Compensation and Benefits in HR: Strategy and Rewards

This report delves into the significance of compensation and benefits within an organizational context, emphasizing their role in motivating employees and aligning with strategic objectives. It examines the legal framework in Alberta, highlighting employment standards and worker protections. The report further explores organizational strategy, emphasizing the importance of aligning rewards with business goals and the impact of effective compensation programs on employee motivation and performance. It discusses the development of reward programs, including the assessment of current benefits packages, identification of employee needs, and the communication of new compensation plans. The report also touches upon metrics for assessing total reward packages, emphasizing the need for profit-oriented strategies and sustained value creation.

Running head: COMPENSATION AND BENFITS 1
Compensation and benefits
Name
Institution

COMPENSATION AND BENFITS 2
Compensation and benefits
It is the obligation of every organization to pay its workers and also give them benefits.
These benefits may include vacation, life insurance, retirement plans among others. They are
forms of payment other than the normal compensation which is provided to workers as a way of
returning a favor to them because of their contribution. Benefits and compensation are essential
things in human resource management because it assists in motivating the workforce
(Edirisooriya, 2014). Employees also tend to receive various benefits due to their actions and
performance which helps in identification of the best people in the workforce. The paper will
focus on the aggregate rewards package which encompasses non-monetary or monetary rewards,
benefits, and compensation. In this paper, we will also discuss why it is essential to align the
organizational strategy with the compensation package. The paper will, therefore, address the
issues on benefits and compensation in organizations and how they align with organizational
strategies.
Legislature
Employees in Canada are protected by law to avoid exploitation which involves the
setting of employment standards. In Alberta, employees have their rights in institutions they
work in and this is taken care of by the law. It empowers employees to demand and be aware of
their rights besides allowing them to exercise their workers’ rights. The Alberta act protects its
employees through the development of different employment standards which involves
regulations, compliance and rules measures for employees and employers in Canada.
The Alberta employment customary rules cover the areas on working hours, earnings,
overtime, holidays, minimum wage termination, job-protected leaves and laws on youth workers.

COMPENSATION AND BENFITS 3
These standards ensure that workers receive their benefits and compensation from organizations
they work in without fail. These laws are enforced by the use of prosecutions, judgment, and
inspections, audits and penalties collection (Barnetson, 2015). There also exists a compensation
act which protects workers and employers against the effects of illnesses and injuries associated
with the occupation. There is also a section in the Alberta act which states that employers should
give workers benefits continuously especially those who get injuries at work making it difficult
for them to work. Through these laws, workers can feel protected because they will not be
exploited by employers when it comes to compensation.
Organizational strategy
A company’s overall strategy involves all the actions it plans to take to help it in
achieving long-term objectives. Companies tend to forget that alignment of organization strategy
and rewards given to workers is very important. According to research, the reward is linked to
the achievement of business goals because it helps them in identifying job expectations.
Effective, well-balanced executive compensation program helps employees to feel motivated and
this allows it to achieve its performance objectives with ease. A proper reward of employees also
contributes to the achievement of organizational goals because job performance is improved
(Piaralal, Mat, Piaralal, & Bhatti, 2014). To many organizations, benefits and compensation
given to employees act as a tool of reinforcing and communicating organization value and
priorities to workers.
Making credible links between collective and individual priorities or efforts in the entity
is an essential aspect when the entity is set to attain certain goals. It is difficult to align rewards
with the overall strategy but it can be done through the making of decisions with different

COMPENSATION AND BENFITS 4
executives and board members. But it is evident that compensation of specialists in the company
adds value to it and this contributes to the achievement of the organizational plan (Riaz, Akhtar,
& Aslam, 2018). For the reward program to match the organization plan, companies should
internalize and understand the business strategy and also understand how the rewards reinforce
and align with the company’s strategic objectives. The incentives given to workers also affects
the company’s plan, the company can conduct things such as benchmarking to see how others
design their compensation programs and even their pay levels. Executives in every company
should ensure that alignment of the business plan with the working culture is enforced for better
performance.
Reward program
It is becoming difficult for employers to recruit and sustain a high-quality labor force
while maintaining the costs of hiring. The total rewards package can help employees to become
unique and also promote the company’s full value. Creating a reward program is essential
because it helps in the retention and recruitment of employees. Reward programs are essential in
the achievement of goals because it helps to enhance retention and recruiting strategies in a
market which has tight labor (Lasprogata & King, 2004). Total payment program provides
beneficial, developmental and monetary rewards to people who meet particular goals in the
entity. Employees may receive incentives such as recognition programs and group insurance.
The total reward in an organization helps workers to acquire non-monetary and monetary
rewards which motivates them and business performance is therefore improved.
When developing a good rewards program, it is important for the organization to put
together different teams to determine the current package of benefits given and its contribution to

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the attainment of the company’s goals. If the reward package is contributing to the achievement
of objectives in the company, then it is a good payment strategy (Martin & Ottemann, 2016).
However the development of a solid program that can motivate a different group of employees,
the administration should analyze and identify different reward policies. The analysis helps
managers to identify the reward system that is best for the workplace. It is also essential to
identify personal advancement opportunities and nonadditional benefits that can help in
advancing the company’s objectives.
Then the manager can publicize the new payment to workers and educate management
staffs on the same. Then employees should receive training on how the program will work to
achieve the company’s goals together with an individual’s success. After this, managers can
evaluate how effective the program can be and which areas require to be changed. A reward
package that suits employees can help in the easier achievement of goals because employees will
feel motivated and this improves their performance. It is important to know that workers have
different needs which need to be satisfied by the company (Mabaso & Dlamini, 2018). Employee
groups which are motivated also work together towards a common goal because they also feel
motivated to work in the company which has a good pay package.
Recognition
Works would like to work in a place that they gain more knowledge and become better
workers. Total reward describes the available tools for an employer that is used to motivate,
retain and attract workers. To a candidate or an employer for employment, the belief of total
rewards involves perceived value due to the employment relationship (Nanzushi, 2015). Many
managers would like to come up with ways that they can attract and retain highly valued and

COMPENSATION AND BENFITS 6
highly performed team members. The program has helped many people in organizations by
giving them professional and personal growth opportunities besides creating motivation in the
work environment.
Many companies have come up with reward-based performance as a way of attracting
and retaining employees. The practice can be beneficial to companies because it empowers
employees, improves motivation, and increase skills. These practices build motivation, ability,
and skills in areas such as share ownership programs, competency-based pay, team rewards, and
broad-bands which are associated with improved organizational performance. Customer service
and employee engagement also become more connected through this program (Musenze,
Thomas, Stella, & Muhammadi, 2013). It is seen that reward such as recognition awards and
pays influenced employees and this improved their links with customers. It is seen that
recognizing people in companies improves their performance because they feel more appreciated
by the organization. The rewards are given to employees which contributes to improved
satisfaction among workers which increases the results of work done.
Metrics to access total reward package
An effective enticement plan depends on doing it on the correct premise. Companies
develop many plans as a way of trying to change how workers behave and improving their
performance. Leaders feel frustrated when their plans fail to work but it is because they used
faulty plans. But to get an effective reward package, the company will have to involve different
teams in the sharing of your vision and mindset. The aim of every entity is to gain profits and
every plan made have to be profit oriented. It does not suggest that profits are the only things to
focus on in the company, but you cannot be able to pay workers if you do not make profits

COMPENSATION AND BENFITS 7
(Murphy, 2015). The company should not develop incentive strategies to increase profits while
forgetting about sustained profits. The company can become rich but in the long-term, it is
eroding its value creation.
Conclusion
Different benefits and compensation given to employees act as great motivators in their
performance. Companies which focus on employee remuneration makes them more satisfied and
this improves the overall job performance. According to this paper, compensation is very
important and it is even recommended by the law as a way of satisfying employees. They are the
ones who help in the growth of companies and benefits should also be given to them because the
companies need them. Employers should treat employees well so that he or she can become
attractive to the world and this improves performance.

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References
Barnetson, B. (2015). Worker Safety in Alberta. Alberta oil and the decline of democracy in
Canada.
Edirisooriya, W. A. (2014, February). Impact of rewards on employee performance: With special
reference to ElectriCo. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on
Management and Economics (Vol. 26, p. 27).
Lasprogata, G., & King, N. J. (2004). Regulation of electronic employee monitoring: Identifying
fundamental principles of employee privacy through a comparative study of data privacy
legislation in the European Union, United States and Canada. Stan. Tech. L. Rev., 4.
Martin, T. N., & Ottemann, R. (2016). Generational workforce demographic trends and total
organizational rewards which might attract and retain different generational
employees. Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management, 16(2), 1160.
Mabaso, C. M., & Dlamini, B. I. (2018). Total rewards and its effects on organisational
commitment in higher education institutions. SA Journal of Human Resource
Management, 16(1), 1-8.
Musenze, I. A., Thomas, M., Stella, B., & Muhammadi, L. (2013). Reward management and
organisational performance: An empirical study of private universities in
Uganda. International Journal of Innovative Research and Development, 2(8).
Murphy, B. (2015). The impact of reward systems on employee performance (Doctoral
dissertation, Dublin Business School).

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Nanzushi, C. Y. N. T. H. I. A. (2015). The effect of workplace environment on employee
performance in the mobile telecommunication firms in nairobi city county. Unpublished
master's thesis. University of Nairobi.
Piaralal, N. K., Mat, N., Piaralal, S. K., & Bhatti, M. A. (2014). Human resource management
factors and service recovery performance in Malaysian life insurance industry: Exploring
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Development, 38(6), 524-552.
Riaz, H., Akhtar, C., & Aslam, R. (2018). Total Rewards and Employee Performance:
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