Month: February 2021

In our group discussion, we all agree that health insurance was the one benefit that takes top priority over anything else. This would also include dental, and eye care since these are usually add ons to a health care plan. Below I attached the group’s top five.

1. Health, Dental, Vision
2. Vacation time & paid time off
3. Retirement benefits
   1. 401K
   2. 403b
4. Company perks
5. Paid maternity/paternity leave

When looking at this list, it seems pretty basic to the human eye. However, each employee has preferences on what they think is the most important. I personally agree with this list of five since it fits my current lifestyle. Vacation time & paid time off gives employees the chance to relax and recharge to perform the best. Vacation and paid time off are usually more prominent in younger generations than millennials. Millennials grew up in an era that praised working as many days as possible to please your employer. When generations start working together, it creates a divide in what they want.

By giving employees the best health care, employees are less stressed about unpredictable injuries/surgeries accruing. This can also be true for retirement benefits. Retirement benefits are usually more prominent in individuals who plan on staying with a certain company for an extended period of time. For example, a resort I interned for had an amazing retirement package; however, it was only useful if you were there for a minimum of 5 years to start getting the real benefits.

Company perks and paid parental leave are both things that may be rare to companies. Company perks are usually when companies partner with other companies to give their employees more perks. For example, there is companies that partner with Nike and in return they get to go to the employee store. Paid parental leave however is more prominent for female workers. By ensuring that they can spend time with their newborn and not feel pressured to go back to work is a benefit many would like to have.

Pay structures are important for companies in multiple ways. A job-based pay structure is a salary structure that is determined by the job itself. That can be responsibilities or work conditions. Another pay structure is person-focused pay. A person-focused pay structure is based on what the individual brings to the company and what they produce while they’re there.

After researching Microsoft, I believe most of their employees will do better with a person-focused pay structure. To be more specific, a person-focused program Microsoft can use is Technological Innovation. In the book, technological innovation is adapting to the new changes and using them to the best of their ability to help their team. A person-focused pay structure gives employees the ability to develop new skills without going through normal job responsibilities. Employees can also be rewarded when they gain new horizontal and vertical skills.

A summary of Microsoft’s mission statement is that they want to empower people to achieve more. Giving their employees the ability to create their own path helps them determine how they want to spend their time at Microsoft. Microsoft must create a person-focused pay plan that is fair for all pay levels. Each employee at Microsoft is grouped into pay ranges that are currently based on their title. Having a person-focused pay structure gives Microsoft an increased edge when it comes to global competition. Employees will like they control their pay and help them push to be a greater employee.