Basics of Total Rewards

Introduction

For several decades the economy of the Unites States and the world has been undergoing a transformation. Globalization began following World War II in response to efforts to liberalize trade and expand world markets. This transformation accelerated decades later as new technologies made possible a worldwide financial system that is linked electronically and can move payments in an instant. New technologies also made global communications faster and easier and made business processes more efficient. Behind all this were the organizations that created this new economy. Not only did they deliver the technology that made this transformation possible, but they also changed the relationship between employer and employee. Today, even traditional companies that have a history going back one hundred years have had to adopt some of the practices of new-economy organizations to compete for talent.

The new economy has been instrumental in prompting:

• Rapid adoption of technologies that have transformed and continue to transform business operations such as enterprise systems, software solutions, blogs, online commerce, social media, artificial intelligence, and robotics.
• Flatter organizations with a nimble, more flexible workforce including remote employees and contract workers.
• The need to continuously learn to acquire and upgrade useful skills, and the end of life-long career guarantees.
• Greater transparency in compensation and pay equity.
• An emphasis on market pricing of jobs to ensure market competitiveness.
• The erosian of union influence.
• The growth of disruptive organizations such as Amazon and Tesla.
• Some business sectors thriving during the pandemic while others struggled and experienced many bankruptcies.
• Increasing demand for quick, up-to-date and accurate information that drives new products and services.
• Revamping of traditional pay for performance practices with an emphasis on incentive pay practices capable of supporting a performance-driven culture.
• A rapidly changing human resources legal environment.

Course Overview

This course gives an overview of today’s total rewards and examines how new-economy organizations have had an impact on the practices of traditional organizations. We'll look closely at today’s pay strategies focusing on:

• base salaries
• short-term incentive plans
• long-term incentive plans
• sales incentives
• company-wide benefits
• medical plans
• dental plans
• life insurance
• equity plans
• long-term disability plans
• retirement plans (qualified and non-qualified)
• perquisites

Finally, we'll look at the future of total rewards and what changes organizations may need to make as the United States moves forward in the 21st century."