Total Compensation

by Jessica Flora

An employee’s salary is only one part of the compensation package. When total compensation is determined, many other components need to be taken into consideration. These may include health benefits, paid time off and disability insurance.

Once a total compensation package is determined, it needs to be communicated to employees. It is important for them to have an understanding of everything that a company contributes to the compensation package. A simple and affordable way to do this is to provide benefit statements to each employee.

The Survey Says

According to AAIM Employers’ Association’s 2015-2016 Policies and Benefits Survey of 150 St. Louis and Central Illinois businesses, 28% of organizations provide comprehensive benefit statements to employees on a regular basis and 67% of those organizations have their staff prepare the benefit statements.  

Issues to Consider

Preparation: There are several ways a company can go about preparing a benefit statement. It can be prepared by an organization’s human resources team, an outside provider or the company’s insurance broker. Each preparation method has a different cost that must be evaluated.  

Time Intervals: A company must also determine how often it will provide these benefit statements. Providing them on an annual basis is a great place to start.  

Last, even though a company is paying out large amounts of money in total compensation packages, it still must remain competitive in its pay and benefits to attract great employees.

Jessica Flora, PHR (solutions.team@aaimea.org) is on the Research and Solutions Team for AAIM Employers’ Association, which helps Missouri and Illinois companies manage their people and processes.