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

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Experts say small perks, like moview and meals being offered by somelocal employers, can go a long way towarr appeasing employees who have been battered in recen t months by plummeting investments, frozen pensionb plans and even the layoffs of some of their At , employees will soon be offeref affordable take-home dinners for those busy days when ther e simply is not enough time to cook, but they want somethingt better than typical fast-food.
And at in employees can watch a movie during lunch in a break room that includesa movie-style popcorn “Anything you do that help s reduce stress and inconvenience in employees’ lives is a real said Douglas Dean, the chief human resourcde officer at Children’s Healthh System. It usually is easier to keep employeew content when life away from the office isgoing well. But when gas prices soar and homevaluesd drop, any small benefits that companies can offet their employees can go a long way toward keeping workers happy and morale high. And in this economy, many companies are lookint any inexpensive perks or benefits that can makea difference.
“Employeex are always looking to see what their companyis doing, even in the smalp things,” said Michael Wolfe, the director of human resourcees at in Birmingham. “It reiterates that you care about especiallywhen you’re going through a difficulrt time. Little things add up.” After gas prices began barrelingytoward $4 a gallon last year, Wolfe said SourceMedicaol offered employees the option of workinh from home a few days each week whenevedr possible, to eliminate the money-burning commute.
And in November, the compangy started providing a servic called Teladoc that allows employeesx to speak with a doctor 24 hours a day without having to seetheir primary-carwe physician or make a trip to the emergency “Things like that make it easiefr for our employees and makes them feel Wolfe said. Maintaining a positive attitude in the workplace can involve more than just practical matters. It also can be importanft simply to make the offics an enjoyable placeto be. For example, in additiom to the movie room, MailSouth has several plasma televisionsz scattered throughoutits offices. There is also a free on-sitde employee fitness center that includes occasionalaerobics classes.
And sincs the company has approximately 30 graphic artistszon staff, employee artwork is displayex throughout the building. “We try to do little thingse to help keep things light in the saidDawn Hrdlica, the human resources managert at MailSouth. “We’re a deadline-drivenb business, so the pace is very fast. Thesre sorts of things where people can get away from theier desks and do some fun stuff really does help with The hectic pace of both work and personal life is one of the reasons Children’s Health Systems began offerinyg employees the chance to purchas complete take-home dinners.
“They are gettin off a long shift, 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 their We want it to be tasty food. If it’s no better than what you can get at the then I’m not sure you’re helping anybody.” While budgetg cuts are sometimes necessarty during economic downturns, Wolfe said it is importanty not to slash or eliminate some of the regular perksx that can help perk up the An employee might be visually confrontes with the declining value of a 401(k) only a few timesz a year. Take away free however, and that is noticed every single day.
“When you stargt nickel-and-diming employees and taking awaylittle things, it makes them feel unappreciated and more like a numberd than a valued resource,” Wolfes said. “And the cost of some of these thingz is so minimalthat you’rr really not getting that much of a You want to continue to do the small thingas to make sure that your employees feel valued.” Because when it comes to maintaining employee morale, the little things often do mean a lot. “In life in it’s the small things that get us through. It’sd the daily touches,” Hrdlica said.
“Thew thing that keeps employees engaged is how you feel at the end of the day when youleavs work. You get a tremendous return on investment by just letting peoplse know that youappreciat them.” Birmingham.By Cary Estes | SPECIAL In toughh economic times, it is nice to know you can stillp afford dinner and a It is even nicer when it’ supplied by your Experts say small perks, like movies and mealsd being offered by some local can go a long way toward appeasing employee s who have been battered in recent months by plummeting frozen pension plans and even the layoffzs of some of their At Children’s Health System, employees will soon be offeredd affordable take-home dinners for those busy days when ther simply is not enough time to cook, but they want somethinh better than typical fast-food.
And at MailSouth Inc. in employees can watch a movie during luncu in a break room that includesa movie-styler popcorn machine. “Anything you do that helps reduced stress and inconvenience in lives is areal winner,” said Dougla Dean, the chief human resourcd officer at Children’s Health System. It usually is easied to keep employees content when life away from the office isgoin well. But when gas prices soar and homevaluesa drop, any small benefits that companies can offet their employees can go a long way toward keeping workers happy and morale high.
And in this many companies are looking any inexpensive perkx or benefits that can makea “Employees are always looking to see what thei r company is doing, even in the smallo things,” said Michael Wolfe, the director of human resources at SourceMedical Inc. in “It reiterates that you care about them, especially when you’re going through a difficult Little things add up.” After gas pricex began barreling toward $4 a gallon last year, Wolfe said SourceMedical offered employees the option of workingb from home a few days each week whenever possible, to eliminate the money-burning commute.
And in November, the companyt started providing a service called Teladoc that allows employees to spea k with a doctor 24 hours a day without having to seetheifr primary-care physician or make a trip to the emergencyh room. “Things like that make it easierf for our employees and makes them feel Wolfe said. Maintaining a positive attitude in the workplacw can involve more than justpracticalo matters. It also can be important simplh to make the office an enjoyabl e placeto be. For example, in additionm to the movie room, MailSouth has severalk plasma televisions scattered throughoutits offices.
There is also a free on-site employee fitness center that includese occasionalaerobics classes. And since the compan y has approximately 30 graphic artistson staff, employee artwor is displayed throughout the building. “We try to do little things to help keep thing light inthe office,” said Dawn the human resources manager at “We’re a deadline-driven business, so the pace is very These sorts of things where people can get away from thei desks and do some fun stuff really does help with morale.
” The hectic pace of both work and personal life is one of the reasons Children’ws Health Systems began offering employees the chance to purchase completwe take-home dinners. “They are getting off a long they’re stressed and they have to pick the kids Dean said. “This is an optioh to grab somepretty high-quality food to take home to their We want it to be healthy, tastyy food. If it’s no better than what you can get at the then I’m not sure you’re helping anybody.
” Whiles budget cuts are sometimes necessary during economicx downturns, Wolfe said it is important not to slasj or eliminate some of the regular perke that can help perk up the office. An employee might be visually confronted with the declining value ofa 401(k) only a few times a year. Take away free however, and that is noticed everuy single day. “When you start nickel-and-diming employees and taking awaylittlew things, it makes them feel unappreciated and more like a number than a valued Wolfe said.
“And the cost of some of thesre things is so minimalthat you’rde really not getting that much of a You want to continue to do the small thinges to make sure that your employees feel Because when it comews to maintaining employee the little things often do mean a lot. “In life in it’s the small things that get us It’s the daily touches,” Hrdlicaw said. “The thing that keeps employees engaged is how you feel at the end of the day when youleavw work. You get a tremendous return on investment by just lettingf people know that youappreciatde them.
”