revenue, basically acing as their own insurers. On the other hand, commercial insurance is also referred to as a fully insured plan and this takes into account employers paying a fixed premium to a third-party commercial insurance entity that covers the medical claims (HR Magazine, 2009). In comparing the two plans, self-insured programs are considered beneficial compared to commercial insurance if the employer has hired numerous employers, for instance more than 1,000 personnel. In overall, when the move is undertaken, approximately 2% of the insured plan expenses can be reduced instantaneously (HR Magazine, 2009). In addition, in these insurance plans, the employer is able to get rid of state premium, insurance broker and insurance commission levies, and they can evade compliance with state required benefits guidelines and federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) regulations. Therefore, in this case, the employer attains a greater level of control and autonomy over the design of the insurance plan. On the other hand, commercial plans provide the employer with security and predictability, though at an additional expense, as the size of the organization increases and become bigger. The upside of commercial insurance is that the benefit is more protection and security in the course of turbulent periods (HR Magazine, 2009).

Components of Legally Required Benefits. How can HR Managers minimize the costs that are associated with legally required benefits?