The State Bank has over time increased the salaries of their tellers compared to their counterparts in other banks. The rise in wages was based on the high cost of living. Other bank employees were not receiving such pay rises (Nkomo, Fottler, & McAfee). This data about the salary disparity was collected after a research was conducted on the State Bank and other local banks. Indeed, from the study, it was clear that the employees of the State bank were well remunerated as compared to those from other banks.
Due to the implementation of the cost of living salary increase policy, it has made the wages of the tellers to go way above those of their counterparts in other banks (Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 2011). Additionally, the increased wages are almost at par with other bank employees. Thus, the bank president and management have to work with the Human Resource department to come with a solution that will fix the overpayment of the bank tellers The human resource should come up with a structure, which will ensure that the tellers earn in accordance with their worth. In this case, their wages should not be the same level as those of the bank management and other senior level employees.
Initially, Duncan, the bank president was opposed to the idea of increasing the employees’ salaries on the basis of cost of living but could not do much about it.However, he believed that the bank employees and mostly the tellers played a critical role in the growth of the bank and hence deserved to be well remunerated. After the bank received the report regarding the payment of bank tellers, they met to discuss on the way forward in determining the how the bank rise should be tamed The HR committee was aware that the employees did not know how much they were expecting, but they knew that they should get salary increase based on merit and cost of living.Nevertheless, if I were at the HR committee of State Bank, I would still insist on paying the tellers the same amount of money they were receiving initially. Additionally, the merit and cost of living would still remain the basic requirements of increasing their salary as this would encourage the workers to perform better. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics (2011), the cost of living is rising and it is advisable to ensure that the tellers can also afford and live a comfortable life just like any other worker in the bank. It is also important to note that employees are a key component to any company; hence, a generous remuneration would ensure better performances.
The bank teller has many responsibilities. The work is also risky and tempting given the amount of money they receive and give out to the bank clients. In Timothy 5:18 (Include the version here), it records that “For the scripture saith, thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The laborer is worthy of his reward.” Therefore, from the scripture, it is right to ensure that bank tellers are paid fairly for the work they do and get bonuses when they achieve the set goals. Moreover, in case of a robbery, the teller is the person who bares the greatest risk as they are likely to be held at gunpoint at any moment. The bank tellers are usually entrusted with the bank money and most of the assets are under their protection. In most banks, the tellers are the face of the organization and they deal with a higher number of clients who need the bank services. Thus, treating them with respect and giving them a reasonable remuneration will serve as a motivation and they are likely to work harder. Therefore, if I was at the HR committee of State Bank I would support and stand with the current policies since they are fair and considerable.
References
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) (2011). National compensation survey west south central. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/sp/nctb1634.pdf
Nkomo, S. M., Fottler, M. D., & McAfee, R. B. (2011). Human resource management applications: Cases, exercises, Incidents, and skill builders. Mason, OH: South-Western.