Wages, pay, compensation: these all mean virtually the same, in the traditional 'working' sense, and that is to receive money for work done at a job. As we have gone over in detail this week, there are many kinds of compensations, both monetary and non-monetary. Non-monetary rewards can include things like recognition for work well done, job security, or even various forms of challenging work to help an individual grow. While the biggest monetary compensation comes from hourly or salaried wages, it can also be indirectly, such as in the form of benefits given for the employee (Lecture outline: Compensation).
In several of our readings for the week, there were times that I reflected on how these could have better helped my own career path(s), or even the different company(-ies) that I have been employed at, and how some of these findings or "advice" could have helped them be better employers.
A couple situations come to mind when I look at this week's prompt on compensation; actually, I could honestly look at almost every job I've held that has been largely impacted by compensation here, and I'll explain a little more. Working at McDonald's, Papa John's (which I was there for over a year), Tropical Smoothie Cafe, even Wal-Mart- all held the same part here- I started at the bottom, I accepted the position because I knew I needed some sort of income. After beginning to work there, I could see myself potentially moving up in position, with pay increases hopefully; however, even after talking with the supervisors and giving time, it became clear that it was not a possibility. I had to look elsewhere, as they were not willing to work with me enough on getting more hours or raising the pay, and I left as soon as I had a different job. Wal-Mart was slightly different, as I had an accident while working there when I was pregnant, and they did not help me as they should have afterwards. Two of my other 'big' jobs that I previously worked for more than one year, were both call centers that were customer service for different companies- they both had different metrics to meet being a customer service agent, and sales was an added bonus option, but not mandatory at the time. I was great (well, still am) at customer service and a problem solver, but not good with face-to-face interactions as much, and it worked well for me. All the way until the company changed, and it became more of a sales center than customer service, and my pay suffered because I couldn't make sales; I am not a salesperson, no matter how much they trained us. That goes back to what we learned in our book here, First Break All the Rules; sales is a weakness of mine and they thought they could train it out of me. I can help others with systems, learn how to be better helpers or how to explain something to a person so they can understand it better; I can pick out typos, write great papers, or turn out some great things in graphic design, but because I was never able to move past the bottom rung as a call agent- supposedly now focused on sales, "with customer service on the side," I couldn't do the job anymore.
What has made my current job different is the fact that my manager has listened to me more, has been able to consistently work with me- or even if she couldn't, she explained why. She has been more open in communication, and it has helped greatly. Sure we've had ups and downs, but which company doesn't? I think the formal reviews or appraisals could be done more frequently, but we do have conversations regarding positions, pay, and job satisfaction more than the official annual time frame; the incentives themselves have to be a combination of what helps each person, and managers be willing to work with each person. This helps our small property (that is part of a larger company) have one of the lowest turnovers in the whole place- open communications and people that work with each other.
Cartoon taken from https://pin.it/43ZT5za
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