Best Free MOOCs In Business In February

Managing Employee Compensation

School: University of Minnesota

Platform: Coursera

Registration Link: REGISTER HERE

Start Date: February 5, 2018 (4 Weeks Long)

Workload: 2-4 Hours Per Week

Instructors: Alan Benson and Mike Davis

Credentials: Benson teaches courses in negotiation strategy, economics, and personnel compensation at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. A Ph.D. from MIT, Benson teaches students ranging from undergraduates to MBAs to Ph.D. candidates. His research focuses on applying big data to personnel management and using microeconomics principles to make employment practices more relevant and effective within the labor market. His recent research has uncovered best incentive and operational practices in nursing, sales, and manufacturing, with the results covered by outlets ranging from the Wall Street Journal to NBC News.

Davis, an adjunct professor at Carlson, serves as the Executive Vice President of Global Human Resources at General Mills. Aside from his leadership and teaching roles, he serves on several boards, including the Employee Benefits Research Institute and the Human Resources Policy Association.

Graded: Students can choose to explore course videos, discussions, and ungraded assignments for free, but they won’t be able to submit graded assignments, earn a certificate, or complete a specialization without paying a $119 fee.

Description: How do you attract the best and brightest to your firm? While flexibility, impact, and mission are popular enticements these days, your advantage still comes down to compensation. Traditionally, compensation has been based on metrics like role and responsibility, not to mention performance, education, tenure, experience, and even geography. However, pay also reflects company values, fairness, and strategy. In order to attract people who are cultural fits and difference makers, the compensation model and benefits package must balance market expectations with business objectives, always rewarding the right priorities and behaviors.

In this course, students will examine the following areas: “compliance with pay regulations, understanding stock options, shopping for health insurance and pension providers, designing incentive plans…[and] non-monetary methods of motivating employees.”

Review: “This course was incredibly useful in a practical sense. I was able to apply what I learned directly to my new position as Business Manager of a small company. The course also helped me understand my spouse’s compensation package and to optimize its benefits. I highly recommend this course to other managers interested in the topic.” For additional reviews, click here.

Additional Background: This is the second course in a “Human Resource Management: HR For People Managers” specialization. To learn more about these courses and register for them, click here.