A Comparative Report on Employee Benefits of Managerial Staff at
Sisco Software, Ltd. and Applied Computing, Ltd.
29 December 2014
Kenneth Sunderland
Human Resources Manager
Sisco Software, Ltd.
Executive Summary
Sisco Software, Ltd. has recently established its software and sales office in Hong Kong, and aims at competing with other local computer companies for quality local managerial staff.
The purpose of this report is therefore to compare the employee benefits of managerial staff offered by Sisco Software, Ltd. (SSL) with those of Applied Computer, Ltd. (ACL) which can be considered as a benchmark computing solutions provider with a long history in the local market. The selected areas for comparison are gratuity, insurance, Provident Fund, medical benefits and housing allowance.
The findings show that life insurance, and medical benefits offered by the two companies are in similar. ACL, however, were found to offer better gratuity, Provident Fund and housing allowance in particular to both local and entry-level managers.
To enhance the competitiveness of SSL in recruiting local managers, and to promote a harmonious working environment, this report recommends that SSL offer an additional gratuity for promotion, enhance the contributions to Provident Fund, reduce the differentials in housing allowance between local and expatriates managers, and introduce the allowance to entry-level managers.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
1
Table of Contents
2
1 Introduction
3
2 Findings
3
2.1 Gratuity
3
2.2 Life Insurance
3
2.3 Provident Fund
3
2.4 Medical Benefits
4
2.5 Housing Allowance
4
3 Conclusions
4
4 Recommendations
4
1 Introduction
Sisco Software, Ltd. (SSL) has witnessed a need of quality managerial staff in response to its growing business in Hong Kong. It was decided in the monthly corporate meeting in November 2014 that a comparative analysis would be conducted on the employee benefits between SSL and one of our major competitors for business and human resources in Hong Kong, Applied Computer, Ltd. (ACL).
The objective of this report is to compare the employee benefits of managerial-grade staff in the two companies in terms of gratuity, life insurance, Provident Fund, medical benefits and housing allowance.
Data of SSL were collected from the Department of Human Resources, and those of ACL were collected at the recruitment seminars by ACL from September to November 2014.
2 Findings
The findings of the benefits to managerial staff at two companies are separated into five areas below.
2.1 Gratuity
Both SSL and ACL offer gratuities to their managerial staff. SSL offers 15% of the base salary to managers at all levels. While ACL offers the same gratuity for entry-level managers, it also offers an additional 5% for each level of subsequent promotion.
2.2 Life Insurance
Both companies provide a lump-sum of 36-months’ base salary excluding Provident Fund payments.
2.3 Provident Fund
Both SSL and ACL contribute to Provident Fund for all employees. SSL contributes 10% of base salary to the Fund whereas ACL contributes 15%.
2.4 Medical Benefits
Both companies have similar arrangements for their staff. The maximum premium at SSL is $5,000 with 30% co-payment while that at ACL is $700 with 50% co-payment.
2.5 Housing Allowance
Both companies offer housing allowance to both their local and expatriate staff. However, it has been noted that the allowance for expatriates exceeds that of local staff by 55% on average at SSL whereas expatriate managers at ACL are only subsidized 25% more than the local staff. In addition, SSL does not offer housing allowance to local entry-level managers but managers at all levels are entitled to this benefit at ACL.
3 Conclusions
Our findings suggest that while both companies offer similar life insurance and medical benefits to their managerial staff, but compensation by ACL appears to be more substantial in gratuity, contribution to Provident Fund, and housing allowance when compared to SSL. ACL contributes 50% more to Provident Fund for all grades of managerial staff and offers an incentive of promotion with an additional 5% of gratuity. ACL offers housing allowance to entry-level local managers, and has a closer alignment in this respect between local and expatriate managers.
4 Recommendations
Based on the above findings, it is recommended that SSL encourage promotion by introducing an additional gratuity of 5% for managers below Level 3, and 10% for managers at Level 3 and above. An increase of contribution to Provident Fund to 15% for managerial staff is suggested to at least match that provided by ACL. To enhance the competitiveness of SSL to recruit entry-level managers, a housing allowance should be introduced to them. It is also recommended that the differential in housing allowance between local and expatriate managers be reduced by improving the compensation for the former. This would not only better compensate the local managers but also improve the relations between the two groups of staff at SSL.