WGU C236 Compensation and Benefits study guide

Absolute Level The reward can be defined. Paying an employee $50,000 salary per year, for example, is a defining absolute level. Administrative Pertaining to the activities of running an organization or a business. Anchored Rating Scale Uses examples or definitions of typical behaviors to define each point along the scale. Autonomy Giving employees discretion in choosing what to do and how to do it. Bad Data Challenge Exists because the data a company obtains about market rates may not be an accurate representation of the market. It is often difficult to fully understand the quality of the data obtained from various sources, or how best to integrate this information, which adds error to any reward system based on that data. Base Pay Salary or hourly wages Benchmark Competitors A selection of primary organizations that exemplify the labor and product/service markets in which the organization competes. Benchmark Jobs Jobs that are representative of the type, content, and level of jobs in the organization. Benefit Benchmark Survey A tool that helps organizations better understand how employee benefits may impact their ability to attract and retain qualified employees. Benefit Level Strategy Refers to the level of each benefit type provided as well as the overall company expenditure. Benefit Mix Strategy Refers to the particular combination of benefit types that an organization offers. Broad Input Help, advice and thoughts from employees of all levels of the organization. Broadbanding Entails the use of a few broad bands (or grades) to organize work for pay purposes. Business Strategy The collection of decisions, approaches, and activities that allow an organization to compete and win Business Strategy Support Supporting a business' approach to adapting to changes in its environment in order to compete and win. Capability-based Pay When a reward system explicitly attempts to vary rewards based upon capabilities of the employees. Types include Skill-based pay, Competency-based pay, and Seniority-based pay. Cash Compensation Monetary pay that employees receive in exchange for their work Central Tendency Describes what's typical for a set of data, usually measured by the arithmetic mean, median, or mode. Centralized Approach The Human Resources department makes all decisions relating to pay strategy, as well as specific reward decisions. Centralized Global Rewards Strategy Organizations attempt to have a single set of policies that are determined by the organization and utilized at all locations. Child Labor Defines the type of work appropriate for children and the ages at which children can work. Co-pay Policy A policy that requires employees to pay a set amount for each time any service is used. Collaborative Environment Teams of employees work in concert to be creative, solve problems, and produce results. Commission-based Commission-based reward systems are most often used for jobs with a sales component and provide employees a set percentage of the sales that they make. They are used to provide a strong incentive to create sales and also to maximize the size of those sales. In a pure Commission system, the full risk of low performance is borne by the employees. For this reason many organizations pair a commission-based system with some other form of base pay (such as salary) to more evenly distribute that risk. Communication Strategy A plan for creating, sharing, and receiving information relating to its Total Rewards Systems. Compa-ratio A ratio frequently used to measure the conformity of pay rates to the pay plan. Compensable Factor Job elements or criteria that identify what the organization values for purposes of job evaluation. Identifying compensable factors is step one in the Point factor Approach. Compensatory Time Paid time off instead of overtime pay. Competencies Configurations of knowledge, skills, and traits that enable employee performance. Computer Programming, network administration Consolidate Information Into Job Description Draft Review the information gathered from the interviews to create the draft of the job description. This draft should note any points of uncertainty or disagreement among information sources. Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) An Act which established that employees have a right to continue their employer-sponsored health care plan, at the employees' expense, for up to 18 months. Control Costs Without a variable pay component, labor costs remain the same even when revenues, sales, or profits drop. Performance-based pay helps ensure that when performance is low, the company's cost structure is also reduced. Correcting Mechanism In place to fix any mistake made by the system. Cost Leadership Strategy Focusing business priorities on providing a lower-cost product or service Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) A periodic salary or wage increase to compensate for inflation. Cost-sharing An approach in which the insurance only pays for a portion of medical expenses. Creative Professionals People who are employed for the extraction of their skills concerning creativity. Critical Success Factors