You don't necessarily need to pay more to keep good employees. A look at some
unique employee benefits that can help you create an environment your workers
won't want to leave.
Employee Benefits
Want to hang on to good people? Try these creative employee benefits
Once a quarter, Mark Firmani closes his company for the day and takes his seven
employees to the movies. It isn't that business is slow. Firmani, president of
Firmani and Associates, a public-relations firm in Seattle, says that the
$500,000 company has plenty of work. Just the same, four times a year the
employees don their pagers, forward the phones to the voice-mail system, and
take in a matinee.
Firmani claims he shuts down for the day to stay competitive--competitive in
the market for good employees, that is. Seattle is, after all, Microsoft
country, and the local economic boom has attracted some big-name
public-relations players to the area. "There are agencies here that can charge
big bucks and pay well above the national scale," says Firmani. "So I try to
give this place a more enjoyable atmosphere." He has also found that when
Microsoft and others raise the employee-benefits bar, he must follow their
lead. Microsoft has company-subsidized cafeterias.So Firmani provides weekly
catered lunches as well as daily supplies of soda, juice, and candy.
Your business may not be in Seattle, but you still face the same challenge as
Firmani: making your company a more attractive place to work. With national
unemployment extremely low, it's harder than ever to hold on to good employees.
According to Matt Weinstein, author of Managing to Have Fun, these days
companies, especially those in high-tech industries, almost have to treat their
employees as volunteers. "Employees know they could work anywhere," says
Weinstein. "So companies need to create an environment where people feel
appreciated and recognized."
When it comes to employee retention, big companies can throw money at the
problem. Chances are, you can't. That's why smart entrepreneurs are looking for
low-cost ways to add zing to their benefits packages. Consider some of these
possibilities:
Give flexibility. For some employees, flexible schedules can be a valued perk.
David Kaufer, cofounder of Kaufer Miller Communications, a 27-person
communications agency in the Seattle area, had an employee who was distressed
about his long commute. Kaufer and the employee worked out a schedule that
included four 10-hour workdays, with Fridays off, until the worker could find a
closer residence. "He really appreciates the three hours a day he doesn't have
to spend on I-5," says Kaufer. Kaufer also set another employee up with a home
office, so she could move closer to her fianc in southern Washington.
Even manufacturers can offer scheduling options, albeit within limits. At
Autumn Harp, a 65-person manufacturer of skin-care products in Bristol, Vt.,
founder Kevin Harper gives many employees the option to work one day a week at
home. About 10% of his 65 employees take him up on the offer. Harper admits,
though, that for certain positions, working at home is not feasible.
"Production workers can't bring their machine home," he explains.
What could cost less--and offer more flexibility--than a casual dress code? At
Half Price Books, a $56-million chain of discount bookstores that has its
headquarters in Dallas, president Sharon Anderson Wright just asks that her
employees wear clothing that is clean, untorn, and free of offensive slogans or
graphics. "After a big debate, we decided they had to wear shoes," she says.
Firmani, too, is sartorially permissive. His PR professionals usually wear
jeans, sometimes sweats. All Firmani requires is that employees be within 15
minutes of wearing something presentable in case a client drops by. "I keep a
suit here at the office," says Firmani. "Not that I wear it much."
Share the perks of your business. Is there an aspect of your business that you
could turn into an inexpensive employee benefit? Orval Madden, CEO of Hot
Topic, a $44-million chain of music-related-apparel and -accessories stores
based in Pomona, Calif., reimburses employees for tickets to rock concerts. The
business tie-in? For Hot Topic, the shows provide important market research. To
qualify for the reimbursement, employees must return with a report on the
fashions that the band and the fans were wearing and with other merchandising
ideas.
Why not let employees share in perks you provide to your clients? Rick Born,
CEO of Born Information Services, a $36-million information-technology
consulting firm headquartered in Minneapolis, already was paying to entertain
customers at a skybox at a local arena. Now Born splits use of the skybox
between clients and employees.
Do fun stuff. CEOs and employees alike need ways to blow off steam. David
Kaufer periodically rents a bus and--without advance notice--takes his staff to
a Mariners game or to play laser tag. (One caveat: keep mystery events
nonthreatening. Firmani once took his staff on a surprise outing to go
parasailing, a form of parachuting that involves being airlifted by a boat. He
watched one evidently frightened staff member turn increasingly white awaiting
his turn. "I felt horrible," says Firmani.)
Some companies offer travel, such as a cruise to the Bahamas, to salespeople or
even the entire staff if sales or profit goals are met. For a few years Rick
Born offered such a trip. The perk was popular but logistically difficult and
expensive. Also, some workers couldn't go because they couldn't arrange
baby-sitting. So Born decided to take the money he was spending on trips and
invest it in lakefront property in a Minnesota resort area.Staffers now take
turns bringing their families to one of six company-owned houses--a benefit
that's admittedly not cheap. But Born says that he was spending the money
anyway, and this way he's building equity through mortgage payments.
Feed employees' bodies. And their souls. The easiest way to an employee's
heart? Through the proverbial stomach. That's why Jack Schacht, president of
National Trade Association (NTA), in Glenview, Ill., provides monthly in-house
luncheons for the company's 50 employees. He finds that the luncheons promote
camaraderie and offer a chance to celebrate birthdays at the commercial barter
company. Mark Zweig of Zweig White & Associates, a $3.1-million consulting and
publishing firm in Natick, Mass., goes even further and provides his 37
employees with free food and drink all day every day. "Our people work long
hours," says Zweig. "We want to make it easier for them to do so." In the soul
department, Autumn Harp gives employees two days a year in paid
community-service time. Employees have used the time to volunteer at local
schools, paint a nearby teen homeless shelter, and rebuild an AIDS clinic
damaged by arson. In addition, Autumn Harp offers employees not only a health
plan but also a "wellness reimbursement" of $200 a year for anything related to
their "mental, physical, or spiritual well-being." Past reimbursement items
have ranged from gym memberships to scuba lessons. One employee even put the
money toward house paint, arguing that it would make him feel good.
Offer advancement opportunities. One of the best incentives for ambitious
people is opportunity. Sharon Anderson Wright of Half Price Books fills
management positions by promoting from within, ensuring that long-term
employees have a chance to rise--and that new employees have an incentive to
stay. "It's dancing with the ones that brought you," says Wright. Firmani
provides a well-defined career track, with specific criteria for raises and
advancement. For example, employees that bill 1,200 hours a year and make two
new-business contacts know exactly how much their salaries will increase as a
result.
Pat people on the back. Few perks are cheaper, easier, or more effective than
recognition. And recognition can take a variety of forms. At Command Software,
an antivirus-software company in Jupiter, Fla., Dyan Dyer created an "Angel of
the Month" award that recognizes "random acts of kindness" within the company.
One recent winner: an employee who volunteered to house a programmer the
company had brought over from Germany and help him get acclimated and find an
apartment. That winner received a gift certificate for a local spa, plus a
small porcelain angel for her desk.
Far greater than the cost of these mostly modest investments is the value of
the employee loyalty you can get in return. For example, Rick Born claims his
turnover rate is one-third his industry's average--and he credits the
difference to the perks he offers, especially the company-owned vacation homes.
"I have employees' kids say to me, 'Thank you, Mr. Born, for letting us go to
your cabin,' " he says. "You'd never get that from a kid if you gave his dad a
$5,000 raise. I had one guy say, 'I couldn't leave if I wanted to; my family
would divorce me.' "
Christopher Caggiano is a staff writer at Inc.