Introduction
Peapod, an online grocery store owned by Royal Ahold, was established in 1989 by two brothers; Andrew and Thomas Parkinson. It is one of the leading grocers in the United States that utilizes Internet to conduct some of its operations. For instance, orders and payments are done online after which employees shop and deliver the items to customers. Currently, the company owns several warehouses and it has spread its operations into several states. The company, therefore, can be a role model to other organizations that aims to succeed especially in online-based business. This paper explores the company’s relationship with its employees, an aspect that is vital in any business enterprise.
Discussion
Peapods pay structure influences the performance of its employees. Personnel is paid depending on their experience, the shift or time at work, the nature of their work, and whether they are full-time or part-time. The customer service representatives, for instance, earn according to their experience. On the other hand, personnel working on third-shift, which includes odd working hours, are paid more than those on second shift. Since, higher pay is a motivation to employees, these arrangements work to motivate the employees into performing tasks that would help the company achieve it intended goals and objectives.
It is substantial to say that Peapod shares profits with its employees through its benefits scheme. Peapod as an organization recognizes the value of its employees and treats them with utmost care. In this respect, it has a comprehensive and “superior” benefits plan for its employees (peapod.com). Although the management may choose to ignore the benefit program, Peapod allows its personnel the benefit of a “healthy lifestyle, and the flexibility to meet personal and career goals” (www.peapod.com). In addition, the company offers incentives to employees, especially the shoppers, who exhibit outstanding work. Therefore, a share of Peapods profits goes to support these programs.
Teamwork is important in a working environment and Peapod could utilize award schemes to motivate teams of staff. Teams are vital in spreading ideas and knowledge among the members. In an organization, it usual to have employees lag behind in certain areas irrespective of how productive they might be in other areas. It is with this realization that awards scheme for teams would be vital in ensuring that team members share knowledge and ideas in order to achieve a common goal. In effect, this would reflect in their overall performance on the organization.
It is evident that employees are part of the decision making process. The company encourages the staff to gather information that would help the company in performing its services. In fact, employees receive monetary incentive for doing that. This information is what constitutes the ideas that the top management considers in making their decisions. In other words, employees participate in the decision making process through their suggestions.
Conclusion
Peapod ensures that their organizational strategy and compensation strategy interlace to make a good fit. The compensation scheme takes into consideration aspects such as experience, the time of the day or shift, and the nature of work. Increased compensation motivates the employees into enhancing their productivity, and hence the overall performance of the company. Experience ensures the employees are knowledgeable in their field of work so as to deliver quality service to the clients. These together with incentives and benefits plans ensure that employees are motivated and in return the organization benefits from efficiency and productivity.
Works cited
Bratton, John and Goldjeffrey, Human resource management: theory and practice, 2nd, Routledge, New York, 2001.
Hollenbeck, Noe and Wright, Gerhart, Human resource management: gaining a competitive advantage, 6th edn. Mcgraw-Hill Publisher, New York. 2002.
www.peapod.com