WageWorks, Inc. and Organizational Learning
Introduction
WageWorks, founded in the year 2000, is a corporation that administers consumer-directed benefits (CDBs) for many major companies across the United States. These benefits are beneficial to employees since they reduce their taxable income, potentially providing the employees with substantial savings. CDBs are also beneficial for the employers who profit from the corporate tax advantages that US tax laws provide. Consumer directed benefits can take the form of health savings accounts (HSAs), flexible spending accounts (FSA’s), and commuter benefits, just to name a few. Simply put, these programs allow for a pre-tax deduction to be taken from employees’ payrolls. They claim the funds, usually within the same taxable year, by providing proof of eligible expenses in the form of a claim. WageWorks then pays out the pre-tax deduction via check or direct deposit to the participants’ personal bank account.
WageWorks’ Mission and Vision
On the WageWorks’ internal website employees are reminded of the corporate mission and vision. The mission is stated as: “We empower people to lead happier, healthier and more productive lives by saving them money on critical expenses such as healthcare and their commute.” Empowering people, simply put, is commendable and no easy feat, but WageWorks does provide an avenue to do just that. A company that wants to save people money can actually do so and still profit and grow. The WageWorks’ Values are how the company expects to achieve their mission. WageWorks looks for people with these values:
“Caring – People are at the heart of our company. We care about people: our Clients, our Clients’ employees and their families, our partners, and local communities, and our fellow employees at WageWorks.
Passionate – We love what we do and are passionate about delivering Consumer-Directed Benefits that save money and enrich lives.
Leading – Our actions inspire new ideas and drive change each and every day.
Customer-Centric – Our Customer comes first. We aim to serve our Clients and their employees, our brokers and partners, as well as our internal customers.
Accountable – We are dedicated to making our team and the company succeed, and we are open, honest, ethical and conscientious, as we deliver on our commitments.
Respectful – We value the diversity of our people, treat them with dignity and respect, encourage their development and reward performance” (WageWorks Internal Website, 2018).
WageWorks as a Learning Organization
WageWorks takes educating its employees very seriously not only due to the need for employees to be properly trained when dealing with sensitive health information but also in the pursuit of self-betterment for each of their employees on a personal level. Many of the consumer-directed benefits deal with health information which is protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, better known as HIPAA. The consequences for HIPAA violations can be very costly, with penalties costing as much as $50,000 per violation if not corrected within the proper time frame (AMA 2018). Needless to say that an employee is not permitted to make many, if any, mistakes when dealing with client’s personal health information. WageWorks goes to great lengths to ensure their employees are properly educated on the law and how to avoid these costly errors.
WageWorks University
WageWorks University is a learning portal offering electronic classes on anything related in any way to business and/or CDBs. Employees set goals yearly which primarily include meeting some sort of metric for the department, but does have a personal component built in as well. Employees may select as many classes as they would like as part of their yearly goals. Required learning
There are mandatory classes to take each year as a WageWorks employee. HIPAA compliance training and security training is mandatory each year. Other classes are required at times such as sexual harassment training. Depending on the employee’s duties they are likely to refer to WageWorks University at any point in the year for necessary education. The classes are usually video and audio with quizzes built in to ensure the material is understood. The length of the classes varies as greatly as the subject matter. It is necessary for corporations to properly train their employees and WageWorks University is an excellent tool that makes learning dry material a little more palatable.
Optional learning Among the classes offered for optional learning are a variety of trainings that may arise from training opportunities during daily work duties. If an employee requires additional training any particular subject, they may be directed to resources available at WU. The offering of learning opportunities for training on various subjects beyond what is required for the job the employee was hired for shows the additional effort and cost that WageWorks is willing to expend. It could further support its employees but offering a few hours a month that the employee can spend on these classes.
Tuition Reimbursement The tuition reimbursement program will reimburse employees up to $2000.00 per year for any classes or degrees pertaining to WageWorks. From smaller certifications to full degree programs, employees are encouraged to better their education. Management plays a supportive role in the placement as well. There seems to always be enough room in the budget for the betterment of their employees. This investment pays off for the company later as the student becomes the teacher in time.
Critiquing WU
Obviously WageWorks University is an incredible tool. WageWorks chose to offer not only useful classes free of charge for anyone willing to take the time to educate themselves. Going even further and providing reimbursement opportunities for a huge array of degrees and certifications empowers the employees to follow their personal career and educational trajectory with the support of their company. WageWorks benefits from educated employees who bring fresh ideas and talents to all facets of the corporation. The corporate environment is open to any ideas from even the most entry level employee, so there is a very real evolution that occurs as the intellectual capital grows. There is always room for improvement. In yearly evaluations employees judge themselves, on a variety of goals, on a scale of 1 to 5. No employee scores a 5. This is a reminder to always strive for betterment. One recommendation for improvement would be to devote time, on the clock time, for the purpose of taking classes on WU and assisting employees on achieving their goals. There are low volume times when employees are just sitting at their desk doing little that can be used instead to educate themselves and prepare for advancement. Social, institutional and professional factors that affect organizational learning There are many factors that can potentially impact institutional learning. Having the support of those whose opinions are considered valuable play a role is the desire to seek out information and or contribute to a group. WageWorks has an environment that is very conducive with seeking out new education opportunities as a high degree of value is placed on any idea with merit. Sometimes those ideas are carved by years of education and training and other times those ideas come from an agile mind that has not pursued further education but has a wealth of experience. At WageWorks ideas coming from both these groups of employees would be considered equally.
Having an engaging environment that demands constant betterment is just one factor that influences professionals. Upward mobility is essential for employees to strive for. Employees need an attainable goal, so they can set a new slightly more demanding goal next time. With the goal setting and grading that is done each year, an employee is aware of where they stand in terms of achieving their goals. Their perception is compared to the perception of their manager which creates an environment where the employee is either assured that they are moving in the right direction, as far as management is concerned, or perhaps may need to take different approach to achieve a more advanced position within the company.
Conclusion
WageWorks is a learning organization that first teaches its employees what they need to know to contribute to overall mission without jeopardizing security or fellow co-workers. WageWorks acquires individuals at varying points in their lives, some may be on the beginning of their journey, and the company supports the acquisition of knowledge with training and higher education. Some individuals join the team with substantial experience and knowledge, in which case they contribute a new perspective and information that the company will use to grow from.
WageWorks is a learning organization because each employee has a voice. Each employee can and should contribute to the betterment of the company. The reality of acquisition is that the corporation is absorbing entire cultures and in doing so is changing each time in a slightly different way while always keeping they mission and values in mind.
References
American Medical Association. (2018). HIPAA Violations & Enforcement. Retrieved from https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/hipaa-violations-enforcement
Bloomberg (2017) Company Overview. Of WageWorks, Inc. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=515408
Garvin, D., Edminson, A., and Gino, F (2008) Is yours a learning organization? Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2008/03/is-yours-a-learning-organization.
Johnson, T. (2018) Zoom 0. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THTmRg_gVac&feature=youtu.be
Senge, P. (2006). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization (Rev. and updated. ed.). New York, NY: Doubleday/Currency. US Department of Health and Human Services. (2018). Health information privacy. Retrieved from https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/index.html.
