The company was in a period of transformation, acquired by a global technology business as an opportunity for growth. The parent company invested in the organization and a new reward structure to help drive performance and transformation was clearly required.

Ruth Gawthorpe and her team designed, implemented and improved the Benefits Strategy to meet the organizational needs by linking together Reward, Behavior and Competence, Bonus and Culture.  The original benefits package had no link to the organizational objectives and desirable behaviors were not being encouraged or measured.

The goal was to build an attractive benefits package to recruit/retain suitable employees, reward high performance and enable the organization’s growth plans. The design of the new benefits strategy had to ensure that it:

• ​Provided a clear line of sight to the organisational strategy & goals
• Promoted the behaviours required to meet the organisational goals
• Was cost effective and market placed
• Allowed recruitment and retention of key talent
• Rewarded high performance
• Was flexible to support growth

Ruth and the team looked at the following: 

• Underlying structure: the grade framework that the benefits system is built upon
• Robust framework: to ensure that compensation and benefits issues (sickness absence, car allowances, etc.) are properly managed.
• Base benefits structure: to recognise the market place and ensure existing/new employee’s expectations are met
• Variable pay: performance linked to bonus
• Recognition: to encourage high performance and reward desired core competency
• Non-financial reward: focus on personal development
• An obstacle that Ruth and the Team overcame was that the benefits package had to be financially viable, good enough to retain and recruit, and to encourage high performance whilst also linking into the organisations financial plan. 

Results and Financial Impact

The new benefits strategy has revolutionized the way that employees are managed, encouraged and rewarded within the company. Employees are now much more focussed on their performance and they understand how this links both to the organisations objectives and their bonus. 

Quantitive and Cultural Impact

• The financial plan was exceeded
• Employees understand the business objectives and plan
• Employees trust that the organisation will do what they say they will; i.e. if the Business Plan is met then performance will be rewarded financially
• Voluntary attrition has reduced from 18% to 13%
• 100% of employees signed up to the bonus scheme and completed an appraisal
• Clients were visibly impressed by the system
• A high performing workforce is now encouraged
• Attitude is recognised as an important factor for success
• Employees display competences which link to the organisations strategic goals

Answer the below questions with justification.

1. What should Ruth Gawthorpe and her team do to retain their talented employee?
2. Why do you believe that being appreciated at work has a significant impact on employee motivation?
3. Explain the various types of direct and indirect costs that a business must endure.
4. Elaborate how does work stress impact employment turnover rate.
5. Justify the difference between demand forecasting and supply forecasting.
6. Explain the limitations of human resource planning in an organization.
7. What is succession planning and how does it impact an organization.
8. To achieve the company objective, explain the role of Human Resource Managers in human resource planning.
9. Discuss the external and internal factors that affect Human Resource Planning in an organization.

Answers to Above Questions on Human Resource Management

Answer 1: Retention of employees in an organisation is crucial from the point of view of achieving success in the organisation in the long run. It is mainly the role of Human Resource managers to devise appropriate strategies aimed at employee retention. In the given case scenario of Ruth Gawrthorpe, after having a successful contribution of employees towards effective organisational performance, it is important for the HR manager to ensure sufficient employee retention in order to achieve similar success in the long run. The important initiatives required on the part of Ruth Gawrthorpe in achieving successful employee retention are …..