Medium-sized companies are typically engaged in business that allow for low-skilled labor, but require a backbone of high-skilled key personnel in order to maintain operations. Therefore, as an HR manager for such a company, I would advocate for the program aimed at helping raise and retain key positions, while leaving room for low-skilled personnel to aspire to greater heights. Tuition reimbursement is a prospective avenue to achieve such goals. The proposed framework for the system is as follows (Hom et al., 2019):
- Eligibility of the program: Every full-time employee could be potentially eligible for this plan. Part-time employees are typically not committed enough to remain for prolonged periods of time, and therefore not worth the investment;
- The employee must have worked in the company for at least a year before becoming eligible for the program. Such an approach would help eliminate employees who are not a good fit, while allowing committed individuals to receive benefits.
- The programs of study eligible under the plan would have to be associated with the industry the business operates in. Broad-based programs of study are eligible for the reimbursement program, as they allow for flexibility and adaptability of the candidate for many different roles;
- The company will stay within 5,250 USD per year in order to remain within educational costs. Depending on the position and performance, this cap may be higher.
- The amount of reimbursement will mirror the practice already implemented by other companies, with A grades receiving full reimbursement, B – 75%, and C – 50%. This system has already been tested and provides an incentive to excel.
- The plan will specify that the employee will have to remain on the job for three years, starting from when they are hired. That way, the employee could start working towards relieving themselves from golden handcuffs from day one. At the same time, a three-year period would offer an employee an incentive to stay during the first years, during which they are the most likely to quit. If they do quit, they will have to return to the company the amount of money invested into them.
This program will allow the company to attract and retain millennial employees with prospects of easing their studying burden, and retain them for prolonged periods of time. The costs of the program will be offset by money saved on training new employees.
References
Hom, P. W., Allen, D. G., & Griffeth, R. W. (2019). Employee retention and turnover: Why employees stay or leave. Routledge.