Different types of industries exist across the world. Different types of organizations operating in these industries. Among the critical challenges to the modern-day organizations include attracting and retaining talents, fully compensating the employees and making the employees feel appreciated. As a result, most companies are forced to generate a reward model that aims at appreciating employees. Companies that have friendly reward models or programs can motivate and retain the working force. On this project, we are going to develop a total reward model for the U.S. army.
The organization- The U.S. army
The U.S. army refers to the branch of the U.S. armed forces that specializes in land warfare. The U.S. army's main objective is to preserve peace and security as well as providing the defence of the U.S. as a sovereign country. The Army also has a responsibility to protect the possessions and Commonwealths and areas that are owned by the U.S.
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The U.S. Army as an organization has its employees vigorously educated, trained and evaluated before they are allocated their duties in the Army. Consequently, the Army has different capabilities that make it a unique organization. The U.S. Army can achieve the desired effects in a specific operating environment. For example, the U.S. Army is known for its capacity to maintain peace in different regions where the Commander in Chief has sent them.
To become a member of the Army, one has to exhibit key competencies that indicate that they can serve in the Army. Some of the critical competencies that a person must show include physical fitness, excellent communication skills, discipline, teamwork, and capacity to work under pressure, concentration, ability to think and respond fast to a situation (Ferdinando, 2018). An army officer must have the ability to remain calm in hostile and stressing environments and must show the capacity to use technology such as computers and handheld devices.
The main challenges that face the U.S. Army as an organization are the capacity to attract and retain the best talent. The Army is also faced with the challenge of managing soldiers after their years of service. The current and ex-personnel of the Army are at risk of psychological problems that can result in possible harm such as suicide (Ferdinando, 2018). The Army faces the challenges of developing family support programs. The Army also faces the challenges of protecting personnel in sophisticated future battles.
Reward Model
Total rewards are used to compare between the employers while seeking where one wants to work. Total rewards include the salary and the factors which determine the experience, satisfaction, as well as the motivation level of an employee. They help to retain while attracting the best employees in the U.S. army (Global Total Rewards: Establishing a Framework | BCR, n.d).
The employees of the U.S. army receive rewards of different types, even though their basic salary is considered to be low (McMaken, 2015). The compensation of the military is usually market plus philosophy. Research by the defence department in 2015, indicated that soldiers in the United States are paid more than 75% of what other civilians are paid. Their salary is higher even if the civilian counterparts have the same experience and qualifications. The organization takes what the market pays and adds a percentage to the package. The skills and abilities of the soldiers attract rewards.
In the U.S. Army, the soldiers are offered compensations that are monetary such as house allowances, meal rations all of which are not taxed (6.2 Developing a Compensation Package – Human Resource Management, n.d). The soldiers’ goods and services like groceries and medical care are subsidized. These compensations are meant to attract the soldiers to ensure that they do not feel as if their pay is low. U.S. army retains its soldiers by offering them incentives which include money compensations, the opportunity to choose individual schools and station of duty.
The organization also motivates the soldiers to work hard and follow the rules which improve their performance through promotions. A soldier who performs well is usually promoted to boosting other soldiers' morale. Besides the monetary compensations, the organization also assists the soldiers in paying off loans taken for studies as well as helping pay their school fees through programs. They are also offered retirement, veteran benefits, and annuities ( Savych, 2005) .
Segmentation of employees
The U.S. Army is a complex organization, and so is its segmentation. The U.S. Army is divided into various elements that are made of a given number of soldiers. The first segment is the fireteam that is made up of two riffle men who are summoned when there are special missions. The team is made up of a leader and a grenadier. The second segmentation is known as a squad that is made of a group of four to ten soldiers. The team is commanded by a sergeant.
A platoon is made up of a few squads and has several soldiers ranging from 16 to 44, and a lieutenant leads it. Three to five platoons make up a company that is made by a total of 60 to 200 soldiers. A company is under the command of a captain. A company is tactfully seized and has been given the capacity to perform any battlefield functions on its own.
A battalion, which is commanded by a lieutenant colonel is made up of four to six companies which raise the total number of soldiers between 300 and 1000 members. A battalion has the capability to operate its administration and can conduct independent operations at a limited scope and time. Two to five combat battalions make up a brigade that has a total sum of soldiers ranging between 1500 and 3000 members. Forces are commanded by a colonel and are employed in semi-independent and independent operations.
Three brigades when combined have 10000 to 16,000 soldiers under the title a division. A division is commanded by a major general who is assisted by brigadier generals. Divisions are assigned primary tactful operations and sustained battlefield engagements and operations. Two to five divisions when combined form a corps that commanded by a lieutenant general.
Requisite Capabilities
Soldiers are supposed to mentally and physically fit, mainly because their responsibilities require it. Soldiers in the field are faced with the responsibility of making sound decisions hence the need for mental fitness. Usually, they face stressing, and traumatizing conditions and sometimes they even face death. Such situations require that the soldiers have the ability to be calm and work under such pressure which is among the competencies that the soldiers have (Ferdinando, 2018). While in the situation of combating threats outside and inside the United States, the soldiers have the competence of being tolerant and also portray the skills of team spirit since togetherness is the only way that they can manage to survive in hostile situations. Excellent listening and communication skills are also some competencies which the soldiers have. This is mainly because almost everything that the soldiers engage in is based on orders and listening.
The soldiers have technological skills and are quick and willing to learn. The soldiers deal with sophisticated equipment such as maneuver of combined arms and with the changes in technology, they must be ready and ready to learn (Ferdinando, 2018). The organization sometimes is called upon when there is a security emergency; hence, the soldiers can make decisions quickly and have the confidence to act as fast as possible as well as providing security for a wide area.
In my opinion, the current needs will change since they are never meant to be static. The complex environment of operation, the evolving joint forces, and the nation’s demand for improved security, the competences of the soldiers should change. The soldiers’ responsibility does not only encompass offering protection, but it also entails shaping of the environment of security which require managing tensions and preventing and mitigating crisis hence need for change ( Lee & Yu, 2013) . The competences will change to allow for the recognition of the conceptual idea of the cross-domain synergy and the emerging capabilities importance.
Recommended Changes to the Total Rewards Program
One fact about the military as an organization is that employees are in most cases, volunteers, the current compensation plan needs to be changed. Military training and work is risky and thus the need to make compensation more friendly to these persons. Changes should be made on compensation, work-life, benefits, and recognition.
The organization should include the promotion tournament system. Promotions are usually essential in the management of military personnel. The members of the military service do progress through the ranks through getting promoted ( Savych, 2005) . The organization should introduce such a system such that compensation is determined by the tournament of rank-order such that the structure of compensation is determined while the criteria of promotion are defined.
This rank order tournament is a system of reward which can be very attractive since it creates a strong incentive since the military employees work hard to outsmart their fellow employees. Also, since promotion requires evaluation done regularly, it helps with sorting of the soldiers into duties based on the abilities they have providing employees for next-level development ( Savych, 2005) .
An example of a plan includes raising the compensation of the soldiers after a given number of years of service. The fact that soldiers have families that need feeding is one of the reasons why most people leave the Army at a young age as they are not able to provide for their family because of minimum payments. At that rate, the army salary should be increased in a specified percentage after every five years.
Because of the risk environments in which soldiers operate, it is essential to ensure that soldiers and their families receive sufficient benefits. One key area of interest that a change is recommendable is providing life insurance to the soldier and the family ( Savych, 2005) . Key benefits for the soldiers should include life, medical and injury insurances. Besides, the soldiers should be given maximum retirement benefits for the soldiers' work and retire with the government.
A follow-up program for veterans and people who entirely from the Army. The plan is to follow up on the life of people who leave the Army by ensuring that they engage in meaningful life activities such as work and living with their families.
The changes should be communicated through evidence by using an example. The organization should promote several soldiers who have had outstanding performances and indicate the reason for their promotion on their website, which will be evident to the other soldiers. Evaluation of the success can be done after the evidence to identify how the personnel view this kind of reward (Total Rewards – Total Relationships - Capital H Blog, n.d)
The metrics to measure the program’s success are morale, turnover rate, and the vacancy rates metrics. The morale metric will determine the attitude of the soldiers in which a positive attitude indicates success. The turnover rate metric will show the rate of quitting of people from the Army with a high rate indicating that the program is not successful. The vacancy rate metric determines the shortage of personnel. If the rate is high, it means that the program is not attracting many people to the Army. Hence, it is a failure (Total Rewards: Planning And Implementing a Total Rewards System, n.d).
Justification
The above recommendations are based on the working environment of the Army. In most cases, soldiers work in an unsafe situation, and that is the reason they are provided with a good salary and benefits such as medical insurance and retirement benefits. However, soldiers have dependents. Thus the life and health of a soldier are essential to the dependents and the country. Life insurance for soldiers will allow compensation to the family. The promotion will also increase their pay increasing income.
Increased income, insurance benefits, life insurance, will offer incentives for most soldiers to serve for more years. In most instances, especially during war times, most soldiers resign after a few trips on the battlefield, which makes military among the riskiest organizations to work for in the world. As a result, it is vital to reward the soldiers with enticing incentives to curb the challenges of retaining the best soldiers.
Army veterans and those who quite the Army should be followed to ensure that they have a healthy life as civilians. Most of the veterans and people who leave the Army have challenges integrating into society. It is essential for the Army to develop programs that evaluate the life of veterans and people who leave the Army and while assisting these individuals in fitting in society and finding daily jobs. The presence of most people who leave the Army is a mess with some dealing with health problems such as injuries suffered at work or psychological problems forcing these people to live a miserable life.
Risks of Failure to Implement the Program
The risk of not implementing the program is the lack of effective participation of the people in the military, which include retaining, development of personnel who are qualified and attracting personnel. A Rewards program is meant to emphasize effort as well as performance incentives which encourage the soldiers to take risks and be innovative and be flexible and speedy during deployment ( Savych, 2005) .
Not implementing the program could lead to the soldiers allocating the efforts in other tasks in which rewards are offered, which means that they could quit their work as soldiers reducing the number of forces.
Since the work of the soldiers in the U.S. army involves taking risks, rewards are meant to motivate them to take more risks to protect the nations and the population. Failure to implement the program affects the behaviour of risk-taking of the soldiers by limiting it. Hence it means they do not offer the required security putting the nation at risk of threats and attacks ( Savych, 2005) .
Promotions especially are the main component of managing the soldiers since the thought of one being promoted with a 100% surety makes the soldier work harder as compared to lack of bail or zero probability of promotion.
The program provides the opportunity of attracting and retaining highly skilled soldiers in the organization due to the package of compensation. When rewards programs are implemented and become effective many people aspire to join the military, especially those who fell and have the right qualifications ( Savych, 2005) . This increases the force, and hence, the probability of preventing and mitigating crisis is also high. The soldiers also tend to take calculated risks in the presence of the program since they have a culture of not tolerating risks and cannot afford to fail.
Metrics
Different metrics can be used to evaluate the total reward program. A compensation system aims at motivating employees, successful attracting and retaining the best talents, enhance employee experience. The success of the overall reward system can, therefore, be measured by evaluating employee turnover, employee morale, and the ability to attract talents. Soldiers' experience, such as the number of suicides among soldiers and veterans, rate of loss of soldiers in operations, mental and physical health and morale also speak volumes about the success of the reward system. Comparing the reward systems with other military standards may also be essential in measuring the level of success (Using Metrics to Maximize Your Total Rewards Investment, n.d).
The metrics that will apply in this case include evaluating work performance and soldiers' welfare and morale, soldiers' turnover. Each of the above parameters will be applied to measure specific elements of the reward system.
Organizations must have a reward system that attracts the best talent in the industry. The main focus of the metrics is to evaluate how many people civilians are interested in joining the Army because of the reward system in place (Using Metrics to Maximize Your Total Rewards Investment, n.d).
People join the Army for different reasons such as prestige, family history, and others for patriotism. Thus it is important to evaluate whether an attractive reward system will attract people in the Army (Using Metrics to Maximize Your Total Rewards Investment, n.d).
The number of soldiers that are willing to remain in the Army can be used as metrics to indicate the success of a total rewards program. Employee retention is the ability of an organization to keep the employee at their place of work without losing them. The approach can be used at the time by collecting data on the number of soldiers and the number of years the soldiers have been in the service. Therefore the employee retention metric will report volumes about the reward program.
The employee turnover metric was chosen because it indicates the number of people willing to replace the leaving employees. The turnover is measured described as high or low. Healthy employee turnover is the one that allows the organization to run smoothly. The U.S. army rewards strategy can be compared to those of other countries. The approach helps indicate what motivates the soldiers in other countries.
Conclusion
Ac reward program is vital for the U.S. army like any other organization. A health total rewards program is the one that can meet the needs of the soldiers, attract soldier and motivate them to perform their duties. U.S. army employees are well compensated compared to civilians with similar skill levels. Besides, some benefits are attached to monetary compensation, such as allowances, health insurance. Soldiers are also recognized for their work and are rewarded with promotions. Different metrics can be used to measure these reward strategies. For example, employee retention, employee turnover, and vacancy rate.
References
6.2 Developing a Compensation Package – Human Resource Management. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://open.lib.umn.edu/humanresourcemanagement/chapter/6-2-developing-a-compensation-package-2/
Ferdinando, L. (2018, April 13). Military Leaders Highlight Efforts, Challenges in Recruiting, Retention. Retrieved from Retrieved from https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/News/Article/Article/1493328/military-leaders-highlight-efforts-challenges-in-recruiting-retention/
Global Total Rewards: Establishing a Framework | BCR. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.benefitsandcompensationresources.com/global-total-rewards-establishing-a-framework
Lee, E., & Yu, K. S. (2013). How are global H.R. competency models evolving for the future?.
McMaken, R. (2015). U.S. Soldiers Are Paid Significantly More than Civilians with Similar Skills and Education | Ryan McMaken. Retrieved from https://mises.org/wire/us-soldiers-are-paid-significantly-more-civilians-similar-skills-and-education
Savych, B. (2005). Toward incentives for military transformation: A review of economic models of compensation . RAND NATIONAL DEFENSE RESEARCH INST SANTA MONICA CA.
Total Rewards – Total Relationships - Capital H Blog. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://capitalhblog.deloitte.com/2018/02/02/total-rewards-total-relationships/
Total Rewards: Planning And Implementing a Total Rewards System. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://padtotalrewards.blogspot.com/2011/11/planning-and-implementing-total-rewards.html
Using Metrics to Maximize Your Total Rewards Investment. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSqu_iqA8_c
