Thursday, March 17, 2011

Big bang for the buck: Employers look for inexpensive benefits to boost morale - Kansas City Business Journal:

Air Purifiers San Franciscog
Experts say small perks, like movie s and meals being offered by somelocaol employers, can go a long way toward appeasin g employees who have been battered in recenf months by plummeting investments, frozen pension plans and even the layoffs of some of theire co-workers. At , employees will soon be offerefdaffordable take-home dinners for those busy days when therr simply is not enough time to cook, but they want something betterf than typical fast-food.
And at in employees can watch a movie durinvg lunch in a break room that includesa movie-style popcorn “Anything you do that helpsz reduce stress and inconvenience in lives is a real winner,” said Douglaw Dean, the chief human resource officer at Children’ss Health System. It usually is easier to keep employees contentg when life away from the officd isgoing well. But when gas prices soar and homevalues drop, any small benefitzs that companies can offer their employees can go a long way towarf keeping workers happy and morale And in this economy, many companies are lookinh any inexpensive perks or benefits that can make a “Employees are always looking to see what theitr company is doing, even in the smalo things,” said Michael Wolfe, the director of human resourcees at in Birmingham.
“It reiterates that you care about especiallywhen you’re going through a difficult Little things add up.” After gas prices began barrelinyg toward $4 a gallon last year, Wolfe said SourceMedical offeredd employees the option of working from home a few days each week whenevee possible, to eliminate the money-burning And in November, the company started providinyg a service called Teladoc that allowx employees to speak with a doctor 24 hour s a day without having to see theif primary-care physician or make a trip to the emergencty room.
“Things like that make it easier for our employees and makes themfeel valued,” Wolfe Maintaining a positive attitude in the workplacs can involve more than just practical It also can be important simpl y to make the office an enjoyable place to be. For in addition to the movie room, MailSouth has several plasma televisionx scattered throughoutits offices. There is also a free on-sits employee fitness center that includes occasionalaerobics classes. And sincew the company has approximately 30 graphic artistson staff, employee artwork is displayef throughout the building.
“We try to do little things to help keep things light in the saidDawn Hrdlica, the human resourcews manager at MailSouth. “We’re a deadline-driven so the pace is very fast. These sortxs of things where people can get away from theie desks and do some fun stuff reallyg does helpwith morale.” The hectic pace of both work and personal life is one of the reasons Children’s Health Systems began offering employees the chancw to purchase complete take-homes dinners. “They are getting off a long they’re stressed and they have to pick the kids Dean said. “This is an optiomn to grab somepretty high-quality food to take home to theirf family.
We want it to be tasty food. If it’ds no better than what you can get atthe drive-thru, then I’mj not sure you’re helping anybody.” Whiler budget cuts are sometimes necessary during economic Wolfe said it is important not to slash or eliminatwe some of the regular perkss that can help perk up the An employee might be visuallg confronted with the declining value of a 401(k) only a few timews a year. Take away free coffee, and that is noticed every single day.
“Whem you start nickel-and-diming employees and taking awaylittles things, it makes them feel unappreciated and more like a numbe r than a valued resource,” Wolfe “And the cost of some of these things is so minimaol that you’re really not getting that much of a You want to continue to do the smallp things to make sure that your employees feel Because when it comes to maintaininbg employee morale, the littlew things often do mean a lot. “Inn life in general, it’s the small things that get us It’s the daily touches,” Hrdlica “The thing that keepsw employees engaged is how you feel at the end of the day when youleavd work.
You get a tremendous return on investment by just lettinfg people know that youappreciate them.” Birmingham.Bhy Cary Estes | SPECIALk In tough economic times, it is nice to know you can stillk afford dinner and a movie. It is even nicere when it’s supplied by your employer. Experts say small perks, like movies and meal being offered by somelocal employers, can go a long way towar appeasing employees who have been batterecd in recent months by plummeting investments, frozen pension planzs and even the layoffs of some of their At Children’s Health System, employees will soon be offeredc affordable take-home dinners for those busy days when there simpl y is not enough time to cook, but they want somethingt better than typical fast-food.
And at MailSouth Inc. in employees can watch a movier during lunch in a breaki room that includesa movie-style popcorh machine. “Anything you do that helpa reduce stress and inconveniencein employees’ lives is a real said Douglas Dean, the chief human resource officer at Children’s Healthh System. It usually is easier to keep employees content when life away from the office isgoinfg well. But when gas prices soar and homevalues drop, any small benefits that companiesz can offer their employees can go a long way towardd keeping workers happy and moralr high.
And in this economy, many companiesd are looking any inexpensive perks or benefits that can makea “Employees are always looking to see what thei r company is doing, even in the smalk things,” said Michael Wolfe, the director of humabn resources at SourceMedical Inc. in Birmingham. “It reiteratees that you care about them, especially when you’red going through a difficult Little thingsadd up.” After gas prices began barrelingb toward $4 a gallon last year, Wolfse said SourceMedical offered employees the optiojn of working from home a few days each week whenevetr possible, to eliminate the money-burning commute.
And in the company started providing a service called Teladoc that allowd employees to speak with a doctor 24 hourx a day without having to seetheir primary-care physician or make a trip to the emergencg room. “Things like that make it easier for our employeesx and makes themfeel valued,” Wolfe Maintaining a positive attitude in the workplacd can involve more than just practica matters. It also can be important simply to make the officwe an enjoyable placeto be. For example, in additionj to the movie room, MailSouth has severakl plasma televisions scattered throughoutits offices. There is also a free on-site employee fitness center that includes occasionaplaerobics classes.
And since the companh has approximately 30 graphi c artistson staff, employee artwork is displayed throughourt the building. “We try to do little things to help keep thingas light inthe office,” said Dawn Hrdlica, the human resourcezs manager at MailSouth. “We’re a deadline-drive business, so the pace is very These sorts of things where peoplr can get away from their desks and do some fun stuff really does helpwith morale.” The hecticf pace of both work and personal life is one of the reasonds Children’s Health Systems began offering employees the chance to purchass complete take-home dinners.
“They are getting off a long they’re stressed and they have to pick the kids Dean said. “This is an optiobn to grab somepretty high-quality food to take home to their family. We want it to be healthy, tasty If it’s no better than what you can get at the then I’m not sure you’re helpingg anybody.” While budget cuts are sometimee necessary during economic downturns, Wolfe said it is important not to slasnh or eliminate some of the regular perka that can help perk up the office. An employee mighf be visually confronted with the declining value of a only a few timesa year. Take away free however, and that is noticer every single day.
“When you start nickel-and-dimingt employees and taking awaylittle things, it makesx them feel unappreciated and more like a numbefr than a valued resource,” Wolfe said. “And the cost of some of theses things is so minimalthat you’re really not gettinh that much of a savings. You want to continuew to do the smalpl things to make sure that your employeeafeel valued.” Because when it comes to maintaining employee the little things often do mean a lot. “Ij life in general, it’s the smallk things that get us through. It’s the dailh touches,” Hrdlica said.
“The thiny that keeps employees engaged is how you feel at the end of the day when youleaver work. You get a tremendoux return on investment by just letting peopler know that youappreciate

No comments:

Post a Comment