Perks Helping Employee Retention Catch On Beyond Tech Industry

PHOTOs/COURTESY Chitika Inc. of Westborough offers an array of perks, which include rides in hot-air balloons and a summer outing for employees of the Internet advertising firm.

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By Emily Micucci

What has your company done for you lately?

If you work at a young technology company, the answer may differ slightly from that of the average employee in another industry. The tech companies seem to lead the way in designing workplace perk programs designed to lure candidates and keep talented employees, with Google an obvious example. It counts free on-site haircuts, laundry service and table games among its famous perks.

But you don’t need to be a Google employee to break up your workday with a game of ping pong. Many area companies offer similar benefits to their employees in an effort to create a pleasant work environment conducive to creativity — and hard work.

For example, Chitika Inc. in Westborough, an Internet advertising company, considers perks a smart investment, which would explain its array of tantalizing offerings, like free daily catered lunches, free laundry and dry cleaning service twice a week, and E-ZPass reimbursement for leisure as well as work travel. Joe Sharron, manager of Chitika’s global people assets, said these benefits increase employee happiness and productivity. For instance, the company started tracking sick days used since it implemented some of its wellness programs, like Yoga Tuesdays.

“We’ve seen fewer sick days required because our employees just seem to be generally happier and healthier,” said Sharron, who didn’t provide an exact number but called the decrease in sick days “really obvious.”

One-Upping Competitors

But it isn’t just about increasing productivity. To be a successful company, you need the right talent. And if tech companies in MetroWest and Central Massachusetts are going to compete with those in Boston and Cambridge, Sharron said they need to add cutting-edge perks to their offerings. That’s why Sharron keeps abreast of what other companies offer, and if he eyes a worthwhile program, he’ll try to top it.

“If we can one-up them, we’re going to do that every time,” Sharron said.
Offering an attractive workplace is not unique to the technology industry, even if it’s a leader on perks. The global professional association Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) published its annual Workplace Forecast report in May, and found that attracting and retaining talented employees looms large in the minds of human resource managers.

Survey respondents were asked to select up to three factors they viewed as posing the greatest challenges over the next decade; 59 percent said retaining and rewarding the best employees. That was followed closely by developing the next generation of corporate leaders (52 percent), creating a corporate culture that attracts the best employees (36 percent), and remaining competitive in the talent marketplace (34 percent).

Most of the novel workplace perks offered by tech startups were not addressed in the SHRM report, except for what the report deemed the workplace perk that 40 percent of human resource managers said was most valuable to employees: providing flexible work arrangements.

Nick Lorenzen, public relations manager at Framingham-based software and mobile app testing company uTest (which will be renamed Applause beginning in 2014), said offering innovative perks isn’t about keeping up with the Joneses. It’s about appreciation for employees — who often work long hours in the startup world — and standing out.

uTest’s perks range from a kitchen stocked with beverages, healthy food and treats to regular company-hosted events that include drinks and hors d’oeuvres, and comfortable workspaces equipped with beanbag chairs. The company is even looking into bringing food trucks into its Framingham office park, since area restaurants aren’t easily accessible on foot.

“I think the most important thing the people are interested in... (is) not the perks. It’s what the company does,” Lorenzen said. “But I think perks always help to differentiate you from somebody else.”

FSU Professor: Startups Lead The Way

According to Robert M. Krim, an associate professor of organizational behavior, entrepreneurship and marketing at Framingham State University, technology startups have been leading the charge in offering cutting-edge perks for decades. In the late 1980s, Krim recalls a number of such companies that let employees bring their dogs to work. That one didn’t stick, but Krim said the idea of casual Fridays, where employees dressed down to finish the week, was a startup perk that stuck, and became commonplace across all industries.

Krim said that, in general, startups are trying to appeal to young talent. Today, that's Generation Y, or the Millennial Generation, a population of workers now in their 20s and early 30s who didn’t grow up with the idea that they would stay at one company for 30 years and save for retirement.

“Those jobs hardly exist anymore, so it’s really not part of the consciousness of what it is going to be offered,” Krim said.

Traditional benefits, like the 401(k) and health insurance, just don’t mean as much to employees in their 20s, Krim said. Those items become more interesting as people enter their 30s and start families. But practical perks, like laundry service, mean a lot to a recent graduate working 12 hours a day, Krim said.

As far as how much meaning workplace perks have for employees, MetroWest entrepreneur Fil Firmani has a wealth of insight. He has spent a career working for technology startups and is trying to launch his own, called workforceM, a mobile productivity app for salespeople. Firmani has enjoyed his share of perks over the years.

But he said the most important one is intangible: flexibility.

“I think sometimes people kind of outthink themselves with perks,” Firmani said, noting that many employees don’t end up taking advantage of all available perks, simply because they aren’t interested.

The Biggest Perk: Breaks?

But, according to Firmani what employees of startups do need is the ability to take breaks after putting in late night and weekend hours. For him, that’s been the most important element in realizing work-life balance as a startup employee.

“You’re balancing out when you’re working and taking the breaks when you need it,” Firmani said. “It’s the biggest perk you can offer.”

Generally, startups tend to offer that sort of flexibility, according to Firmani. He said the other stuff “builds atmosphere,” and takes the stress out of innovation — and that’s a nice bonus.