ERI Distance Learning Center Online Courses
Free Compensation Courses - credit not available
Total Rewards Foundation
09 Basic Quantitative Methods
This online math course teaches everyday mathematics used in total rewards compensation and benefits programs. We begin with a discussion of basic mathematics, including math order of operations and types of measurement. Then we look at how calculating percentages and percentiles can be used to analyze Human Resource data. We show you how to calc ...More
71 Environments of Compensation and Benefits Administration
An organization’s total rewards program is influenced by its economic, social, organizational, technical, and legal environments. This course will examine the first four. You will look at how different employer and employee characteristics, and labor supply and demand, impact total rewards. You will learn how an increasing reliance on technology ha ...More
15 Federal Employment Laws That Impact Compensation and Benefits
Employers and human resources professionals need to know how federal laws govern employee compensation and benefits administration. This course will cover the salient laws such as those impacting pay, taxes, equal opportunity, affirmative action, mandated benefits, and other benefits including COBRA, HIPAA, FMLA, ERISA, and the Affordable Care Act. ...More
02 Leveraging Technology in Total Rewards Management
Today, human resources has many options for the delivery of total rewards programs using technology; its use in total rewards management is critical in today’s environment. Organizations are utilizing desktop, cloud-based, and mobile platforms offering features such as onboarding, health care insurance enrollment, online summary plan descriptions ( ...More
84 The U.S. Labor Market and Compensation Trends
Numerous factors impact the U.S. labor market and compensation. These include labor supply and demand, advancements in technology, government regulations, unions, productivity, education and training, and globalization. This course will examine each of these factors and then look at how they form compensation trends in the United States. Some of th ...More
03 Total Rewards Today
Total rewards programs are continuously evolving. In this course we take a look at legacy programs that persist in some organizations today and also those that have come into existence as part of the new economy. Unions have had a big influence on total rewards and in organizations where they still have membership, they continue to do so. We will l ...More
Job Analysis, Descriptions and Evaluation
73 Analyzing Salary Surveys
Quality salary survey data is essential to a competitive compensation plan. There are many options for obtaining salary survey data: government surveys, internet data, published surveys, survey software databases, computer data banks, or even conducting or sponsoring your own survey. This course explores each of these options and explains what you ...More
58 Comparing the DOT, O*NET and eDOT
This course compares three occupational classification systems: the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), O*NET and ERI’s enhanced Dictionary of Occupational Titles (eDOT). We look at their similarities and differences by examining data sources, how data is collected, and the job descriptors they use. We also explain which is preferable for use ...More
33 Job Analysis and Job Descriptions
Well written job descriptions will touch many parts of an organization. In this course, you will learn how to design a job analysis program to be a resource for developing well-written job descriptions. You will also learn how to write job descriptions that can be effectively used by Human Resources and the entire company to drive both individual a ...More
34 Using Job Evaluation in Your Organization
While market-based pay systems have become the most common method for determining pay, job evaluation is an important tool for compensation professionals seeking to achieve internal pay equity. This course will take a close look at three of the main job evaluation methods in use, job ranking, point factor, and market pricing. We will guide you thro ...More
Salary Structures
82 Creating a Market Competitive Salary Structure
The focus of this course is the design and development of a single market-based salary structure. An organization may use such a salary structure to gain a competitive position to attract, retain, motivate, and engage its workforce. You will learn how to be externally competitive by creating a market-priced salary structure using regression analysi ...More
83 Designing a Geographic Salary Structure
If your organization has branch offices, you will need to know what salary structure works best for them. In this course, you will learn how to determine whether your organization should apply its headquarters’ structure directly to the branch office, adjust the headquarters’ structure, or develop a new structure entirely. Different geographic sala ...More
19 Quantitative Methods Used in Salary Administration
Whether analyzing pay data, building a salary structure, implementing salary increases, or accounting for geographic pay differentials, some fundamental mathematical skills are needed. This course will introduce those skills and provide examples of how they are used in salary administration. ...More
49 Regression Analysis Used in Compensation Administration
Regression analysis may be used in compensation administration to create a model that can be used to determine salary based on one or more independent variables such as area, experience, revenue, performance, and industry. In this course, you will learn some of the basics of quantitative methods such as distributions, standard deviation, standard e ...More
81 Salary Structures and Pay Delivery
Base salary structures are management tools designed for compensation program administration. Ideally, a salary structure will provide management with guidance to provide compensation that is internally equitable, externally competitive, and cost effective. A pay structure typically groups jobs of equal internal value or worth into grades and forms ...More
Salary Administration
32 Eliminating the Gender Pay Gap
When the Equal Pay Act was first enacted in 1963, women earned just 59 cents to every dollar that men earned. Today the pay gap has narrowed to 83 cents. Although the gender-based pay gap has narrowed, it is still a significant issue and there has been no real improvement in recent years. This course examines the reasons for the pay gap and explain ...More
04 Organization Salary Determinations
Before establishing or adjusting a salary structure, Human Resources management must consider their organization’s internal and external labor market to make informed decisions about average job salaries that take into account: labor costs, employee productivity, employee retention, salary comparisons to competitors, cost-of-living comparison ...More
77 Pay-for-Performance
Pay-for-performance is an effective way to motivate employees to make greater contributions to the organization. To make the performance-reward connection, there has to be a way to compare employee contributions. This course will look at circumstances where a pay-for-performance system is workable, different performance appraisal methods, and how t ...More
78 Salary Increase Planning
Salary increases are necessary to attract, retain, recognize, and reward employees. This course examines different types of salary increases, how to plan for them, how to be market competitive and internally equitable, and how to control the salary increase budget. We will look at how to use salary surveys and age the data, the importance of a pay ...More
Variable Pay
75 Creating a Variable Pay Plan
Variable pay plans provide flexible and responsive pay strategies that may be used to lower costs when organizations are experiencing hard times. They may also be used to enhance organization performance and employee loyalty. This course will focus on different kinds of short-term incentive plans, what needs to be taken into consideration to succes ...More
72 Nonprofit Variable Pay
Today, variable pay is widely used in nonprofit organizations. In this course you will review the regulations that govern nonprofit pay. You will learn how to use different kinds of variable pay plans to target different outcomes, how to design a plan based on a variety of criteria, and the importance of setting reasonable, relevant performance mea ...More
76 Sales Compensation and Expense Allowances
The sales force needs to be highly motivated to produce results that are aligned with an organization’s business goals. One way to accomplish this is to have an incentive compensation plan, additional rewards, and attractive allowances that cover expenses incurred while making sales. This course will show you how to design an incentive compensatio ...More
20 The Basics of Equity Compensation
This course presents a basic overview of equity compensation. You will learn about stock options including ISOs and NSOs, restricted stock, restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights, phantom stock, and employee stock purchase plans. Trends in equity compensation will be discussed. Tax implications for employees, including how to get favorab ...More
Executive Compensation
42 Accumulated Earnings and Deferred Compensation
Taxes are an important consideration when deciding how to distribute a closely held company’s earnings. This course covers the tax implications of accumulated earnings and how applicable IRS rules seek to encourage dividend distribution over retaining excess earnings in the company. Then it will look at how the IRS identifies personal holding compa ...More
22 Black-Scholes Valuations
Stock options are an important and popular component of executive compensation packages. This course teaches you how to place a value on stock options using the Black-Scholes method. We explain each step of the Black-Scholes formula, describing the consequences of its assumptions and the reason why ten different companies might derive ten different ...More
26 Compensation Committees: Framework for Executive Compensation Alignment
Compensation committees are responsible for the effective design and evaluation of executive compensation programs. These generally focus on achieving short-term operating plan execution coupled with long-term sustainable business performance alignment. The framework within which these responsibilities are fulfilled entails assessing the current ...More
21 Compensation for Business Leaders
Employees in top management positions have compensation packages that are custom tailored to the position. This greater complexity is necessary because top management is responsible for the success of the organization and meeting the expectations of stakeholders. Their compensation packages need to be designed to incentivize and reward results taki ...More
18 Intermediate Sanctions
Nonprofit executive compensation is regulated by intermediate sanctions, rules that penalize disqualified persons who receive excess benefit transactions from 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) tax exempt organizations. Organization managers involved in such transactions are also subject to penalties. This course will examine how to identify a compensation ex ...More
12 IRS Reasonable Executive Compensation
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) monitors executive compensation in closely held companies to ensure that any pay that is deducted meets the tests for reasonable compensation. This course looks at IRS compensation challenges that arise when shareholder-employees improperly reduce their taxes through underpayment or overpayment of compensatio ...More
Global Compensation
92 Expatriate Compensation
When an organization has global operations, it needs equitable, market competitive, and legal compensation programs in each country of operation that are aligned with its global business strategy. This course covers compensation topics pertaining to long-term expatriate assignments including base salary, variable pay, allowances, benefits, and taxe ...More
93 Global Mobility and the Relocation of an Employee to an International Assignment
When there is a need for an employee to work in another country there are many things that need to be considered. Global mobility encompasses a range of assignments from frequent international business travel to five-year relocations. This course presents an overview of global mobility covering the different kinds of assignments, policies to deal ...More
91 Multiple Country Compensation Programs
When an organization has global operations, total rewards need to be aligned with its global business strategy to ensure fair, equitable, market competitive, and legal programs in each country of operation. This course demonstrates how to evaluate total rewards for employees having different kinds of international assignments. The course will cover ...More
Employee Benefits
53 Employee Benefits Strategies
This course provides an overview of strategic employee benefits planning. First, you’ll learn what benefits your organization must offer according to federal requirements. Then you’ll look at the discretionary benefits that are offered by most organizations and what they cost. You will learn how to control employee health care costs. This course co ...More
50 Employee Life and Disability Insurance
A commonly provided benefit in total rewards packages is life and disability insurance. This course presents a broad overview of individual and employer-provided life and disability insurance policies. You’ll learn about permanent or whole life insurance, and the different types of term life insurance. The course then covers Social Security survivo ...More
57 Relocating an Employee Within the United States
Many organizations find it necessary to relocate employees. A relocation may be moving a young, single new hire who rents across the state, moving a senior employee with a family and a home across the country, and everything in between. In some cases, it may involve a move to another country. This course teaches you what you need to take into consi ...More
74 Trends in Retirement Plans
Retirement plans are an important component of employee benefits. In this course you will learn about demographic trends that are influencing retirement plans. There will be an examination of Social Security: the kind of benefits it pays, how it is funded, eligibility requirements, and the health of the fund. You’ll look at several different types ...More
ERI Economic Research Institute is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for the SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP®