Consideration of your workforce needs is crucial to any successful compensation plan. The first step in development of a plan is to ask the employees what they care about. Some employees would rather receive more pay with fewer benefits or better benefits with fewer days off. Some may want a benefits package that allows them to choose!

Review the following types of voluntary benefits: Incentive Pay (pp 193-195); Medical Insurance (pp. 195-198); 401(k) (pp. 198-200); and, Paid Time Off (pp. 200-201). Complete the following:

1. Identify how you would rank them in order of importance to you, as an employee.
2. Describe each one in detail.
3. Select your top-ranked choice and develop a paragraph in which you communicate to the employees in your organization what the benefit is and how it will work for them. Be specific and strategic. Ask for their feedback on the benefit you are considering to offer them.