HR Practices and Policies

Team Members:
Enakshi Mondal - 16KA

Esha Mukhopadhyay – 78KB

Paricheta Verma – 93KB

Priyanka Singh – 156KC

Shaivya Gupta – 164KC

 About The Company:
The four guiding principles of Amazon are: obsessing on the customer rather than the
competition, being passionate about invention, being dedicated to operational excellence, and
having a long-term perspective. Amazon aspires to be the planet's most customer-focused
business, best employer, and safest workplace. Some of the innovations pioneered by Amazon
include customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalised recommendations, Prime, Fulfilment
by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon
Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge.
Although their business has changed over the years, one thing has remained constant:
customers want more affordable prices, better options, and practical services. Amazon
customers can now find what they're looking for both online and offline. We are constantly
coming up with new methods to please our clients, from bringing fresh food right to their
doorstep to producing and distributing movies, music, and more.

Recruiting:
Below factors outlines the numerous aspects that contribute to Amazon's recruiting function
being so much more effective than its rivals. Because they succeed in each of the six pillars of
excellence in recruiting, they are truly a giant. The following six pillars support Amazon's
success:
 Their hiring influences corporate outcomes.
 Their proven capability of handling huge recruiting volumes across a wide range
 Their fervent demand for superior hires
 Their success is built on a data-driven, scientific approach to hiring.
 They have a uniform, quick hiring approach.
 Their sub-programs for focused recruiting are unmatched.
Pillar #1: Their hiring influences corporate outcomes:
 Always looking for intellectual horsepower and curiosity
 Diversity assessment
Amazon's recruiting strategy enables them cross-industry innovation. In terms of business, the
company's extraordinary high stock valuation is directly attributable to its hiring practises and
operational success.
Pillar #2: Their proven capability of handling huge recruiting volumes across a wide range:
Amazon excels in drawing in a record-breaking number of candidates. A record-breaking 30
million applications were submitted to Amazon in 2020, setting a new all-time high. But it is
particularly remarkable because it took place at a time when practically every significant
company and organisation struggled to receive even a handful of applications for each
position. The fact that Amazon got a staggering "1 Million Job Applications (in 1 day)" as part
of their 2021 annual Career Day event highlights the company's appeal.
Pillar #3: Their fervent demand for superior hires:
Being "Earth's Best Employer" is their stated objective. Their leaders "work every day to
create a safer, more productive, higher-performing, more diverse, and more just work
environment," according to their statement, which is why they can achieve that goal. They
demonstrate empathy as a leader, like their jobs, and facilitate the enjoyment of others.
The Bezos hiring strategy is firmly centred on quality; their hiring managers' and the recruiting
team's insistence on it has held true over time.
A fundamental Amazon requirement for leaders is to "raise the Amazon's usage of "bar
raisers" which is how the company primarily ensures quality.
Pillar #4: Their success is built on a data-driven, scientific approach to hiring:
Amazon formulates hypotheses regarding the most effective methods for talent acquisition,
talent retention, and talent development to "be the most scientific HR organisation in the
world." and then set out to conduct tests and meticulous data collection to support or
refute
Pillar #5: Their sub-programs for focused recruiting are unmatched:
Because different groups are drawn to and motivated by various offerings, targeting
subprograms is crucial. Target groups at Amazon include a variety of women, veterans, the
elderly, and those in need of internal movement or an upward push.
The Returnship programme assists jobless individuals in returning to the workforce - The
Returnship is a programme for those who have been out of the labour for at least a year and
are underemployed (usually due to unemployment, children staying at home, or Covid
concerns). This programme intends to offer a unique chance for this target group to relaunch
their careers by working for Amazon.
Best Fit Program - Software developers can find their ideal employment faster thanks to the
Best Fit Program, which accelerates the job identification process. Designed primarily to assist
software developers in their search for the ideal position among all available Amazon
positions.
CamperForce - RV travellers can find employment through CamperForce, a programme that
provides jobs to seasonal workers who are on the move. Work Campers are what they are
called. And since the holidays are a time when Amazon needs a lot of workers for its
warehouses. Today, they support and employ seasonal workers who live in a trailer or RV.
Pillar #6: They have a uniform, agile hiring approach:
The need for innovation is one factor that unites all of Amazon's business divisions. As a result,
Amazon looks for applicants that enjoy tackling a never-ending list of challenging issues.
Amazon employees believe that creativity is ingrained in their DNA. They make it obvious that
they are seeking analytical and critical thinkers with exceptional judgement, who can both
dream large and pull up their sleeves to solve hard challenges on behalf of their clients

Compensation:
 Amazon’s policy is based on a 4 year model. It’s components are: -

Base Salary + Payout

+ 5% RSU
Base Salary
Salary Model

Base Salary + Payout

Annual Payout + 5% RSU

Base Salary + 40%RSU

RSU

Base Salary +
*RSU – 40%RSU
Restricted Stock Unit

LEVEL – In Amazon the levels range from 4-11. Level 12 is for Jeff Bezos. As is clearly evident,
full-time workers enter at Level 4 with a salary range of $50k-$70k whilst VPs can enter at a
payscale more than $1 million. Compensation depends upon :-

Years of experience Interview performance

The exact figures are as follows :-

Level 7 -->
10+ yrs of
Level 6 --> exp
8-10+ yrs of
Level 5 --> exp
3-10 yrs of
Level 4 --> exp
1-3 yrs of
experience

Key inferences from compensation

No matter what level an employee is at, Amazon maintains a base compensation cap of
$160,000. That indicates that Amazon gives employees' RSUs priority, which has been a good
incentive given that Amazon stocks have never decreased.
If someone earns more than $160k, they might feel that their salary is going down on getting
into amazon. But that’s not true because the total compensation is going to cover that up

Benefits and Rewards:

Amazon provides a wide range of fantastic benefits to help employees and qualifying family
members, including domestic partners and their children, in addition to an average beginning
compensation of $19 per hour, which is more than double the federal minimum wage. These
all-inclusive benefits, which start on the first day of employment, cover health insurance, paid
parental leave, means to save money for the future, free college tuition, and other tools to
promote wellbeing.
Financial Assistance- Along with fair compensation, Amazon offers its employees the chance
to hold Amazon shares, take part in 401(k) plans with corporate matching contributions, and
sign up for compensated life and accident insurance. Along with paid short-term and long-
term disability benefits, there are additional services for estate preparation and financial
advice accessible.
Healthcare Benefits- Regardless of level, tenure, or position, Amazon provides regular full-
time employees with medical, dental, and vision coverage. For Amazon employees, there is a
hybrid virtual and physical health care package called Amazon Care. Employees are given
plenty of paid time off and paid holidays, in addition to other types of leave and medical
accommodations that can be made for issues with their mental and physical health.
Caring for Families- Employees have a wide range of options from which to choose the perks
that are most advantageous to them personally. Amazon takes care of children and the
elderly. A network of more than 2 million caregivers, including nannies, babysitters, and
special needs caregivers, is available to Amazon employees for free. Amazon offers several
free tools for parents of kids with autism, ADHD, and developmental difficulties, and
employees get discounts at some day-care facilities.
Parental Leave- Amazon offers its workers support at every step of their lives. They recognise
the expansion of their employees' families by providing a range of benefits. They grant
expectant mothers up to 20 weeks of paid leave, and we grant adoptive parents six weeks.
Through their Leave Share programme, employees can grant their spouse or partner, who is
not entitled to parental leave from their workplace, six weeks of paid parental leave.

Training and Development

Amazon has designed several training programs for its employees:
AWS Grow our Own Talent: This program provides on-the-job training and placement
opportunities to its employees and entry level candidates with no traditional background.
This helps the employees in pursuing roles in Amazon web services data centres to innovate
and safely deliver high-quality cloud computing services to customers.

Surge2IT: This training program is designed for entry-level IT employees across the operations
network of Amazon who want to pursue career in higher paying technical roles. It helps in
developing required skills to build up their career in IT field.

User Experience Design and Research (UXDR) Apprenticeship: This program is designed in a
way that instructor-led training and real-world experience are combined in one-year
program that provides employees with the opportunity to learn and develop research and
design skills across Amazon, including Prime Video, Amazon Fashion, Alexa, and AWS.

Career Choice: This program is a pre-paid tuition program for employees in operations who
want to upskill themselves and want to pursue further education.

Amazon Technical Academy: It is a training and job-placement program that prepares non-
technical Amazon employees with the vital skills to switch into and succeed as software
development engineers in minimum nine months. The program is curated in a way that
instructor-led, project-based learning with real-world application are combined to make it a
successful program for the aspiring software engineers

Amazon Technical Apprenticeship: This is certified by the U.S. Department of Labor that
extends paid and rigorous classroom training along with apprenticeships with Amazon.
 AWS Training and Certification: Under this program, employees get access to free classroom
and digital training to develop cloud knowledge, and also discounted AWS Certification exams
to for validating cloud expertise.

Machine Learning University (MLU): This program is designed for employees who have a
background in technology and coding and want to gain machine learning skills. It is taught by
more than 400 machine learning scientists at Amazon.

Recommendations
1. Display the incentives that consumers want the most (and are willing to trade salary for)  
For job searchers, compensation and benefits are virtually always priorities. However, candidates
are now willing to exchange some of their compensation for three essential characteristics of
workplace culture: inclusivity, opportunities for training and growth, and individual flexibility in
terms of when and where they work.

Upskilling: Nearly a third (37%) of candidates stated they would be willing to accept a pay
decrease in exchange for the opportunity to acquire new skills.
Flexibility: A little over half (51%) would forego larger wages in favour of more flexibility. Even
more so are women (53%) and those who have been in the workforce for a longer period (56%).
Inclusion: According to 62% of job searchers, an employer's open commitment to enhancing
diversity and inclusion in the workplace makes them more likely to apply for the position.
Candidates who are willing to trade income demonstrate that they value these benefits more than
just a nice perk. They serve as differentiators, identifying what makes one employment offer stand
out from another.
2. Give candidates a way to experience organisation’s culture first hand
Help potential employees gain first-hand knowledge about your culture.
Organize social gatherings or opportunities for networking for potential candidates. Give
individuals the chance to job shadow you or host open homes so they can experience what it's like
to work there.
Gaining the trust of job searchers through openness: The usage of personal data throughout the
hiring process must be made explicit. Demonstrate to candidates the advantages of disclosing
their personal information.
3. Recognize how a slow process and a failure to communicate hurt your chances of attracting talent
poorly of your business. It may impact the reputation in the long run and potentially reduce
company’s ability to locate and hire the best candidates.
 Even the candidates who aren't given a job should have a wonderful experience. Throughout every
step of the hiring process, communicate often. When they are no longer considered, let them
know.
Give applicants a timetable and a mechanism to verify the status of their applications whenever it
is practical.
4.Streamline with technology but preserve human interaction at the core
Whether it be in person, on the phone, or by email, candidates desire good, straightforward
human interaction throughout the hiring process. As they move forward in the interview process,
that desire grows stronger.
Typically, recruiting technology is chosen and created with the company, not the candidate, in
mind. Therefore, choose for technology that streamlines repetitive work or simplifies the hiring
process for job candidates.
Another successful recruiting tactic is interactive technology that replicates the working
environment or office setting. Give potential employees a clearer idea of what it would be like to
work for your company. Consider a virtual reality simulation of a workplace or work setting. It's a
financial commitment that might really pay off
5.Manage your reputation 24-7
Obtain a thorough and current image of the standing of your company in the market, and keep
track of it continually. What are former and present employees saying about the workplace
online?
What do they have to say about company’s culture, particularly in regards to the elements that job
seekers value most, including training, flexibility, and inclusion?
Are there discernible differences in perception across various demographic groups, such as elderly
versus younger workers or women against men? Together with the leadership, examine this data
and create plans to strengthen favourable perceptions (or combat negative ones).