Assignment 1: Case Study: Geico: Their Total Rewards Approach
Michelle D. Griner
Strayer University

Abstract This paper is about total rewards and how it affects the employer – employee relationship. If the rewards program does not fit the organizational goal or the goal of the employee, then there is a problem. There is evidence that shows the best way to attract, engage and retain employees is to focus not just on pay and benefits but also on rewards. Such as, education and development, health and well-being, financial security, and other amenities and perks; for example, business casual environment, easily accessible work out facilities, and banking. Other perks could be discounts on merchandize, tuition reimbursement and free to low-cost parking. Many rewards and benefit programs are development in fragmented ways, without regard of fitting the parts with the organization’s goals. Organizations have the ability to develop and execute a total rewards solution. By analyzing the design and delivery of each strategy component, companies can take the steps needed to maximize the effectiveness.
Keywords: total rewards, Associate Assisted Program (AAP)

Assignment 1: Case Study: GEICO: Total Rewards Approach GEICO has five different types of programs that help benefit their employees’ well being. Such as, Your Health and Well-being which includes plans such as medical, dental and vision; an associate assistance program (AAP); long-term disability (LTD) and physical fitness.
The next program that GEICO has is Building Your Financial Future. This portion of the program helps employees plan for their retirement by giving them investment options that include traditional and Roth 401K plans, profit-sharing plan, flexible spending accounts, life insurance, accident insurance, associate assistance program and matching gifts program.
They also have Time Off and Leave Programs that include paid vacations and holidays, sick days and leave programs. Family and Life programs are also included in their total rewards package and include dependent care FSA, adoption assistance, and long-term care insurance plan, associate assistance program (AAP).
Education and Development is another program that GEICO has to help their employees stay balanced in life and career choices, which include tuition reimbursement, insurance studies program GEICO University, virtual mentor, job post, GEICO family scholars program. The amenities and perks that are given to their employees include GEICO Federal Credit Union, many locations have fitness facilities or offer exercise classes, have onsite cafeterias, and provide education and training classes through GEICO University.
Not only does GEICO have five different types of reward programs there are top five advantages of a total reward approach that include: increased flexibility, improved recruitment and retention, reduced labor costs/cost of turnover, heightened visibility in a tight labor market, enhanced profitability. Employers need to start creating different workforce segments, especially in a global labor market where workforce diversity is the rule and not the exception and specific skills are in short supply. A total rewards approach that combines transactional and relational awards offers tremendous flexibility because it allows awards to be mixed and remixed to meet the different emotional and motivational needs of employees. Total rewards recognize that employees want the ability to integrate their lifestyle and their work (WorldatWork, 2007, p. 15).
Organizations are facing key shortages of best-in-class worker, information technology, and workers for entry level, unskilled jobs. A total rewards strategy is critical to addressing the issues created by recruitment and retention. It can help create a work experience that meets the needs of employees and encourages them to contribute extra effort. Developing a deal that addresses a broad range of issues and spending rewards dollars where they will be most effective in addressing workers’ shifting values. Work and personal life should be seen as complementary priorities, not competing ones. When a company helps its employees effectively run both their personal and work lives, the employees feel a stronger commitment to the organization. Numerous studies show that employees look at the total rewards package when deciding to join or stay with an organization (WorldatWork, 2007, p. 16).
The cost of turnover is often the driver of recruitment and retention is sometimes invisible. Estimates the total cost of losing a single position to turnover range from 30 percent of the yearly salary of the position for hourly employees (Cornell University) to 150 percent as estimated by the Saratoga Institute, and independently by Hewitt Associates (Lermusiaux 2003). The cost of turnover includes indirect costs such as losses from customers and sales, as well as decreased efficiencies as productive employees leave and the remaining workers are distracted (WorldatWork, 2007, p. 16).
Talent shortages have become a chronic condition of business life, and experts agree that the tight labor market is going to get tighter. Employers can no longer afford to simply view their employees as interchangeable parts. Organizations are quickly realizing that every employee matters even more when there are not enough employees to fill the available jobs. By gaining a clear understanding of what employees value, and mixing and matching rewards within a comprehensive framework, companies can reallocate their investment dollars to match what employees say they value most, and can communicate the total package versus a patchwork of individual components (WorldatWork, 2007, p. 16).
Aside from the high costs of technology, HR professionals are saddled with escalating benefits costs and changes in health care coverage and medical protocols. A big misconception about total rewards packages is that they are more expensive. That is because a number of companies equate the notion of rewards with “more” meaning more pay, more benefits and more combinations of rewards. Today’s workforce includes several distinct generations, each with a different perspective of the employer-employee relationship. Most employee research indicates that younger employees place a far higher priority on work environment and learning and development than on the traditional rewards components. The challenge is to develop and implement a flexible program that capitalizes on this diverse workforce. Valuing each employee includes understanding that everyone does not want to work or be rewarded the same way. In order achieve excellence; employers need a portfolio of a total rewards plan (WorldatWork, 2007, p. 17) After reviewing GEICO’s rewards packages, the one that aligns the top five rewards program is the Education and Development portion of their package. The reason this was chosen is because employees can continue their education and training needs by going to GEICO University which provides eLearning and instructor-led courses to help associates develop personally and professionally. They also offer tuition reimbursement for eligible full-time association to help further their undergraduate education at an accredited community college or four-year university. Their program will reimburse up to $5,250.00 per calendar year, and cover application fees, tuition, course-related charges, and up to 75 percent of textbook costs. They also help subsidize some of the cost whether you are currently enrolled or you have a child in school. Their programs could put thousands of dollars back in your pockets. GEICO also encourages and assist associates in developing and improving their insurance-related professional qualifications. Courses taken under this program are offered by the America Institute for CPCU and the Insurance Institute of America, and are 100 percent reimbursable when the national exam has been satisfactorily completed by the associate. Along with tuition reimbursement, insurance studies program, GEICO University they also offer a virtual mentor which connects associates with members of the management team via their corporate intranet. Associates may receive advice to their specific career-related questions and includes a mentoring blog and wiki, and an “Ask the Mentors” message board. Geico also has a job post in which associates can view and apply for internal job openings statewide, locally, departmentally and by position title. Associates can build rewarding and lasting careers with their promote-from-within culture. GEICO also offers a family scholars program that awards many scholarships each year to the children of their associates and assists with tuition and expenses of attending an accredited postsecondary school on a full-time basis. In evaluating the communication process of GEICO’s total rewards package they could explain the Associate Assistance Program (AAP) in one step and explain what it covers in one part of their explanation of their programs. For example, they have AAP under Your Health and Well-being section and also have it under Building and Securing Your Financial Future. If they had it under one heading then all the counseling sessions that are covered would be easier to follow. Another portion that could be fixed is the Other Benefits & Perks under the Amenities and Perks section. They could put the type of banking facilities in with the financial portion of their package, then talk about fitness opportunities under health and well being. After evaluating the communication process of GEICO’s total rewards program and finding that employees are unhappy with their rewards program, there two ways in which GEICO’s program could be changed, and they are: to articulate a distinctive value proposition for current and prospective employees that attracts and retains employees who have the capabilities and values the employer needs; and to provide a framework from which the employer designs, administers, and communicates rewards programs with the maximum motivational impact to drive desired behaviors.
In conclusion, the total rewards strategy should ensure that the rewards framework matches the strategic needs of the business, and that the mechanics of the total rewards structure reinforce the desired corporate culture and management style. Also, it should help structure the components of the rewards system to influence and motivate employee behavior in the right direction (WorldatWork, 2007, p. 23)

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