Aflac, Inc. Case Study

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of a case study concerning the total rewards strategy at the American Family Life Assurance Company, Inc. (Aflac) and how it aligns with the companys guiding values and principles. To this end, a discussion concerning the companys internal strengths and weaknesses and the external opportunities and threats of the company as well as how it responded from a total rewards perspective. In addition, based on the corporate values of the company, salient revisions are proposed that would make its benefits program better aligned with the accomplishment of the company's organizational goals and values. Finally, the paper provides a summary of the main findings that emerged from the case study concerning the companys total reward strategy in the conclusion.

Think about the internal strengths and weaknesses of the company. How, if at all, did the firm respond to these factors from a total rewards perspective?

Strengths. The case study makes it clear that Aflac (hereinafter alternatively the company) is a highly principled and ethical organization that is committed to promoting the well-being of its employees. In this regard, Reed et al. (2009) reports that, Since its beginnings, Aflac has believed that the best way to succeed in our business is to value people. Treating employees with care, dignity, and fairness are founding principles of Aflac (p. 2). While many corporations make similar claims about how much they care about their employees, it turns out that the company is good for its word.

The companys strong global brand and ubiquitous duck have succeeded in creating a firm connection in the minds of consumers that Aflac is a company that helps people when they need it the most. For instance, the company reports that:

Aflac provide[s] financial protection to more than 50 million people worldwide. When a policyholder or insured gets sick or hurt, Aflac pays cash benefits promptly, for eligible claims, directly to the insured. For more than six decades, Aflac voluntary insurance policies have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. (About Aflac, 2023, para. 2)

Likewise, the company has a formal commitment to providing high quality perquisites to its 4,500 employees based on an employee needs assessment and follow-up analyses (Reed et al., 2009). Moreover, the company even codifies this commitment to its employees in its three guiding principles, to-wit:

Build better value for our shareholders;

Supply quality service for our agents; and,

Provide an enriching and rewarding workplace for our employees (as cited in Reed et al., 2009, p. 3).

Other strengths of the company include its consistently high satisfaction ratings by its customers, its highly trained and skilled workforce, as well as repeated international awards that recognize Aflac as one of the worlds most ethical companies and one the one hundred best companies to work for (Shastri, 2022).

Taken together, the company has multiple strengths moving forward, but Aflac has made its total rewards program the cornerstone of its approach to...…is not a static enterprise but is rather the result of ongoing employee needs assessments and follow-up analyses (Reed et al., 2009). The company could, however, revise its current benefits program to better align it with the accomplishment of the company's organizational goals and values by providing employees with online training opportunities that allow them to complete the coursework at their own pace. Currently, the company offers such programming but it is instructor-led and requires employee attendance, in person or virtually. This approach would facilitate the training function in a highly cost-effective fashion. Moreover, Aflac employees could review previous training in the event they need a refresher.

In addition, Aflac could also change its total rewards program to a cafeteria plan where employees are allowed to select those benefits that are most beneficial for them. This approach would keep costs in line while also ensuring that all company employees have the opportunity to select those perquisites that are most important to them at any given point in time.

Conclusion

The research showed that Aflacs internal strengths included strong global brand recognition, consistently high satisfaction ratings by its customers, and a highly trained and skilled workforce. Conversely, the companys main weakness was its comparatively flat revenue growth over the past several years. The research also showed that Aflac responded to these strengths and weaknesses conducting employee needs assessments to ensure that its total rewards programming was providing as much value to its employees as possible. Finally, the company can further enhance its competitiveness in the…