Topic 7: Pay And Benefits Incentives

Leveraging Human Capital

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Leveraging Human Capital

Human capital is defined as an employee’s economic value based on their experience and skills. It comprises intangible assets such as intelligence, education, skills, training, health, and other employee qualities that employers value, like loyalty and reliability. Human capital is thus considered an intangible asset or quality that is not outlined on a company’s balance sheet (Boon et al., 2018). Besides, it increases productivity, economic growth, and profitability. Therefore, human resource managers can improve human capital by investing in their employees through education, training, and benefits. HR managers should note that human capital can depreciate if exposed to prolonged periods of unemployment (Boon et al., 2018). The purpose of this paper is to discuss how to leverage human capital at VA Health Care System and describe performance indicators, rewards and incentives, and the motivation plan.

Tasks and Performance Indicators That Contribute To the Overall Employee Performance

Tasks that contribute to employee performance at VA Health Care System include coaching, performance appraisals, constructive feedback, and assigning employees goals and development plans. Coaching has been a major approach to improving employee performance in the organization. Employees are assigned coaches who take them through a non-judgmental and interactive process that enables the coach and an employee to develop a performance plan focused on specific performance areas. Performance appraisals in the organization also include employee self-appraisal, which gives employees a perceptive of the job performance and increases their engagement, thus improving their performance. Giving employees feedback after appraisal helps them identify their strengths and weaknesses. Consequently, they tend to improve on the weak areas, which improves their performance. Furthermore, supervisors assign employees goals and development plans that align with the overall organizational goals.

Setting individual goals for employees has been key to improving their performance.

Performance indicators refer to objective measure performance for a specific objective. Performance indicators that contribute to employee performance include ER wait time, which identifies the number of times patients wait before

receiving care at the ER (Burlea-Schiopoiu & Ferhati, 2020). Average patient stay is an indicator used to assess the hospitalization period, thus motivating employees to improve their job performance to reduce patient stay. Readmission rates indicator monitors how many patients are being readmitted, reflecting the quality of care provided in the hospital (Burlea-Schiopoiu & Ferhati, 2020). Readmission rates promote employee performance as the healthcare professionals implement best practices and provide high-quality to lower readmission rates.

Identifying an Employee’s Strengths and Skills to Leverage Their Performance

Recognizing an employee’s strengths and skills is crucial to increasing their efficiency. A key component to promoting success in an organization is leveraging every employee’s strengths and skills to contribute to the overall organization’s goal. I will identify an employee’s strengths and skills by conducting a performance appraisal to help identify the strengths and weaknesses (van Woerkom & Kroon, 2020). Besides, I will have informal interviews with the employees and ask them about their perceived strengths and weaknesses. I will also carry out personality tests, which focus on an individual’s interpersonal strengths and thus help identify strengths such as leadership, motivation, communication, and organization (van Woerkom & Kroon, 2020). After identifying the strengths and skills, I will make a list for each employee and place them in positions or assign duties that they can best apply their strengths and skills and build on them.

Strategies to Improve Employee Performance

Employee performance will be improved by assigning employees individual goals and offering them a framework to achieve them. Employees will be involved in developing their goals to make them more interested in attaining them. Supervisors will arrange for regular face-to-face meetings with employees to monitor their attainment of the set objectives and support them in addressing challenges to improve their performance (Neher & Maley, 2019). Mentorship programs will also be used to improve employee performance. Mentors will be tasked with nurturing their mentees and assisting them in career development. Furthermore, employees will be encouraged to develop innovative solutions that will help them meet their goals and objectives (Neher & Maley, 2019). Employee performance will be improved by offering employees opportunities for career growth, such as training and career development programs, which significantly improve performance.

Creating an employee recognition system to appreciate employees who attain their objectives is another strategy that will improve employees’ performance. The recognition system will involve giving employees rewards and incentives to motivate them to do better in order to achieve their goals. Rewards and incentives benefit both the employees and the employer. Recognition for outstanding performance and productivity is associated with increased employee morale, job satisfaction, and engagement in organizational activities, which increases productivity and profits (Lazear, 2018). Rewards and incentives will include monetary incentives such as bonuses, paid time off, cash awards, and non-monetary incentives like training opportunities and promotions. Monetary incentives will encourage initiatives to improve patient care resulting in improved job performance (Lazear, 2018). On the other hand, non-monetary incentives will be valuable to employees since they will acquire knowledge and skills and qualify for advancement opportunities.

Integrating Rewards and Incentives

Rewards and incentives are major levers that managers can use to motivate and foster individual and group performance, leading to an improved overall organizational performance, growth, and productivity. I will integrate rewards and incentives at VA Health Care by first identifying what the employees want as rewards and incentives (Kang & Lee, 2021). This will ensure that the rewards will have the desired impact in motivating the employees and driving performance. Modern managers cannot assume that all employees are similar, and they should understand their employees’ general behavior and needs (Kang & Lee, 2021). After identifying what employees want, I will communicate to all employees about the rewards and incentives and the criteria they will receive them.

Communication is vital to ensure that all employees are aware that they will be rewarded for their outstanding performance, which will drive motivation. Equity in the reward process will be observed by comparing the performance and incentives given to an employee with the performance and incentives other employees get for similar work (Kang & Lee, 2021). Furthermore, other employee factors will be considered when choosing the rewards and incentives, such as the level of education, skills, work experience, and position in the organization hierarchy.

Vision for the Overall Culture

My vision for VA Health Care is to have a culture that recognizes and appreciates employees bearing in mind that they are the organization’s most variable asset. I aspire to create a culture where the organization’s leadership and supervisors applaud employees who constantly perform at their best every day to attain its goals. Besides, I envision a culture where employees are constantly appreciated to motivate them rather than where appreciation is done once or twice a year. Daily appreciation will include managers saying words like “Good job” and “Well done,” which go a long way to motivating employees and making them feel appreciated (Hussain et al., 2019). Furthermore, I aspire to create a culture where employees collaborate to achieve personal and organizational goals rather than competing.

Conclusion

Human capital is an intangible asset that includes employees’ qualities work experience, and skills. Employees’ strengths and skills can be identified through performance appraisal and informal interviews, and the manager should leverage them by assigning employees duties that align with their strengths and skills. Employee performance can be improved through assigning individual goals, mentorship, regular feedback, encouraging creativity, and rewards and incentives. Rewards and incentives make employees feel appreciated, boost their morale, improve motivation, and productivity.

References

Boon, C., Eckardt, R., Lepak, D. P., & Boselie, P. (2018). Integrating strategic human capital and strategic human resource management. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 29(1), 34-67. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2017.1380063

Burlea-Schiopoiu, A., & Ferhati, K. (2020). The Managerial Implications of the Key Performance Indicators in Healthcare Sector: A Cluster Analysis. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 9(1), 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9010019

Hussain, S. D., Khaliq, A., Nisar, Q. A., Kamboh, A. Z., & Ali, S. (2019). The impact of employees’ recognition, rewards and job stress on job performance: mediating role of perceived organization support. SEISENSE Journal of Management, 2(2), 69-82. https://doi.org/10.33215/sjom.v2i2.121

Kang, E., & Lee, H. (2021). Employee compensation strategy as sustainable competitive advantage for HR education practitioners. Sustainability, 13(3), 1049. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031049

Lazear, E. P. (2018). Compensation and incentives in the workplace. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 32(3), 195-214. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.32.3.195

Neher, A., & Maley, J. (2019). Improving the effectiveness of the employee performance management process: A managerial values approach. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-04-2019-0201

van Woerkom, M., & Kroon, B. (2020). The Effect of Strengths-Based Performance Appraisal on Perceived Supervisor Support and the Motivation to Improve Performance. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 1883. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01883

Grid View

	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor
Main Posting	45 (45%) – 50 (50%) Answers all parts of the discussion question(s) expectations with reflective critical analysis and synthesis of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module and current credible sources. Supported by at least three current, credible sources. Written clearly and concisely with no grammatical or spelling errors and fully adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style.	40 (40%) – 44 (44%) Responds to the discussion question(s) and is reflective with critical analysis and synthesis of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. At least 75% of post has exceptional depth and breadth. Supported by at least three credible sources. Written clearly and concisely with one or no grammatical or spelling errors and fully adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style.	35 (35%) – 39 (39%) Responds to some of the discussion question(s). One or two criteria are not addressed or are superficially addressed. Is somewhat lacking reflection and critical analysis and synthesis. Somewhat represents knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. Post is cited with two credible sources. Written somewhat concisely; may contain more than two spelling or grammatical errors. Contains some APA formatting errors.	0 (0%) – 34 (34%) Does not respond to the discussion question(s) adequately. Lacks depth or superficially addresses criteria. Lacks reflection and critical analysis and synthesis. Does not represent knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. Contains only one or no credible sources. Not written clearly or concisely. Contains more than two spelling or grammatical errors. Does not adhere to current APA manual writing rules and style.
Main Post: Timeliness	10 (10%) – 10 (10%) Posts main post by day 3.	0 (0%) – 0 (0%)	0 (0%) – 0 (0%)	0 (0%) – 0 (0%) Does not post by day 3.
First Response	17 (17%) – 18 (18%) Response exhibits synthesis, critical thinking, and application to practice settings. Responds fully to questions posed by faculty. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by at least two scholarly sources. Demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives. Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Responses to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	15 (15%) – 16 (16%) Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings. Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Responses to faculty questions are answered, if posed. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	13 (13%) – 14 (14%) Response is on topic and may have some depth. Responses posted in the discussion may lack effective professional communication. Responses to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed. Response may lack clear, concise opinions and ideas, and a few or no credible sources are cited.	0 (0%) – 12 (12%) Response may not be on topic and lacks depth. Responses posted in the discussion lack effective professional communication. Responses to faculty questions are missing. No credible sources are cited.
Second Response	16 (16%) – 17 (17%) Response exhibits synthesis, critical thinking, and application to practice settings. Responds fully to questions posed by faculty. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by at least two scholarly sources. Demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives. Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Responses to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	14 (14%) – 15 (15%) Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings. Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Responses to faculty questions are answered, if posed. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	12 (12%) – 13 (13%) Response is on topic and may have some depth. Responses posted in the discussion may lack effective professional communication. Responses to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed. Response may lack clear, concise opinions and ideas, and a few or no credible sources are cited.	0 (0%) – 11 (11%) Response may not be on topic and lacks depth. Responses posted in the discussion lack effective professional communication. Responses to faculty questions are missing. No credible sources are cited.
Participation	5 (5%) – 5 (5%) Meets requirements for participation by posting on three different days.	0 (0%) – 0 (0%)	0 (0%) – 0 (0%)	0 (0%) – 0 (0%) Does not meet requirements for participation by posting on 3 different days.
Total Points: 100

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The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.

Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.

If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.

I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.

As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:

Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.

Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

Welcome to class

Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to

I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.

Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.

If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.

Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.

Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
Include in-text citations in your response
Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
Follow APA-7th edition
Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
Follow APA 7th edition
Points will be deducted if the above is not followed
Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
Here are some helpful links
Student paper example
Citing Sources
The Writing Center is a great resource