Putting Health Care Benefits in Context

The Challenge:

Create a Professional Communication Tool to Help Influence Employee Retention

The job market in the Washington, D.C., region is fiercely competitive, especially for government contractors seeking qualified individuals with high-level security clearance.

Government contractors such as Alexandria, Va.-based Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc. (SPA), have come to realize that the cost of turnover can be high - taking into consideration the costs associated with not only reclaiming the intellectual capital that leaves with an employee, but also the high price to hire and train new workers.

"Unemployment is running exceptionally low in the professional services industry, especially among government contractors," said John V. Quigley, Vice President and Director of Human Resources for Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc. "Our objective was to ensure our employees fully understand their total compensation, with a focus on realizing the value of their entire benefits package."

SPA is a medium-sized business, with office locations on the East and West Coasts, which provides top-level decision makers with timely and objective assessments that integrate the technical, operational, programmatic, policy and business aspects of national security issues. Working with organizations such as the Department of the Navy, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of the Air Force, SPA has contributed to important decisions concerning major elements of the current U.S. national security establishment. Part of SPA's success comes from cultivating satisfied customers based on the performance of and service from its highly skilled workforce of 460 plus employees.

With this type of reputation at stake, the company wanted an effective tool to influence the retention of its employees.

The Answer:

Customized Total Compensation Statements from Charlton Consulting Group.

According to Quigley, SPA needed a professional approach not only to convey the value of total compensation, but also to customize key messaging within the statements.

SPA conducted a search among the top four recognized vendors, placing a premium on local companies with which it could work face to face. Other evaluation criteria included:

  • Cost
  • Timeliness in deployments
  • Sample products that matched SPA's needs
  • Flexibility to adapt to SPA's unique requirements
  • Strong confidentiality due to the nature of the industry.

After a thorough evaluation process, SPA selected Charlton Consulting Group to produce and distribute its customized total compensation statements.

"As a company, we specialize in analysis, so it made sense to compare company data versus the industry to give employees an indication of how we stack up against the competition in terms of benefit and compensation structure," Quigley said. "However, with an eight-person HR Department, we didn't want to spend a significant portion of our budget or time on the administration, production and distribution of these total compensation statements."

SPA's total compensation statements were distributed in February 2006. The statement detailed each employee's pay and benefits and included comparative industry data to more effectively demonstrate the value of the company's total compensation package. The comparative data was provided in both textual and graphical format.

The Result:

Effective Communication of the Total Compensation Message.

"For years companies have issued total compensation statements because this was what companies were supposed to do to help employees understand that a company's investment goes beyond just salary," Quigley said. "With the help of Charlton Consulting Group, we took it one step further. We wanted to state the facts, but we needed employees to truly understand what they were receiving versus marketplace norms."

SPA has received very positive feedback. According to Quigley, many employees admitted never even thinking about the bottom line in terms of their compensation and the investment SPA was making on their behalf. And, many were thankful to have all the information in one package - making it easy for them to understand their total compensation picture.

In addition to serving as a strong retention tool for SPA, these new total compensation statements also allow managers to become more educated on the compensation of their direct reports and to help managers talk more effectively to job candidates in terms of key compensation and benefits differentiators within the industry.

About SPA

SPA is a growing business whose mission is to provide top-level decision makers with timely and objective assessments that integrate the technical, operational, programmatic, and business aspects of national security issues.

For more information on Charlton Consulting Group's total compensation communications solutions, contact us at 877-203-5625 or via email at