Case 1 w/two questions: Discuss how this case illustrates how compensation can be used as a method for improving employee satisfaction and motivation.

 

Scripps Health is a long-standing and prominent nonprofit health-based organization that is based in the greater San Diego area. The organization experienced a severe financial downturn that led to increased employee discontent and turnover, as well as the exit of the firm’s CEO. In an effort to fix these problems, CEO and President Chris Van Gorder implemented a new strategic plan that was used to enhance how the employees were treated. The new strategic plan contained several components that encouraged employees to work more effectively in their jobs. For example, administrators were to utilize a more participatory leadership approach to create “buy-in” among staff members, and a natural extension of this approach was the development of a physician leadership cabinet that improved how personnel interacted with each other, and that strengthened firm coordination through widespread communication. Top managers also focused on improving individual satisfaction and productivity by enhancing work efficiency levels. A major part of these more streamlined operations stemmed from implementation of a beneficial performance management plan. In particular, this plan outlined how managerial talent would be developed, employees would be recognized for a job well done, and motivation would be orchestrated through a competitive compensation approach. Reorganizing the compensation policies of the organization was one of the primary areas targeted for improvement by the firm’s leadership. Part of this redesign process involved periodic reviews of job content, the use of annual appraisals to enhance communication, and the assessment of experience and education to properly adjust compensation amounts. Further, the organization strives to offer competitive compensation that rests at the 65th percentile of the relevant labor markets, which positions the firm squarely in the middle between the top and bottom levels of competitive compensation. The company also tests the pay markets twice a year so that it can remain competitive with regard to compensation. Finally, workers can tap into extra money based on ratings given vis-à-vis the annual performance appraisal sessions; if employees do well on their performance reviews, they can earn as much 5% of their salaries as merit-based compensation.1. Discuss how this case illustrates how compensation can be used as a method for improving employee satisfaction and motivation.2. Identify some of the ways that performance based pay systems should be developed based on the experiences at Scripps Health.Case study 2  Sodexo  Incentives

Many employees offer incentives to employees working in different jobs.  Often, the incentives are to reward employee performance, both in the short and the long term.  But some company incentive plans are viewed negatively by employees, while others are seen as highly positive by employees at all levels.

Once a firm has a well-regarded, broad-based incentive plan is Sodexo,  a large food and facilities service firm with more than 350,000 employees in 80 countries.  Being such a large firm, Sodexo has variety of clients, including many corporate and governmental entities, hospitals, manufacturing firms, and universities.  Thus, the firm’s client services are varied, with many of them being basic ones such as cleaning offices, maintenance of all types of facilities, doing landscaping, and managing other basic and professional activities.  In North America, including the United States, Sodexo has almost 125,000 staff members.  More than 40,000 of the North American staff members work in health care, including the clinics, offices, and hospital sites.

Being such a large firm with employees doing many different types of jobs, a key part of Sodexo’s organizational and HR cultures involves engaging its employees in many ways.  One aspect is having a widely based employee reward program containing recognition and incentives.  The company’s  “Spirit of Sodexo” program focuses on three general-award facets:  service, teamwork, and progress.  To operate this program, the company has required executives, including the top HR officer, to develop processes for the nomination of employees who make significant contributions, locally and regionally, as well as in business and corporate divisions of the firm.

Some of the recognition and awards provided to employees are interesting.  Because the biggest division of workers is in health care locations, a special incentive program called Sodexo  CARES has been used for several years for employers who accomplish especially unique results.  At one hospital, small group of dieticians developed a new system for ordering medication and devices online,  something that is not done in most hospitals.  These dieticians received recognition and incentive awards for their job-related accomplishments.

Another incentive reward for exceptional efforts went to a female employee who worked as a food caterer and prepared special meals for a young foreign hospital patient who had difficulty eating typical US foods.  The employee homecooked various items for that patient when the patient had surgery.  Her efforts were increasingly recognized throughout Sodexo, and she received a national incentive award.  Both she and her husband attended a national meeting in a different city where she was recognized and became the subject of a short video.  She also received a $500 gift card and a lot of publicity.

Numerous other examples exist showing how Sodexo uses employee incentives as part of its culture in many different industry jobs.  To learn more about Sodexo and its organizational and HR culture, go to www.sodexo.com.  The overall picture of such widely focused incentive recognition effort illustrates how incentives can significantly influence the motivation and performance of employees.

Questions:

 Based on the Sodexo example, discuss the important of widespread incentives in improving both the culture and employee retention effort in a firm.

How might having employees receive recognition and incentives at a national level impact the performance of their coworkers and colleagues?