Reference no: EM133379163

Serina started her own company Stationery Depot in 1995 and this initial small business gradually expanded into a successful business as it is known today. The company sells stationery and related products to large retail stores. The business initially started in Gauteng but has expanded all over South Africa, with the head office based in Johannesburg.

Hamza is the HR Director at Stationery Depot. The company has been in existence for more than 25 years - its total workforce consists of 385 employees. They sell stationery, paper, and office consumables and office furniture to large retailers. Their stock is mostly locally sourced, but certain products are also imported from a variety of suppliers. The organisation also provides advice to retailers on the best products for various customer needs and they have specific environmentally friendly products focused on recycling and sustainability to address this increasing need.

At Stationery Depot sales representatives are responsible for marketing and selling their products/furniture. They are grouped into teams covering various geographical areas and each team is supported by an administrative staff member that is responsible for processing orders, checking the availability of items, and following upon delivery. Sale representatives are rewarded by means of a minimum basic monthly salary plus commission on their monthly sales and they also receive employee benefits (including a fuel allowance, cell phone allowance, retirement benefit, and medical aid). Each team has a monthly sales target that they have to meet, if they do not meet this they do not earn a commission. Administrative staff members only earn a monthly salary and limited employee benefits (including retirement benefit and medical aid) and they earn no commission.
Stationery Depot has implemented an HRIS system two years ago. The system serves as a single data source that can be shared across functional boundaries. Corporate data is integrated and centralised in the system. Added to this is the functionality that employees can make limited changes to their own data directly on the system or view their payslip and absence records. Before the implementation of the HRIS, the company conducted a proper HRIS needs analysis to ensure that they implement the correct system to address their specific needs. Hamza and his team liaised with various HRIS vendors and assessed each one's system feasibility, they identified the most suitable HRIS product and vendor and worked with the vendor to implement the HRIS. As they expanded additional modules were added to the HRIS to cater for their changing needs. The company uses its HRIS extensively.
David recently applied for a vacant position at the company and was appointed. Hamza's team contacted David to obtain all the required documentation for their records and they informed him that these will be stored on the company HRIS. David felt uncomfortable with this, "I do not want everybody in the company to see my matric results, my ID or my University results" he told Hamza!
Stationery Depot is doing well and they have secured a number of contracts over the years. However recently they have experienced higher than usual staff turnover. The Board of Directors is concerned and they approach Hamza for answers and suggestions on how this can be reduced. They also want to know what the possible causes are for this problem. Hamza discusses this request with his team and requests their input.

Question:

Refer to the case study again and look at the compensation structure of the administrative staff members. Some of them have already participated in an external web-based survey for public records. Compared to other companies, the results of the surveys show pay disparities of the administrative staff at Stationery Depot.

(a) What recommendations can one make to Stationery Depot regarding their reward systems (2 marks) and compensation programs

(b) What must the company include in expanding their benefits programs