Organizational Psychology: Understanding the Workplace - Essay Example

?Industrial/Organizational Psychology: Understanding the workplace To introduce the company, Security24/7, Ltd., which started in 2009, is a small business organization that provides security guards and surveillance equipment to its customers, who come to seek security services from far off places due to the good reputation of the company. The company maintains a skilled staff, and runs a database that stores and maintains information about its 37 employees including security guards, surveillance equipment, inventory, customers, and competitors. The hierarchical structure of this organization is strong enough, in which due authorities and responsibilities have been assigned to positions at every level. There is one owner and a few managers. The managers manage the employees who run the whole business. Thus, the hierarchical structure looks like a pyramid in which each upper level controls the lower one, and each lower level is accountable to its upper level position. The company implements many effective practices to boost its employees’ morale. Implementing employee benefits and employee development programs are two such practices. This paper reflects on the effectiveness of the employee benefits and employee development programs offered by this organization. “Employee benefits are going to be crucial to ensure staff are engaged and motivated in tough economic times, according to research released by Employee Benefits and YouGov” (Sullivan, 2012, p.xiii). Employers of Security24/7, Ltd. are spending thousands of compensation dollars to devise and implement benefit plans because they know that if labor morale is high, that means the company is going to enjoy improved performance, high productivity, and more positive reputation in the competitive market. Employee satisfaction is the key to success for Security24/7, Ltd., because it perceives employees as the second most important asset for the company, clients being the first. Security24/7, Ltd. employs negotiated benefits that include benefits like healthcare, flexible spending accounts (FSAs), pensions, personal days, paid vacations, holidays, reduced tuition for children under 26 and spouse, and tuition assistance. Security24/7, Ltd. employs group health plans to provide medical care to the employees and their families through insurance or reimbursement. It also pays for health insurance premiums, which makes health insurance an employee welfare benefit, maintained by the company. It works according to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) that covers most of the private sector health care plans, and provides medical protection to its employees and beneficiaries. The company requires the individuals, who are assigned to manage these plans, to meet certain standards or the code of conduct that is specified by the law. The company also offers retirement benefits which are actually employee defined contribution plans. Pensions are the greatest employee benefit for the retirees. Benefits are also provided to the members of the retirees’ families upon their deaths, for example pension for the widow or widower, benefits for the orphans, and facility to pay the pension to parents or other dependent significant others in case there are no immediate family members. Security24/7, Ltd. Implements the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), according to which it is purely the employer’s decision to decide whether he is going to give the employee paid vacations or he is going to deduct the wages for the number of vacations. The employee can negotiate with the employer about paid or unpaid vacations. “Paid holidays may also be negotiated by employees who have a contract with employers; these are often senior level employees”, writes Heathfield (2012, par.1). The company believes that paid holidays are a means of maintaining employees’ morale and increases job persistence. Common paid holidays offered by this company include New Year Day, Christmas, Independence Day and Easter. However, the employees also take unpaid vacations, like on the birth of a child or the death of a relative. The company implements the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 to allow employees to take unpaid leave from work. Although the employers are not required under this Act to pay the employees for the leave; yet, they can pay the employees for the time off to keep up their morale and job satisfaction. So, we see that employee satisfaction is the main objective of this organization. Security 24/7, Ltd. also offers income maintenance plans that include social security, disability insurance, survivor’s benefits, Supplemental Security Income Program (SSI), private pensions, and other welfare plans. To discuss the history of social security, the Social Security Act was presented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935. “Taxes were collected for the first time in January 1937 and the first one-time, lump-sum payments were made that same month. Regular ongoing monthly benefits started in January 1940” (Social Security Online, 2011). Social security system is administered by the U.S. Social Security Administration and intends to provide protection to the insured employees and their dependents during the time of loss of employee’s income due to retirement, disability, or demise. Security 24/7 Ltd. effectively employs such plans to boost job satisfaction. Another important practice that this company should be praised about is its employee development. Employee training is the most important aspect of this practice. The company offers on-the-job. The employee is trained while he is at the workplace. He is trained through various strategies. He is demonstrated about how the job is to be done. He is given coaching which includes his strong interaction with a more experienced worker. He is indulged in job rotation, in which he is given experience of many areas. He is given the chance of joining a project team. He learns how to be an effective team member. The company does not have to arrange for extra resources for training. Employees also get to learn practically while remaining on the job. This makes them more productive. They also tend to interact with other employees, which is effective for their development as employees. Security 24/7, Ltd. also believes in positive feedback to employees. Employees of this company believe that feedback is important for employees to motivate them to work harder, and is beneficial for employers because they receive improved performance leading to improved productivity. Feedback has also helped the employees of this company in career development, because it has let them know their strengths and weaknesses. It has helped them know what they should learn and what skills they should acquire to improve their performance. Employers make sure that employee recognition is fostered, so as to make the employees want to learn new skills, which is finally beneficial for achieving organizational milestones. The company employs 360 degrees feedback; that is, feedback from employers, supervisors, project managers, and even from co-workers. Criticism makes employees aware of the weaknesses of their current skill sets, and the benefits of learning new expertise. Positive feedback motivates them to attend informational sessions and training classes to learn new skills. In short, the company has always encouraged positive feedback to improve employee development, benefitting both the employees and the employers by creating a win-win situation. Putting it all together, for Security 24/7, Ltd., employee benefits, training, and positive feedback are an important means to boost employees’ performance and increase productivity. This paper discussed some of the very important employee benefits and employee development practices that the company has adopted to boost employee satisfaction and job persistence. The bottom line is that the company should be praised significantly keeping in view its consideration toward its employees. The company considers its employees as its greatest asset in the truest sense, and the employers make sure that they adopt most of, if not all, such strategies and programs, through the implementation of which the employees stay happy and satisfied, leading to the overall progress of the company. References Heathfield, S. (2012). Paid Holidays. About.com. Retrieved May 9, 2013, from http://humanresources.about.com/od/glossaryh/g/paid_holidays.htm Sullivan, N. (2012). Employee Benefits Connect: Benefits are key to motivating staff in tough times. Employee Benefits. Retrieved May 9, 2013, from http://www.employeebenefits.co.uk/item/14477/23/5/3 Read More