20/20: Small business best benefits practices
Only big companies can offer generous benefits, right? Wrong!
The Society for Human Resource Management and the Families and Work Institute have uncovered dozens of examples of small organizations—those with staffs of 20 or fewer—that think big when it comes to employee benefits.
The two groups are collaborating to gather best practices in a project called “When Work Works.” (Learn more at www.movingworkforward.org.)
See how many of these ideas might be right for your small business.
Paying for performance
1. DMC Athletics and Rehabilitation
Big idea: Compensation tied directly to the bottom line. Bonuses are based exclusively on gross income. The better the business, the bigger the bonuses. It works, thanks to open-books management, where employees have full access to monthly financials.
Responding to recession
2. CrossComm
17 employees, Web design and development, Durham, N.C.
Big idea: Compassion during tough times. When the recession forced cutbacks, CrossComm trimmed hours, not jobs. That gave freelance-minded web workers the opportunity to find their own gigs to supplement their incomes.
3. Employees Only
16 employees, HR management, Auburn Hills, Mich.
Big idea: Help employees weather the recession. Creative ideas like discount programs and bartering opportunities make life easier for cash-strapped employees. Mentoring and lots of training provide job security.
4. Studio Kremer Architects
11 employees, Architecture, Louisville, Ky.
Big idea: Use the downturn to ramp up training. When business fell off in 2009, the firm used the downtime to foster professional growth. For example, it cross-trained junior employees on marketing and business development. Volunteer work helps architects build skills on community projects.
Developing employee skills
5. The Alford Group
10 employees, Consulting for nonprofits, Seattle
Big idea: Career development for all. New employees get a mentor on their first day on the job. The company also sponsors monthly all-staff training.
6. Harding, Shymanski & Co.
15 employees, Accounting, Louisville, Ky.
Big idea: Invest in new employee training. New accountants going for their CPA credentials get a $3,000 budget to cover prep and exam costs. If they pass within 18 months, they can keep whatever is left over as a bonus.
7. Idaho Emergency Physicians
18 employees, Physician staffing, Boise, Idaho
Big idea: Make cross-training a competitive advantage. A provider of temp doctors to emergency rooms, the company extensively cross-trains all physicians so a qualified doc is always available when a client calls.
8. Menlo Innovations
15 employees, Information technology, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Big idea: Building teamwork. No one flies solo at Menlo Innovations; everyone is part of a two-person team devoted to a particular project. The teams get switched up at regular intervals to keep everyone fresh.
9. PRIZM
14 employees, Environmental services, Gaithersburg, Md.
Big idea: Pro bono work builds staff skills. Employees participate in volunteer activities that call for cutting-edge engineering and management talents that the company’s regular projects don’t usually require. Among the beneficiaries: community groups, schools, national parks. Result: 68% growth, 0% turnover since 2008.
Building workplace flexibility
10. American Geotechnics
11 employees, Geotechnical engineering, Boise, Idaho
Big idea: Employees set their own schedules and work wherever they want. It succeeds thanks to an electronic master calendar that everyone updates all the time.
11. Creative Plan Designs
19 employees, Retirement consulting, East Meadow, N.Y.
Big idea: The luxury of time. The company uses a PTO bank instead of vacation and sick leave. The office closes 15 to 20 days per year, usually around holidays to minimize child care hassles during school breaks. Cross-trained co-workers pick up the slack when someone is out of the office.
12. McKinnon-Mulherin
10 employees, Communication and design, Salt Lake City, Utah
Big idea: An extremely flexible leave policy lets employees take paid and unpaid time off for a variety of reasons, with their jobs (or an equivalent) guaranteed when they return. After seven years, everyone is eligible for an unpaid three-month sabbatical.
Promoting telework
13. Barich, Inc.
10 employees, Technology consulting, Chandler, Ariz.
Big idea: Tech to aid collaboration and communication. Use of WebEx and Skype started with a telecommuting initiative; now web technologies are central to helping far-flung staff work together when everyone is at different client sites.
14. Bryson Financial Group
19 employees, Financial services, Long Beach, Calif.
Big idea: Work/life balance, with a big technology assist. Everyone has company-provided cell phones, laptops and VoIP phone service so they can get work done wherever they are.
15. EdLab Group
16 employees, Education consulting, Bothell, Wash.
Big idea: Cut long commutes by collaborating long distance. The Seattle area’s notorious rush hours prompted a big telecommuting push 10 years ago. Now tech drives EdLab’s entire business, with employees across the country collaborating online. Result: Office space shrank by 50%.
Taking care of employees
16. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham
16 employees. Nonprofit social services, Birmingham, Ala.
Big idea: Recognition—and learning from one another. Each week, every employee is charged with spotting one thing someone else did well. On Friday, all the accolades are read aloud, and one employee is rewarded with movie tickets.
17. Compendium
16 employees, Inspirational gifts, Seattle
Big idea: Office design that inspires workers. There are no internal walls, plenty of comfy couches, a pool table, bikes and even a swing set. Other perks include allowing dogs at work, free massages and lattes in the break room.
18. HBL Architects
10 employees, Architecture, Houston
Big idea: Completely employer-provided benefits. Yes, some companies still do it: HBL pays 100% of the premiums for medical, dental and short- and long-term care insurance. Naturally, it provides a 401(k) match, too.
19. Center for Accessible Living
20 employees, Nonprofit social services, Louisville, Ky.
Big idea: Practicing what you preach. This organization that helps people with disabilities also employs them. Adaptive office technology, flexible schedules and a work-at-home option lets disabled employees work at full capacity.
20. LeVeck Lighting Products
14 employees, Lighting supply and maintenance, Dayton, Ohio
Big idea: Catering to older workers. All the company’s part-time employees are older than 65. One full-timer, who had worked at LeVeck for 12 years, switched to part-time work without losing his management status.
