Concept of Compensation
The literal meaning of compensation is to counter-balance. In the case of human resource management, compensation is referred to as money and other benefits received by an employee for providing services to his employer. Money and benefits received may be in different forms-base compensation in money form and various benefits, which may be associated with employee’s service to the employer like provident fund, gratuity, insurance scheme and any other payment which the employee receives or benefits he enjoys in lieu of such payment.
Cascio has defined compensation as follows:
“Compensation includes direct cash payments, indirect payments in the form of employee benefits and incentives to motivate employees to strive for higher levels of productivity”
Based on above description of compensation, we may identify its various components as follows:
- Wage and Salary: Wage and salary are the most important component of compensation and these are essential irrespective of the type of organisation. Wage is referred to as remuneration to workers particularly, hourly-rated payment. Salary refers to as remuneration paid to white-collar employees including managerial personnel. Wages and salary are paid on the basis of fixed period of time and normally not associated with productivity of an employee at a particular time.
- Incentives: Incentives are the additional payment to employees besides the payment of wages and salaries. Often these are linked with productivity, either in terms of higher production or cost saving or both. These incentives may be given on individual basis or group basis.
- Fringe Benefits: Fringe benefits include such benefits which are provided to the employees either having long-term impact like provident fund, gratuity, pension; or occurrence of certain events like medical benefits, accident relief, health and life insurance; or facilitation in performance of job like uniforms, canteens, recreation, etc.
- Perquisites: These are normally provided to managerial personnel either to facilitate their job performance or to retain them in the organisation. Such perquisites include company car, club membership, free residential accommodation, paid holiday trips, stock options, etc.
Concept of Compensation Management
Compensation management, also known as wage and salary administration, remuneration management, or reward management, is concerned with designing and implementing total compensation package. The traditional concept of wage and salary administration emphasized on only determination of wage and salary structures in organisational settings. However, over the passage of time, many more forms of compensation entered the business field which necessitated to take wage and salary administration in comprehensive way with a suitable change in its nomenclature.
Beach has defined wage and salary administration as follows:
“wage and salary administration refers to the establishment and implementation of sound policies and practices of employee compensation. It includes such areas as job evaluational, surveys of wages and salaries, analysis of relevant organisational problems, development and maintenance of wage structure, establishing rules for administering wages. wage payments, incentives, profit sharing, wage changes and adjustments, supplementary payments, control of compensation costs and other related items”
Read More:
- Wage and Salary Administration
- Factors Influencing Wage and Salary Administration
- Competency Based Compensation System
- Team-Based Compensation System
- Different Theories for Managing Compensation
- International Compensation Management
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