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Subscribe to RSSCompanies that provide employees with generous benefits, including contributing more to retirement funds and absorbing health insurance hikes, are often financially healthier because of it.
A study released Wednesday found employers that offered substantial programs focused on the long-term financial health of their workers saw a host of business dividends as a result, everything from lower turnover to better customer service.
Harvard Business Review Analytic Services surveyed 58 of the 100 companies named to “The Principal 10 Best” list over the past decade and also conducted interviews with executives from 20 employers included on the list. Three quarters of those polled reported that benefits contributed to employee retention and 72 percent said they impacted employee loyalty.
The survey was commissioned by the Principal Financial Group, although companies studied did not necessarily use Principal services.
Despite the tough economy in recent years, firms in the study said they had maintained or increased their benefits packages, including raising retirement contributions in some cases. While some did have their employees pay more for health insurance benefits, the majority ate the increased costs.
Virtually all the firms agreed that they have a "strong sense of responsibility when it comes to providing benefits that protect the financial well-being" of employees and their families. When asked to identify the most significant thing they are doing to impact employees’ financial security, nine out of 10 respondents mentioned retirement programs and cited generous employer contributions.
The majority of companies surveyed also provided one-on-one financial help for employees for retirement planning and have added wellness programs.
As a result of the generous benefits, the employers surveyed said they saw a host of benefits, including:
- Enhanced recruitment
- Committed, engaged employees
- Excellent retention
- Deep organizational expertise
- Safe workplace practices
- Strong customer relationships
The question of whether these employers are more likely to have lucrative benefits because they’re successful, or they’re successful because they provide such perks, wasn’t answered by the study, said Luke Vandermillen, senior vice president of retirement & investor services with the Principal Financial Group. However, he said there is “a paternalistic feeling that cuts across these companies.”
The Harvard study shows great benefits are "not only good for employees, but good for those companies that provide well-rounded broad and deep benefit programs," he said.
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They are not talking about Federal employees! Just the opposite. Cut benifits, make us pay more health care and freeze pay increases. We have bad/no morale. Just study how Federal employees are treated and do the opposite and you will have a very successful business enterprise.
Federal employees already have better benefits than the vast majority of private industry workers - even with the benefit reductions of the last few years.
Nothing like putting the cart ahead of the horse. I believe a company becomes profitable first, them starts offering ever more lucrative compensation and benefits to retain the works they have as profits increase. But according to Obama and the 99%ers, profits are bad and need to be confiscated by big ineffiecnt government.
ASEADOG714, I worked for the FED for 23 years, now i work for a great company in the healtcare industry and I now pay 4X's as much for my health care than when I was a FED worker. Be happy that you have a job that pays well and has good benefits.
Hardtostarboard - Obama does not think profits are bad, nor does he wish to confiscate them. Companies that pay good wages and benefits are to be praised! It is the companies that "hide" assets in order to avoid taxes, that nobody approves of! Those that use their wealth to "influence" lawmakers to write laws that, unfairly, allow them to avoid paying their fair share of taxes,are unpatriotic. Corrupt lawmakers should be impeached!The tax laws passed by them need to be revised in order to restore the lost earning power of the working middleclass and the poor.
ASEADOG714..........Federal employees have no idea what it is to actually work in the real world !
MM
You would be surprised at the number of Fed employees who once worked or now work part time in private industry .
Hardtostarboard.......most large corporations HAVE been profitable! In fact, they have posted the largest profits in history these past two years. It's not lack of profitability that has caused Corporate America to be stingy with benefits.
it doesn't matter if profits are right or wrong, if we keep allowing mega corps to exist and allow them to pay less than a living wage it will all come down one way or another. either people will take what they need to survive by force or the business will collapse because no one can afford the product because they dont earn crap.
People in the private sector have been taking pay cuts or being denied raises (which means even less money, with inflation) and if you're lucky enough to have health care, we are paying more tor that as well.
Make people who make constant poor life choices, like being obese or drug use, pay more than the average joe that tries to eat and live well.
Employers can pat themselves on the back all they want, at the end of the day people are still struggling to support their families with stagnant pay and more work being demanded to make up for those laid off/not hired on top of it.
Treat employees like crap, get crap in return. This is stating the obvious.
Yep...pretty simple concept really.
But sadly, one that is either not generally understood or believed by executive management in corporate America. Most American companies treat their employees poorly, and are surprised when employees have no loyalty or work ethic. They continue treating employees badly, because the executive team must make their millions of dollars in bonuses and benefits, and give employees paltry raises that do not cover the increases in the cost of living.
Articles like this should be in the front page of every newspaper or as a "breaking news" report in every major TV news channel, with the announcer introducing the topic by saying, "if you are a corporate executive, listen up, idiot!!!"
It is often more difficult for smaller companies to provide these perks because they have a smaller base number of employees to spread the costs over.
I think it can work both ways. One small company I worked for couldn't compete on salary, so they offered free health insurance and a flexible work environment.
I work for a very small company, 15 total employees. They pay 100% of the employee health insurance. I pay to have my children added. They are also very flexible when it comes to school field trips, awards, etc. I am very lucky.
I had the same situation for a few years. The pay was lower than I could have gotten elsewhere, but for me, the other perks more than made up for the lost salary.
Same with me. It's like family here. The health insurance and flexible time makes up for lower pay as the cost of living here is lower than in other places.
Same here. Then Kodak bought us. :( No Perks. Cannot leave because too loyal to the people who started the concept.
Flexible benefits like working from home should be on every employer's list. While most managers now days have no problem with it - there are still some people uncomfortable with the concept.
Giving employees the ability to work from home just one day a week is like giving them a raise. The employee uses less utilities per year in the office and the space can be used for another employee.
I would take flexible benefits over higher pay any day.
Until they find the one jerk that ruins it for everyone. Only takes a tiny number of employees who decide work from home means stay in bed and sleep all day. Hard to prove it sometimes so they just cancel the program for everyone.
I'm a customer serrvice rep that makes $8.50 an hr and have worked her for 14 months...there are no raises here...that word is unknown here...low moral and no benefits and I'm full time too
Uhhh......Duh!!!
Can I get a job, don't care about the benefits, and get paid to come up with these obvious conclusions?
100k should do it.
Imagine that! Employees that are happy at their jobs are more productive for their employers.
As for bashing federal workers, many of them are very hard working and and the pay isn't that great. As with any extremely large and bureaucratic corporation, there is waste and abuse, but that is not the norm.
I agree with the article. I get no perks at my job. If I got perks, I'd be happier. In the 6 1/2 years I've been at my current job, I've had one review and two COLA increases. The review was a self-review, which is useless. They give a holiday party once a year and summer BBQ once a year where they pay for the main course, but they ask employees to bring side dishes.
If I was given more perks, or even automatic COLA increases every year, I would be a more productive employee. In 6 1/2 years of employment, I've received a whopping $1.39 per hour total COLA increase in pay. I am given no incentive to improve anything I do in my job. I don't look forward to working every day and I am bored. I could change jobs, but in my rural community I would not be able to find a job making what I make now, which isn't much to begin with. Being given more perks by my employer would make me a happier and more productive employee.
I know exactly how you feel Smlfry2. I am in a similar situation.
Both of you WAKE UP! get to work and make something of yourself. You want an automatic increase just for showing up? Go do something worthy of an increase and be happy you have a job. Automatic increase? Is that a joke? Perks? I'll give you a perk, they let you back everyday and pay you for being as you say, "bored". I don't know who's more stupid, you or the guy who keeps paying you.
aaannnd that attitude has gotten us exactly where we are. "be grateful you have a job at all" who cares that real wages have only increased $302 since the 80's. "i'll show you a perk" and we went from 2/3 of people having health insurance paid through employers to less than a quarter and are looking at healthcare reform since business wont provide it and gripe all you want but no one is going to " ok my bad" lay down and die for want of treatment.
I understand your point but please note both of these people are posting comments here during normal working hours. This is a 2 way street! May-be if you sent me some employees who don't feel I owe you an increase just for showing up, owe you a 401K I can't afford to put in place and actually did something worthy of an increase in pay, I would better understand. Employers need to give but so do employees.
And you're not posting during business hours?
Let me fill you in on a little something there MamainNJ, I am doing the job of two people, one of which, I should be making double the salary I am currently making. And the other job I am doing, I am grossly underpaid. If you read my post, I said I was in a similar situation. Not bored but underpaid.
It's real easy to sit there on your high horse and preach to people about doing something better for yourself. Perhaps the news hasn't traveled to your cave yet, but jobs are slim pickings now-a-days. I don't appreciate you saying I am just asking for an automatic increase. Hell, I just want to be paid for the work I am doing. What ever happened to a fair days pay for a fair days work? Perhaps that concept alludes you and the majority of businesses.
A word of advice for you... Before you start passing judgment on people you know absolutely nothing about, keep your pie hole closed because all it does is show your ignorance.
Hope lots of CEOs are reading this. There's more to running a company and profitability than cutting costs to the bone. Smart CEOs who hope to be around in a few years know this (or should). Happy, secure employees are better, more productive workers. Happy workers = better company. Amazing.
CEO's rarely stay with any company for more 3 years. They are only concerned with the short term profits so that they can pad their resume and move on to the next company before their bad business decisions come back on them.
In my opinion that is where American business falls apart.
I have been at my present job for 10 years - Our CEO was here long before me. He does not get paid the same as other companies CEO's but has pride in his company and makes sure we all get extra perks.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that a happy employee makes a better employee.
Let's take me for example. I have two jobs, thanks to our lovely economy and not being able to find full time work in my field. I love my day job and regularly get told by my boss that she wants to clone me and send me to all her other sites. I hate my night job and regularly get told that I could be doing more. The primary difference is that at the day job I work independantly, get payed more and have better perks. Night job, I'm expected to figure out what exactly my job is as I go and get no perks.
Great subject to get a company moving forward. I'm semi retired, right place at the right time but also earned it. Most American companies run themselves in the ground in my opinion. The good ol' boy network in management is the worst. I've worked 200 ft. off the ground and underground with oxygen and everything in between. Idea's stolen by brother-in-law idiots, rework, you name it. It's not what you know, it's who you blow is the norm in the U.S. A happy well paid crew will make a company more money than anything.
Most company's think you should be happy you have a job with them.If you don't like the way they treat you they can replace you in a minute.Unfortunately they can.
Does it take a big study to understand that if you treat employees well, they will put in a good days work? How hard it to understand that what you put out is what you get back? I've worked for a good many companies and of them all, only two showed their concern for their workers, the others thinking that they can be replaced with cheaper help. They were right, and they got just what they paid for sooner or later. If you don't believe it, take a good look at American industry today compared to 1980. Some of it can be blamed on the unions who want more for less and some to management who want the same, but a large part of it can be laid at the feet of bankers who want everything for nothing.
Correct and check out the ad on the right side of this Webpage from Bank of America, Speaking of the Devil, Don't use Credit Cards unless you absolutely have to. If you don't have the cash, don't buy it until you do and you will never get in Money Trouble!
Credit Cards are NOT magic! It is just another way for some stranger to get into your wallet who does not belong there in the first place!
Never had one, never will.
This may apply to higher end tech companies but as far as the rest are concerned, forget about it! It's more like turn one employee against another and who ever survives gets to keep their job.
In America today, an employee is just another Commodity.
If you're working at someplace where it is not possible to earn your freedom before you are too old to enjoy it, you are working at the wrong place, I don't care what kind of perks they might give you.
Congratulations. You've been Outsourced!
Perks...........................LOL..............................Just another way for big corporations to hide money to pay less taxes. When will the people realize that they are being robbed blindly.................It is times for these firms to pay their fair share of taxes so we can reduce the deficit.........................I am getting tired of the BIG GUYS paying less taxes then the little guys.
This is such a flawed study and the title of the article is misleading. Cause and effect are not studied and so there is no way to conclude that more employee benefits leads to more positive outcomes for the company.
The biggest determinant of how much a company can lavish on its employees is its profit margins, which is influenced by the competitive forces of the industry the company is in. For example, most discount retail stores cannot afford to provide their employees with lavish employee benefits, not because they care less for their employees, but because the profitability of their industry does not allow them to provide lavish employee benefits. Google's revenues per employee is about $1 million per employee! No wonder Google can afford to provide their employees with lavish employee benefits like free meals.
If you want to be in a company (or industry) with great enployee benefits, join one that has high profit margins, and consequently you will be happier when you have great employee benefits. This is the biggest determinant of how attractive a company's employee benefits are.
This is the concept the greedy tea partiers don't get. Have a strong middle class & your company will thrive, & you will possibly sleep better at night.