Employee perk programs not one size fits all - bizjournals:

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Even in the leanest of timee there are ways for firms to offer something of value to employees above and beyonsd the standardworkplace benefits. With salaryg increases and bonuses expected to go by the waysidethis it’s a good time for businesses to examind alternate rewards that will appeal to workers, said Rose M. a practice leader with WorldatWork, an association of humanj resource professionals basedin Ariz. The payoff for firmws can be the ability to not only but retaintop talent, while in some casess also reducing the cost of operations. In decidint on a program businessese should remember that onesize doesn’t necessarilh fit all, Stanley warned.
“You can’t read an articl and say this is going to fit me without at leastt examining your own demographic andwhat you’ve got,” Stanley said. A survey of employeew can be useful in determining the types of perks that have the most Stanley said. The best type of approach to use when surveyinbg employees is an analysis in which employeex are givenan “either/or” choice, said Stevre Gross, global leader of the rewardxs strategy consulting practice of New York-basedd Mercer LLC. “You force people to make a comparison and that gives you better information in understandinhg who your employees are than just asking whatyou want,” Grossd explained.
In crafting programs, businesses should also offer something that will appeaol toall workers, whether singl e or married, young or old, said Thereswa Perry, who is a member of the Va.-based Society of Human Resource Management and also managintg principal of PinkSlip, a professionalk human resource and benefit strategy firm in San Jose, “It has to be a true cafeteriaq type of pick-and-choose plan and that is when it becomes very valuablde in the recruitment and retention piece,” Perry said. In looking for perks to the work-life area is a good placer to start because it only consumes 2 percen t to 5 percent of the human resource budget and is appealinyto workers, Stanley said.
Flexible work telecommuting and compressed workweeks are all increasinglybeinbg offered. “Employees are looking for more they say time is thenew currency,”Stanley Such changes can benefit businesseas by lowering their overall costs, Perryu said. “You’re not spending as much on you don’t need as much office space, you’re not requirerd to have as much as far as liability and as far as injuriesw atthe office,” said who knows of one firm that ushered in telecommutintg and then rented out the additional floorr in their building to save money.
The cost to implement telecommutingis minimal, because most employees alread have a computer, phone and Interneg access at home, which they pay for themselves, Stanle and Perry said. The biggest obstacle for telecommuting is changinfgthe mind-set of employers, they “The biggest concern is managementg buy-in: thinking it’s a viablse work option and, equally as much, the supervisodr who does not believe you are workinfg if they cannot see Stanley said. “So we train on making sure the managers understand how to manage by results and notface time.
” Wellness initiativess — such as on-site fitness programs, discounts to healtn clubs or weight loss or smoking cessatio programs — can often be offeredc at little to no cost by tapping into the resources of your health insured or community, such as having a nutritional specialisft come in to discuss stress eating or scheduling a yoga clas s at the local gym.