At the human resource department, compensation and benefits accrued to employees form the backline of the department. This is because the department is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the welfare of the employees is maintained at all costs. The current benefits that employees get in the small team under focus in this paper is just enough. With such a package, there are certain things that the team cannot achieve given that an average compensation package gives average motivation and hence average productivity from the workers. The primary goal of the project is to improve the motivation level attached to small teams and break the popular belief that working with a small team is unproductive and overworking the workers. This project will help in changing the perspective of the firm using small teams through improving the compensation package for workers in the small team. The project will be completed in phases. The first phase will involve consulting the employees regarding their advice on the project. Then, the management will give its input. The second phase will involve drafting the new compensation and benefits package. From there, the final phase will be to implement the project. Finally, the last phase will seek feedback from the small team members about the new package and take suggestions on improvement which will be then be implemented if they are found feasible. The communication plan for this project will be completed three major ways. The first method will be done through the official memo. Also, since the matter is official then it is also prudent to include another channel of communication that will involve the external stakeholders specifically board members. Further, the company can also communicate about the project through the official email communication sent to investors and other stakeholders. It is not enough to communicate to stakeholders; there is need to facilitate communication from the stakeholders to the relevant individuals within the company. For instance, the social media platforms, as well as the website, will be modified to allow direct communication with stakeholders with interest in the company to communicate their ideas about the project.

Background

An average compensation package is especially dangerous for a small team for the following reasons. Firstly, the team can provide difficult to motivate given that the workers feel that their less number is not a factor considered when planning finances. It would be expected that a lean team should be highly compensated because they must do a lot of work to meet deadlines. Secondly, the team would expect that they have lots of benefits since they are few individuals in a team as compared to other teams with many members. In respect to equality, both large and small team are provided with equal benefits. Thus, the one benefit of a small team is that the benefits are shared amongst a lean team. This advantage is supposed to be commensurate to the fact that the lean team will have a lot of work to do to be on the same achievement level as a large team (Madhani, 2015). When this advantage is not provided, the small team is not likely to meet the expectations, nor the goals set for it.

Being the manager of this small team, I plan to revamp the seemingly dormant and inadequate compensation and benefits package for improved productivity. With the team having all the benefits they should have as well as compensation, they will be able to work hard to meet the goals set out for them. This way, my role as the manager will be met, and the team will be considered for future projects due to their record in meeting the expectations of the management for current tasks. Additionally, if the team performs beyond expectations, the then chances are that future teams will be lean and small. The system of using both small and large teams will be done away with. This way, each employee will have the chance to work in a small team for maximum benefits and compensation plus a chance to have their work noticed. Therefore, this revamping project has a lot riding on it with its success bringing a lot of positive change for the employees (Vázquez-Casielles, Iglesias & Varela-Neira, 2012). In this situation, the human resource department has the chance to change the current policy and introduce small teams that will improve the employees’ welfare.

Goals

The primary goal of the project is to improve the motivation level attached to small teams and break the popular belief that working for a small team is unproductive and overworking the workers. With the right motivation, small teams can produce expected results in the same way as larger teams even better. This will prove to the management that having small teams for tasks is better and should be the way forward. This way the firm will benefit from improved productivity making it possible to meet all the deadlines and hence reduce costs significantly. To achieve this primary goal, the following specific goals will have to be met first.

The specific goals of this project are:

a. Introduce a complete overhaul of the benefits and compensation package to introduce intangible benefits

b. Connect the compensation package with motivational strategies for enhanced productivity per worker in the team

c. Set new standards for the company about the performance of small teams

Scope

This project will help in changing the perspective of the firm using small teams through improving the compensation package for workers in the small team. The project will be completed in phases. The first phase will involve consulting the employees regarding their advice on the project. Then, the management will give its input. The second phase will involve drafting the new compensation and benefits package. From there, the final phase will be to implement the project. Finally, the last phase will seek feedback from the small team members about the new package and take suggestions on improvement which will be then be implemented if they are found feasible.

Communication Plan

The communication plan for this project will be completed three major ways. The first method will be done through the official memo. This method holds several benefits over other possible ways. It is the official way of crucial communication information to the internal stakeholders of companies all over the world. As such, it possesses the aspect of trust such that when a memo is issued it carries with it a sense of authority and finality to the intended audience. In fact, in most scenarios, memos often carry legal power to tie the targeted individuals or individual to the contents. Thus, using the memo, the workers will know that it is the official decision arrived at through the direct authority from the top management to the human resource department (Liza, 2014). Thus, using a memo will be fitting and sufficient.

In addition, since the matter is official then it is also prudent to include another channel of communication that will involve the external stakeholders specifically board members. Thus, it is important to publish this message on all official external communication platforms for the company. These include the website, social media, and mainstream media. The mainstream media would be done so as to target the other workers in the firm. For instance, informing workers in another subsidiary of the firm that small team members have revamped compensation packages will have them anticipate seeing when the package will be instituted in their firms. Social media has become an official communication tool between various factions of companies (Bryant & Allen, 2013). There are groups on social media such as WhatsApp that can be used to communicate such a project in its entire phases to other workers. This way when collecting feedback for the company in the follow-up stage of the project.

Further, the company can also communicate about the project through the official email communication sent to investors and other stakeholders. The email will carry the subject “Motivating workers for maximum productivity.” This way, details about the project will be justly and fairly distributed to all relevant stakeholders. This is an important move to show that the company is all about transparency. This way, potential investors will be endeared into investing in the company because of its transparency.

The communication plan will also have to make allowances so that communication is two-way. It is not enough to communicate to stakeholders; there is need to facilitate communication from the stakeholders to the relevant individuals within the company. For instance, the social media platforms, as well as the website, will be modified to allow direct communication with stakeholders with interest in the company to communicate their ideas about the project (Madhani, 2015). Further, the project implementation team should be open to suggestions even when undertaking the process so that the final project can be a product accepted by all. This way, the project will have high chances of success.

Key Stakeholders

Client	[Human Resource Department]
Sponsor	[Top Management]
Project manager	[James Cox]
Project team members	[Claire Martins], [Henry Cavings], [Janet Canning], [Brandon DrinkWater].

Project Milestones

The project has several milestones as shown below. It is extremely crucial that the project follows the timeline.

Task	Start	Finish	Assignee
Initial Planning and Consultations	1st April 2018	3rd April 2018	James Cox, Claire Martins
Drafting the first package	4th April 2018	7th April 2018	Claire Martins, James Cox
Drafting Second package	8th April 2018	11th April 2018	James Cox, Janet Canning
Implementation	12th April 2018	15th April 2018	Brandon DrinkWater, Claire Martins, James Cox
Follow-up	16th April 2018	17th April 2018	James Cox, Henry Cavings

Invoice dates

	Amount	Invoice Date
Initial Planning and Consultations	$400	3rd April 2018
Drafting first package	$200	7th April 2018
Drafting Second package	$300	11th April 2018
Implementation	$20,000*	15th April 2018
Follow-up	$100	17th April 2018
Total	$21,000	17th April 2018

Project Budget

The project will have the following expenses.

Initial Planning and Consultations $400

Drafting first package $200

Drafting Second package $300

Implementation $20,000*

Follow-up $100

Total $21,000

*The implementation budget is exceedingly higher than the rest because the amount consists of the actual compensation funds that will be used.

The implementation budget:

Implementation package activity cost $1,000

Compensation Package revamp $10,000

Benefits (Intangibles) $9,000

The compensation revamps package will offer additional $2,500 to the four team members. The justification for this amount will be that the workers deserve the added amount to their salaries because they have to handle additional work in the small team. The benefits for the team will include a paid trip to Hawaii in summer for the four of them valued at $9,000. They will, however, must meet all the goals set for them in the fiscal year or else the benefits package is foregone.

The drafting of the compensational package, the first and second drafts, will have some recurring charges. The amounts recurring will be $100 which are charged to the project for paying for the drinks and a place for the team to meet and engage in the revamping process. The second drafting will be more expensive than the first one because it will involve printing and another concluding process for the revamp plan to take effect. The rest of the costs will be non-recurring.

Work Breakdown Schedule

Constraints, Assumptions, Risks and Dependencies 200

Constraints	Financial – as the required budget may not be approved
Assumptions	The project will operate under the assumption that the workers will respond positively to the revamped compensation
Risks and Dependencies	The most significant risk is the risk of workers failing to meet the goals set even after the revamped package.

Conclusion

The current benefits that employees get in the small team under focus in this paper is just enough. With such a package, there are certain things that the team cannot achieve given that an average compensation package gives average motivation and hence average productivity from the workers. The primary goal of the project is to improve the motivation level attached to small teams and break the popular belief that working for a small team is unproductive and overworking the workers. This project will help in changing the perspective of the firm using small teams through improving the compensation package for workers in the small team. The project will be completed in phases. The communication plan for this project will be completed three major ways. The first method will be done through the official memo. Also, since the matter is official then it is also prudent to include another channel of communication that will involve the external stakeholders specifically board members. Further, the company can also communicate about the project through the official email communication sent to investors and other stakeholders. It is not enough to communicate to stakeholders; there is need to facilitate communication from the stakeholders to the relevant individuals within the company. For instance, the social media platforms, as well as the website, will be modified to allow direct communication with stakeholders with interest in the company to communicate their ideas about the project.

References

Bryant, P. C., & Allen, D. G. (2013). Compensation, Benefits and Employee Turnover: HR Strategies for Retaining Top Talent. Compensation & Benefits Review, 45(3), 171-175.

Liza, R. S. (2014). The Total Compensation Strategy: A Case Study of Warid Telecom Bangladesh Ltd. ASA University Review, 8(1), 157-174.

Madhani, P. M. (2015). Sales Compensation Strategy. Compensation & Benefits Review, 47(3), 107-120.

Vázquez-Casielles, R., Iglesias, V., & Varela-Neira, C. (2012). Service recovery, satisfaction and behaviour intentions: analysis of compensation and social comparison communication strategies. Service Industries Journal, 32(1), 83-103.

Approval Signatures


[Name], Project Client		[Name], Project Sponsor		[Name], Project Manager

Revamping compensation and benefit package

Initial Planning and Consultations

Drafting first package

Drafting Second package

Implementation

(3.1) Using the ideas to draft the package

Follow-up

(1.1) Collection of feedback

(2.1) Brainstorming

(4.1) Enrolling the employees for the package

(4.2) Using the package actively

(5.1) collect feedback from beneficiaries

(5.2) Noting down relevant points raised

(1.1.1) Feedback from Top management

(1.1.2) Feedback from team members

(2.1.1) Noting down relevant ideas

(3.2) Complete draft ready

(4.2.1) Actual payout

(5.2.1) Implementing the ideas

(3.3) Print package for dissemination