Recession forces businesses to rethink employee perks - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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Many of the Valley businesses contactede for this story declined to commenf about theircost savings, even though struggling industriesx such as construction, financial services, real the media and the publivc sector are enduring a variett of cost-cutting moves. Still, a few Phoenix-area businessexs acknowledged curtailingbusiness travel, hiking co-pays for and reducing some amenitiesw and perks, while some others said they aren’tr cutting benefits or perks.
has askedc employees to pay more toward their benefits to keep those offerings and make it through tough saidKatherine Cecala, the charitable group’s chief operating Some companies are dictating the but others are giving employees the choice of what to keep and what to get rid of in the face of needed savings. “Even in tough times, if your staft isn’t operating productively and happily, the service to clientd suffers,” said David Eichler, a principao of Phoenix-based .
“So what we did, rather than just blindl slashing the budget ofeverythingf perkish, we estimated how much attritiohn there would be in the business and cut costs by the same Then we took the part of the budger that covers things like stockinhg the kitchen, and assigned it to our associates. We wantecd to give them ownership — dare we say an allowance to preserve what was important to but doit responsibly.” Mariannwe Jennings, a business ethics professor at Arizona Stat e University’s W.P.
Carey School of Business, said companies are cuttinf perks and benefits not onlyfor rank-and-file staff, but also for company executivews who are under scrutiny in the wake of the Wall Streeft bailout and firestorms over CEO pay and executivse retreats. “I am seeing that the perkxs such asfinancial cars, etc., are dwindling. Payinv dues for clubs, country clubs, etc., is going by the wayside,” Jennings said. “j also see that companies are even balking at paying for participation in charitable golf tournaments. She also said businessess are scaling back on college tuitionnreimbursement benefits.
Dona Nutini, an employment attorney with lawfirm , said some cost-consciouse employers are finding savings in new health and dental plans as providers offed discounts to new customers. recently had its employeex start paying more for cableboxesz — but that was becauses of a tax liability issue, not the economy, said spokeswomaj Andrea Katsenes. The telecommunications company still is offering its employeesa free cable and reducedphone prices, she Some businesses not only are keeping all of their amenitiesx and perks, but also are addinv new ones. Phoenix-based , for example, recentlyu opened a child care and fitnesss center at its north Phoenix said spokes­woman Jessica Douglas.
Vice President Elizabethg Driscoll saidthe Scottsdale-based Web domain firm has not cut any perkz or benefits.