Assignment:
Objective:
The learning objective of the project is to give you the practical experience of designing a compensation structure for an organization, beginning with the actual creation of a business, staffing it, implementing the pay plan, and assessing performance. You will also gain experience in utilizing a project team.
Phases
The project is designed in four phases:
• Phase I: Establish a business
• Phase II: Write job descriptions, create an organizational chart, and rank the jobs
• Phase III: Collect market data
• Phase IV: Focus on benefits and the compensation budget
You will work on the project in 4-5 person teams. You will sequentially work on the phases of the project, which when combined will result in the team paper. The following sections will provide details on each of the phases and what should be included in them.
Phase I: Develop a theme for an organization
• What is the business (technical, professional, service, etc.)? Create your business and give it a name.
• Start developing a description of the organization (goals, strategy, culture, values, location, environment, product/service).
• Establish a staffing plan. Determine the positions needed. There is to be a minimum of 35 employees in the organization.
• Think about the total compensation needs.
• Develop an HR mission statement and objectives. This should express the company's attitude toward hiring and retaining employees.
Phase II: Write job descriptions and establish a Point Factor Evaluation System - ungraded draft due Week 4
• For each job description, you will want a standardized template. Each job description should contain the following:
o Scope of the position
o Identify the job duties
o Define the qualifications (education requirements, experience, skills, and other criteria).
o Define the ADA requirements. Each job description should have ADA requirements defined per position. This should include the physical, mental, and environmental conditions per position.
• Show placement of staff/departments in the organization chart.
• Create a basic Point Method system. Rank these jobs within the organization. Explain the methodology for your team project.
Phase III: Market Data and Merit Program - ungraded draft due Week 6
• Market Data
o What is the competition?
o What are the local demographics for the immediate area?
o What is the Job Market like for the kinds of skills you will need? How hard or easy will it be to recruit and retain employees?
o Find market data on your positions online to assist you in determining a pay grade structure.
• Establish a pay grade structure and pay grades for each position.
o Set up pay grades with a minimum, midpoint, and maximum.
o Explain how you set up your pay grades.
o Assign pay grades to each position.
• Performance Evaluations
o Describe your performance evaluation.
o Determine which type of performance evaluation you will use for each category of employees.
o Design and include the performance appraisal forms that will support your system.
• Develop a merit pay grid that supports your performance appraisal process. Explain the linkage from your performance appraisal to your merit system.
Phase IV: Benefits and the compensation budget - graded final team project due
• What benefits will be offered with the company plan?
• Develop a budget and projection for total compensation for five years. Project the costs for each program included in your plan for all phases in the project.
o Consider your percentage of sales for the organization in year one through year five. You are not required to project the company sales volume. Will the company be able to maintain the sales increases to support your proposed pay increases annually?