Show Me the Perks

So maybe you're one of the elite that pulls down the really big bucks-CEO, physicist, or an oral surgeon, to name a few-and perks are just the cherry on top. For the rest of us who don't pull in the impressive salaries, there are numerous reasons to stay or move on-job satisfaction, flexible work schedules, generous vacation and sick time, and tuition reimbursement.

Whatever the reason, job satisfaction goes far beyond a paycheck, and as the economy recovers, employers are trying to determine what combination of raises and perks attracts and retains the best and brightest. At the same time, uncertainty about health care reform means many companies are moderating compensation packages.

Half of the 500 human resource managers nationwide surveyed by Robert Half in 2011 say they would negotiate greater perks for a promising candidate. And when Robert Half surveyed 4,000 executives last year, it found the top perks that companies offered or planned to offer were subsidized training or education, flextime and telecommuting, and mentoring programs.

As time goes on, we're seeing more and more people view the bigger picture of the job, either the job they are in or a new job, says Barry Roy, regional vice president and branch manager at Robert Half International in Manchester. Not just compensation, but sick time, vacation time or other perks.

As the economy continues to improve, employees are thinking about their dedication during the leaner years and employers are considering how to reward those valued employees. Perks that used to be primarily for large companies with hundreds of employees or more-like employee discount programs for products and services-are starting to be offered to smaller companies. It doesn't necessarily have to cost anything, but employees can participate in large buying pools for products they are already buying, says Delise West, a human resources expert with Human Resources Partners in Dover. One company, corporateperks.com is free for small employers but costs money for larger businesses to sign on depending on the plan chosen.

A Matter of Time

It's a well-known fact that the United States is stingy with vacation time compared to many other industrialized countries. A 2011 Expedia.com survey of 7,083 workers worldwide in 20 countries found that only South Korea and Japan received fewer vacation days, while Singapore tied with the U.S. with an average of 14 days off a year. That study found American workers are also the most likely to say work is their life (15 percent) and that they can't afford a vacation (34 percent). Expedia.com found that Americans on average use 12 of their 14 vacation days. Roy of Robert Half puts the state average at two weeks, with three weeks being great.

As we start to come out of this, people might be looking up and saying, Hey, I'm putting lots of hours in, can I have an extra week of vacation or some additional time off?' Roy says. People might not get as healthy a compensation package as they'd like, but we can sometimes go back and negotiate an extra week of vacation.

 The challenge with extra time off is controlling costs and productivity-after all, time is money, says Bernie Sparks, founder and executive director of Sparks Employment Group in Concord. Each time they do some of these things, if people have a lot more vacation, the company might have to hire someone to fill those slots.

Flex time has become increasingly popular, Roy says, as the cost is low and the reward for the employee-more time with family-is high. West says this also allows employees to be more involved in the community. Many companies now offer employees paid time off specifically to volunteer in their community, typically ranging from one to three additional days a year.

Technology has made it possible for employees to cut the tether to the office and work virtually. That means companies need to examine their corporate policies and culture to make sure they are aligned with having employees who telecommute still feel connected to the company.

Roy says the most popular non-monetary perk is now subsidized training and education, as it's not only helping the employee, but it's helping the employer.

Salary Options

Sometimes an employee would rather have a bigger salary in lieu of a major benefit. For employees not taking company health insurance, some employers will provide a salary boost. If [someone] is willing to forego benefits because [a] spouse has benefits with a highly rated institution, what they'd like in return is a little higher salary, Sparks says, adding more employees and companies are taking a closer look at this option.

West says employers are also more closely defining not just the salary a job comes with, but also earning potential to attract and retain employees. Where some companies never had salary ranges for jobs, they are now putting those in place in order to attract and retain employees.

Total Compensation

Salary is only part of the total investment employers make in their employees-a fact companies want workers to fully understand. That's why total compensation reports, which show the total investment made in an employee, are increasingly popular, West says. They haven't been able to give the level of raises in recent years that they had prior to the recession and as a result they need to be able to communicate what is your total compensation, what [are] your benefits worth, she says.

Don Malette, an employee benefits specialist with Strategic Employee Benefit Services in Manchester, says his company provides such reports to 500 companies. The reports can be up to four pages and include the cost of vacation time, sick time, transportation reimbursement, health care, taxes, life insurance, 401(k) contributions and comparative industry averages. Instead of just saying you earn $15 an hour, it shows that equates to $22 an hour once you factor in your benefits, says Malette, whose firm serves businesses from sole proprietorships to companies with 600 to 700 employees.

If you can put a value on it and the employer is paying for it on behalf of the employee, it will show up on the statement, Malette says. West says this is a valuable tool during annual reviews to show employees the true investment employers are making in them.