Selection:

• Workday (5)

• PricewaterhouseCooper LLP (36)

• Kronos Inc. (52)

• Delta Airlines (99)

For my companies, I decided to pick a variety of industries to see if there are any common trends amongst different industries. One trend I noticed was that many of these companies offered a vast array of benefits that go beyond their general product or service they normally provide. For instance, companies like PricewaterhouseCooper LLP offer other benefits beyond just standard paid-time off, but also work with employees to provide items such as student loan paydown and caregiver services (https://www.pwc.com/us/en/careers/why-pwc/employee-benefits.html). Delta airlines also had emphasis on high quality training and furthering its mentorship program (https://www.perkupapp.com/post/the-delta-airlines-perks-benefits-that-attract-employees). An interesting statistic is that about 40% of Delta’s workforce stays with the company for over 20 years.

Another interest facet I noticed was a strong emphasis on company culture. Firms like Workday offered a slew of specialized activities like their dogs@work day (https://www.workday.com/en-us/company/careers/benefits.html), and cantinas where much like Delta’s mentoring program offered a way to express ideas and provide coaching to team members. Kronos Inc. also placed a strong emphasis on workplace culture and proper life balance (Week 1, Lecture 1).

To me, this signifies that managers and other members of leadership need to place priority on elements such as benefit value, and employee autonomy. The first is that the company needs to provide items beyond pay to make them worth working for and keep motivated (Week 1, Lecture 1). This wide variety of benefits grants a wide array of flexibility for the team members and makes it competitive amongst other firms to provide similar benefits, thus reducing company turnover, if other firms cannot replicate the same or similar benefits (Week 1, Lecture 1).

Employee autonomy to me goes beyond just what the team members does at the office. It also takes into consideration the effect of the career on the team member’s personal life. In some respects, the balance of work and personal life is very relevant to how a company cultivates its culture (Week 1, Lecture 1). In order to get the most effect of a team member, leadership needs to be cognizant that the company is not the dominant force in their team member’s life, and being understanding of the employees’ power to leave, but also needing to meet their needs as well goes a long way, thus making team members feel empowered through their work goes a long way. Delta airlines, offers a massive 5 week paid-time off period (https://www.perkupapp.com/post/the-delta-airlines-perks-benefits-that-attract-employees).

Overall, investing in human capital seems to be the driving force behind companies desirable to work for, and the strategy of providing as many resources as possible for each employee is a very attractive incentive to many seeking employment, and one management and leadership need to take note of (Week 1, Lecture 2).