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What Workers Want
While fancy or creative benefits are on the rise at labor-starved area companies, most potential employees still crave meat-and-potatoes perks
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Business New Haven
2/7/2000
By: Fiona Phelan
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While many job candidates would probably enjoy non-traditional benefits such as flexible schedules, on-site fitness centers, company cars and a casual-dress policy, these are not the most important benefits. Rather, job hunters are looking for comprehensive medical, dental, disability and retirement benefits - plans many area businesses offer.
Indeed, many companies in the New Haven area offer little beyond the traditional compensation package of health-care benefits, retirement plans, vacation time and paid holidays. Those businesses that do offer benefits above and beyond the ordinary have only recently adopted such perks, and many are still in the exploratory stages.
In a 1999 survey of college graduates by the National Association of Colleges & Employers, medical insurance and a 401(k) retirement plan topped the list of benefits preferred by the 1,180 respondents. Trailing close behind those traditional benefits were dental and life insurance, annual salary increases and tuition reimbursement.
These benefits were favored over casual-dress policies, planned social activities, on-site fitness centers day-care facilities or company cars.
But those preferences may be shifting. A recent survey by the American Compensation Association showed that more and more companies are offering work/life programs such as telecommuting, flexible work schedules, casual dress and wellness/fitness programs - not only to attract new employees, but to reward existing staff for performance.
However, owners and managers at many area businesses feel that the benefits packages they are already offering are competitive and attractive to current and potential employees.
“We feel that our benefits package is better than most,” says Saint Raphael Healthcare System Vice President of Human Resources Michael Dimenstein. “We're not necessary the leader in terms of how much we spend on benefits, but it's certainly one of the most attractive plans.”
Saint Raphael's menu of benefits include medical, dental, life insurance, long and short-term disability insurance, a 403(b) retirement plan (similar to a 401[k], but for non-profit organizations), paid maternity and paternity leave, generous hospitalization coverage (at Saint Raph's of course), on-site child care, flexible spending accounts for health care, child care and elder care on a pre-tax basis, on-site referral services, smoking-cessation programs, weight-reduction classes and tuition reimbursement, to name a few.
Soon, the hospital will switch from its 403(b) retirement savings plan to a traditional 401(k) plan, which Dimenstein says is better for employees. Because a 403(b) plan is for non-profits alone, employees cannot roll over their savings to a 401(k) when they leave the hospital for the for-profit sector. With a 401(k) plan, employees can take their money wherever they go after leaving the hospital, he notes.
In addition, the hospital offers employees the chance to own their own home through its Employee/Neighborhood Home Ownership Program. This benefit allows a qualified employee applicant to receive modest financial support (up to $5,000) to purchase a home in the hospital's neighborhood. So far, 16 employees have taken advantage of this initiative.
“We have made homeowners out of people who have never owned a home,” proclaims Dimenstein. “At the same time, the hospital is encouraging its employees to come and live downtown - near where they work - and we will see our neighborhoods improve.”
On a position-by-position basis, Saint Raphael's will also consider flexible scheduling and job-sharing for employees, says Dimenstein. “That's something that really depends on the nature of the job.
“What we have found is that things like sign-on bonuses and other one-time perks don't work. Money is a short-time satisfier. It's the other things that count.”
Newly graduated nurses, for instance, want on-the-job-training and mentoring - someone they can rely on to take them through the procedures and routines at the hospital, says Dimenstein. “The training and mentoring program we offer here has been our strongest retention and recruitment tool for nurses,” he adds.
The most often-requested benefit by employees, says Dimenstein, is for hospital-provided parking - something he says the hospital is simply not able to offer.
“The lack of subsidized parking is the No. 1 contention among employees,” he notes. “We can't provide that, even though we own the parking garages, because our employees would be competing with our customers [patients] for parking spaces at the hospital. Parking is probably the No. 1 area that I'd like to see changed.”
Often a smaller company can offer more personalized and flexible benefits than a larger enterprise. Also, some positions more easily lend themselves to work/life types of benefits than others. For instance, a salesperson who is on the road calling on customers can work more flexible hours than a nurse.
“Our loan-originators create their own schedules,” says Jerome Miller, vice president at Hamden-based Capital Mortgage Corp. “We don't provide everyone with medical because most of our people are commission-based and more like independent contractors. However, they can telecommute, and we do provide in-house training.”
Similarly, staff members at Bankers Life & Casualty in Wallingford are considered independent contractors. But, because of the company's line of business, workers are provided comprehensive medical and dental coverage, plus free life insurance, an income-protection plan, a 401(k) plan - and flexibility.
“We encourage our people to have a home office,” says Unit Sales Manager George Reid. “They're salespeople, and they work around their clients' schedules.”
An important benefit at Design.com Inc. in Milford has been the introduction of revised working hours during the summer, says President Paul Fisher. Last summer, the marketing firm introduced a schedule of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. work hours Monday through Thursday, and a Friday schedule of 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
“It was very well-received,” Fisher notes. In addition, the company offers its staff a medical plan and flexible scheduling. The firm is also in the process of establishing a profit-sharing program.
Many companies, Schick Wilkinson Sword included, offer employees a variety of plans through which they may buy company stock. Employees can purchase company stock through payroll deductions or through their 401(k) plans.
In addition to those plans, Schick offers on-site activities for employees, a cafeteria, a company store where Schick and Warner-Lambert products can be bought at a discount, a drop-off point for photo developing, and an on-site ATM and credit union, according to Human Resources Assistant Doreen Injaychock.
Items like sign-on bonuses and stock options are sometimes given as benefits, but it depends on the type of position, says Injaychock. “It's not the norm,” she notes.
SNET spokesperson Sue Schaffer echoes those statements. “We might offer incentives for jobs that might be difficult to fill, but it's not an across-the-board practice.
“We don't do anything real creative in terms of benefits, but we do offer a broad benefits package that has all the traditional offerings that are rich in comparison to many others,” she adds.
“SNET has typically had extremely competitive salaries and benefits,” Schaffer explains. “Now that we're part of SBC, there are lots of opportunities for our employees in other territories.”
In addition to the traditional benefits, SNET offers its employees a variety a work/life benefits such as tuition reimbursement, a child- and elder-care referral service, and even a program for adoptive parents. Flexible scheduling and job-sharing is offered on a department-by-department basis, says Schaffer.
In addition, SNET offers a series of internship opportunities to the region's vocational-technical schools. Through these programs, students receive hands-on training at SNET's expense, and then the opportunity of a job offer at the conclusion of training. The same is true of an internship in conjunction with a qualified student from the University of Connecticut.
Saint Raphael's offers a similar minority scholarship program for an area student interested in nursing.
Potential employees at BIC Corp. in Milford are offered a full range of benefits, according to spokesperson Linda Kwong. Included are: medical, dental, life insurance, short- and long-term disability, vacation, flexible spending accounts, 401 (k) plan, tuition reimbursement and a company-paid pension.
In addition, employees can take advantage of a scholarship program for children of employees (last year 82 students received scholarship awards), and an on-site company store.
“We also leverage our association with our vendors to provide employee discounts on auto and life insurance and cellular phone services,” notes Kwong. In 1999, BIC also piloted a summer-hours program for office employees. This, she notes, received very positive feedback.
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