Create loyal employees with creative benefits and unique perks

As employers seek ways to reward loyal workers and keep them engaged, perks and benefits provide real opportunities. Discover the power of traditional benefits -- and explore some truly creative offerings. You'll find plenty of ideas to spark innovation within your own organization.

Traditional employer-sponsored benefits
In their 2007 Benefits Survey Report, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that organizations spent an average of 38 percent of payroll on total benefits costs; 20 percent of these costs were for mandatory benefits and 18 percent were for voluntary benefits.

The most commonly offered benefits included direct deposit of paychecks, paid holidays, professional development opportunities, payroll deductions, prescription drug program coverage and dental insurance. Almost all organizations surveyed by SHRM offered some type of health insurance plans.

Another popular benefit is the ability to create nontraditional scheduling. In addition to flextime, 56 percent of human resource professionals in the SHRM survey indicated that their organizations offered some form of telecommuting. Virtual offices, flextime and job sharing allow organizations to recruit and retain motivated workers.

As organizations seek new ways to attract and retain top employees, some are pushing the envelope by offering unique perks and benefits.

Explore the world of unusual perks and benefits
When it comes to employee benefits, some companies pull out all the stops. But their perks, while unusual, are the result of careful consideration. For instance, United Parcel Service Airlines wanted to attract part-time, night-shift workers to its hub in Louisville, Kentucky. So the company foots the bill for four years of tuition and housing at the University of Louisville. "We knew that if we offered students a benefit that they couldn't resist, we'd go a long way toward reducing turnover," Workforce-Development Manager John Kinney told Fast Company magazine. (Source: Fast Company, http://www.fastcompany.com/online/42/extremeperks.html)

Outings and surprises
Want to build morale and raise the levels of engagement? Rent a bus and -- without advance notice -- take your staff to a baseball game or to play laser tag. An exceptional example of a surprise employee outing is a Michigan marketing business that takes its 60 employees on annual mystery trips. No one is told the destination in advance. The team has visited locations such as Amsterdam, Iceland and the Caribbean. Another example is UCG, a business publisher in Rockville, Maryland, where all 1,000 workers and their significant others are sent on a surprise, all-expenses-paid long weekend every five years. (Source: Money Magazine, http://money.cnn.com/2006/04/07/pf/bestjobs_moneymag_perks/index.htm)

Look within your organization
Sometimes the best ideas for creative benefits can be found in your own backyard. Ford Motor Company, for instance, makes sure that interns in their public relations department get to take a spin around the company's figure-eight test track. This perk is about more than just fun, Corporate News Manager Edward Miller told Fast Company. "We need everyone here to know our products -- and our competitors' products." (Source: Money Magazine, ibid.)

Employees at New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, Colorado get the benefits of their employer's industry expertise. Each employee receives a free case of beer a week. (Source: Money Magazine, ibid.)

Food!
There's nothing like food to bring people together. Acuity, an insurance company, provides monthly in-house catered luncheons to its 850 employees in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Acuity's campus also features a stocked pond for fishing -- and employees can keep their catch. (Source: Money Magazine, ibid.)

Don't underestimate the goodwill value that can be created by an occasional Donut Day -- everybody likes a sweet treat. And pizza parties are a popular fixture at a number of Silicon Valley companies.

Lifestyle oriented benefits
Benefits such as on-site day care facilities, health club memberships and in-office back massages can do a lot to keep your workforce engaged and loyal. But at organizations that utilize Ceridian's Work-Life Services, employees with aging parents can seek guidance on issues such as finding the right caregiver and navigating the maze of Medicare. Employees can address their aging parents' needs -- and keep focused on their work.

Concierge services
Speaking of work-life balance, to help employees manage their busy lives -- and remain fully productive -- many employers offer concierge services. From dry cleaning to car washes and beyond, concierge services are intended to lighten the load of employees and help reduce stress.

Ceridian provides Concierge Services with a difference: your employees don't need to go online to get their personal errands done. Our professional concierges provide customized assistance to help employees make the most of their valuable time.

Benefits as a business driver
There's no doubt that unique, unusual and fun employee benefits are becoming more popular. That's because employers realize that they have the ability to impact their employees' lives in ways that are both positive and powerful. By showing employees they are appreciated in ways that make a palpable difference in their daily lives, companies can foster long-term loyalty and genuine engagement. And that makes a positive and enduring difference to the bottom line.

For organizations that are destined to succeed, employee benefits and perks are serious business. "Employers are finding that it's no longer enough to simply add new types of benefits to their plans," according to findings from the 2007 MetLife Study of Employee Benefits Trends. The report also states that companies "cannot afford to view benefits as a cost center to be minimized." Benefits will "become a stronger business driver than they have been historically."

When it comes to competitive success in a demanding marketplace, the value of meaningful workplace benefits has never been greater.

Contact your Ceridian representative to learn more about the unique programs that you can offer your employees as a benefit in partnership with Ceridian.