This paper develops a compensation and benefits package for a secretary position at a growing fashion design house. Beginning with a profile of the role's demanding responsibilities — including travel coordination, social media management, PR communication, and attendance at fashion shows — the paper benchmarks salary expectations against Bureau of Labor Statistics data and draws on Stewart and Brown's human resource management framework. It examines performance-based bonuses, goal-setting strategies, and sporadic reward structures as motivational tools. The paper concludes by detailing both legally required benefits and a cafeteria-style benefits plan designed to attract and retain a highly qualified individual.
The paper consistently integrates direct quotations from academic and professional sources and immediately applies them to the specific scenario at hand. Rather than letting citations stand alone, the writer explains how each quoted principle maps onto the fashion design house context — a technique that demonstrates both source comprehension and analytical synthesis.
The paper follows a logical progression: it opens by establishing the job context and responsibilities, moves to salary benchmarking, then addresses discretionary compensation (bonuses and rewards), and closes with a two-part treatment of benefits (legally mandated versus elective). Each section builds on the last, moving from base pay outward to the full total-compensation picture. The conclusion briefly ties all components together.
As truly wise business people know, an organization is only as strong as its human resources department. In the following case scenario, the secretary to be hired will work for a fashion designer and his corresponding design house. For the sake of simplicity, the designer will be referred to as Hayden Row and the design house as H. Row. The design line started small, with just a few pieces placed in a few boutiques in San Francisco. Soon department stores began carrying pieces from the line, forcing the designer to expand across the nation, with garments appearing in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and Washington, D.C. Hayden Row is now interested in expanding his presence in fine department stores while also opening several of his own boutiques in select cities around the country.
The demands of this secretarial position will be intense. The secretary will be responsible for all telephone and email correspondence, which will be considerable. Additional duties include arranging travel, organizing meetings, engaging in effective communication with public relations agencies, carrying out general administrative duties, assisting with brand research and development, managing social media, and corresponding with both customers and distributors. The secretary will at times be expected to attend fashion shows, and at other times will be expected to remain in the office. Foreign language skills are also essential, as are a natural ability to organize and strong teamwork skills. Furthermore, the hours of this position are often erratic, with evenings and weekends frequently required.
While secretaries often do not earn a large salary, the demands of this particular position are so strenuous and ongoing that additional compensation is absolutely necessary — otherwise the role becomes simply draining. Additional compensation is also warranted because the position requires a highly qualified individual. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, secretaries and administrative assistants can earn between $16.99 and $18.16 per hour, with the average annual salary around $37,000 (bls.gov, 2012). Higher salaries are expected for secretaries who work in specialized fields; legal secretaries, for example, earn an average of $50,000 per year. A salary at that higher level would be preferable for this particular position, given the intensity and breadth of its requirements.
As is often the case, the largest component of this compensation package will be the base salary (Stewart & Brown, 2012). Rather than adopting an at-risk compensation plan, this position will more closely mirror the compensation strategy of IKEA, which values teamwork over individual achievement, work-life balance, and integrity (Stewart & Brown, 2012). As Stewart and Brown note, "organizations with cost leadership strategies, such as IKEA, prefer that employees make consistent contributions. Consistency is encouraged by rewarding employees who loyally complete basic tasks" (2012). Nevertheless, there will be room for performance-based compensation so that the secretary remains motivated to achieve results that directly benefit the company.
For example, if the secretary secures a new distributor or measurably increases the customer base, he or she will be entitled to bonuses ranging from $500 to $1,500. Bonuses help employees establish goals and also serve as a form of feedback. As Berkus (2012) observes, "Employees without goals will be naturally aimless. Provide them with clear achievable goals and make sure there are measurable standards in place to evaluate their performance." These principles can be extremely effective not only in increasing productivity but also in building a sense of pride in one's work and overall job satisfaction.
Goal setting for the secretary should not be dictated solely by the employer; it should instead be a communal process of mutual reflection. This collaborative approach is itself a form of compensation, because the employee will feel greater agency in her position and will consequently care more deeply about the quality of her work. Employee motivation research consistently supports the idea that autonomy and participation in goal-setting lead to higher engagement and performance.
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