More firms trim perks to basics, taking away employee favorites

An employee of DentalPlans.com in Plantation, Fla., celebrates after scoring at Foosball in the break room that was added in response to staff requests. MIAMI HERALD Enlarge

Once a week for three months, Eric Ferrer shut his office door, made a phone call to his life coach, and spent the next hour shaping his personal and career goals. The sessions were paid for by his employer -- a company benefit that 28-year-old Mr. Ferrer ranks as valuable as health insurance.

"It helped me figure out my vision and stay on track," said the senior recruiter at Signature Consultants, an information-technology staffing firm in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Although surveys show coaching is one of the job perks young workers covet, it's a rarity among company benefits.

Most employers have reduced benefits, particularly in the past year, keeping only the basics such as medical coverage and retirement plans.

Only half of workers recently surveyed cite benefits as "very important" to job satisfaction. A new study by the Society of Human Resource Management shows job security has overshadowed benefits as key to job satisfaction.

"People are just happy they're working when their neighbors are not," said Joyce Gioia, a business futurist and chief executive officer of the Herman Group. The national unemployment rate remains high at more than 9 percent. With the economy still in flux, workplace experts such as Ms. Gioia are predicting employers are not likely to bring back more generous benefits for several years.

In 2011, 77 percent of employers reported their benefit offerings had been negatively affected by the economy -- a 5 percentage-point increase over the past year, according to the Society of Human Resource Management's 2011 Employee Benefits Research Report.

For the most part, employers have kept the basics -- medical coverage, paid holidays, and life and dental insurance.

But they have reduced offerings such as long-term-care insurance, retiree health coverage, and adoption benefits.

And most have slashed benefits such as executive club memberships, legal assistance or services, mentoring programs, organization-sponsored sports teams, professional development opportunities, travel planning, and housing or relocation costs.

"All the 'nice to haves' have been cut," said Mark Schmit, director of research for the Society for Human Resource Management.

"It's a hard time to be an employee."

Candace Whitaker, human resources director for Signature Consultants in Fort Lauderdale, said her counterparts at some companies are eliminating short-term disability coverage.

But she said a few weeks without a paycheck could devastate her hourly staff: "If an employee breaks an ankle and he doesn't have short-term disability, it could put a family under."

Ms. Whitaker scrutinizes the cost of every benefit and the return and tries to be more creative to prevent cuts.

"I cannot name a benefit that I would not cringe if I saw it go away," she said. Even the life coach her company made available to Mr. Ferrer is a benefit that has proved its worth: "Employees that have been through that program are excited about their future in this company. We see impact in their self-esteem and openness to take on new challenges."

When deciding what to cut, some companies are turning to employees for ideas. Baptist Health, consistently recognized for its rich benefits offerings, regularly polls its 13,000 employees, 75 percent of whom are women.

"We're tapped out on spending additional money, so I'm looking for what benefits give the most bang for the buck," said Maggie Marshall, assistant vice president of benefits for Baptist Health.

Giving employees the benefits they want keeps them engaged, she said: "An engaged employee is willing to put forth discretionary effort when necessary, versus a person who is ready to go out the door in a minute."

Ms. Marshall discovered that one of Baptist's highly valued perks is Lifeworks, which offers counseling, free assistance with work and family issues, and use of a personal assistant. The service has been used 40,000 times in the past three years. "It only comes out to be about $20 a year per employee, and we've seen a huge return."

DentalPlans.com in Plantation, Fla., said its growth has allowed it to add benefits, rather than cut them. Four employees a month eat breakfast with Buddy Johnson, the company's chief executive officer, and make suggestions. The feedback allows management to better tailor benefit offerings to its young work force.

What came from breakfast was "we wish we had a place to take a break" and "we wish we had a 401(k) program." The company now has both.

An employee lounge with a beach theme, a Foosball table, a Wii, and a popcorn machine provides a place for sales staff to chill. "When our employees are happy, it shows in their performance," said Jennifer Stoll, the company president.