Recession forces businesses to rethink employee perks - bizjournals:

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Many of the Vallegy businesses contacted for this story declinedx to comment about their cost even though struggling industries suchas construction, financialk services, real estate, the media and the public sectot are enduring a variety of cost-cuttinvg moves. Still, a few Phoenix-area businesses acknowledgeed curtailingbusiness travel, hikin co-pays for benefits, and reducing some amenities and while some others said they aren’t cutting benefitzs or perks. has asked employees to pay more toward their benefits to keep those offerings and make it througghtough times, said Katherine Cecala, the charitable group’a chief operating officer.
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 ofneedexd savings. “Even in tough times, if your staff isn’ t operating productively and happily, the service to clients said David Eichler, a principao of Phoenix-based . “So what we did, rather than just blindlyt slashing the budget of everything we estimated how much attrition there would be in the business and cut costd by thesame percentage.
Then we took the part of the budgeft that covers things like stocking the and assigned it to our We wanted to give them ownership dare we say anallowance — to preservd what was important to them, but do it Marianne Jennings, a business ethics professor at Arizona State University’ s W.P. Carey School of Business, said companie are cutting perks and benefits not onlyfor rank-and-fil e staff, but also for company executives who are undedr scrutiny in the wake of the Wall Street bailoutg and firestorms over CEO pay and executive retreats. “I am seeing that the perks such asfinanciapl planning, cars, etc., are Paying dues for country clubs, etc.
, is going by the wayside,” Jennings said. “I also see that companies are even balking at payinyg for participation in charitablegolf tournaments. She also said businessesw are scaling back on college tuitionnreimbursement benefits. Dona Nutini, an employmenty attorney with lawfirm , said some cost-consciouas employers are finding savings in new healtjh and dental plans as providers offer discounts to new customers. recently had its employeesw start paying more for cablseboxes — but that was because of a tax liabilityy issue, not the economy, said spokeswoman Andreaa Katsenes.
The telecommunications company still is offering its employeeds free cable and reducedphone prices, she said. Some businesse s not only are keeping all of their amenities and but also are addingnew ones. Phoenix-based , for recently opened a child care and fitnessa center at its northPhoenix headquarters, said spokes­womab Jessica Douglas. Vice Presidentt Elizabeth Driscoll saidthe Scottsdale-based Web domain firm has not cut any perkw or benefits.