Laying off personnel, reducing salary increases, eliminating 401(k) matches and other benefits cuts seem to be the norm. These takeaways have a direct impact on your workforce. Morale may be low, and employees may look for other job opportunities, especially as the economy starts to recover. One solution is to consider offering low- or no-cost benefits.

Voluntary programs

Sales of voluntary, employee-paid insurance products sold through employers have increased significantly over the last few years. Voluntary benefits allow companies to offer something in return at a time when economic and business conditions are challenging.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, a national chain of 400 restaurants based in Denver, helps employees with pet insurance. Employees get a discount on health coverage, and the company contributes $10 a month toward the total premium (which is typically $15 to $30 per dog). The total cost to Chipotle is $2,400 annually (approximately 20% of their 120 employees purchase it.)

When implemented successfully, voluntary programs can be an effective supplemental benefit for both employees and employers. Pet insurance isn't new, and neither is the formula for making it and other voluntary offerings successful: Survey your employees to find out what they want, compare vendors, actively promote the benefits and solicit feedback.

Flexibility programs

A rapidly shrinking talent pool, coupled with increased work/life pressures and a more diverse, global and independent workforce, have prompted an increasing number of companies to offer flexible work arrangements as a way to attract, retain and engage talent. Most companies, however, do not have the structure or support in place to maximize the value that these programs can provide.

According to a 2008 Hewitt Associates survey, of those companies who offer flexible work arrangements, almost all (98%) believe the benefits of the workforce programs match or outweigh the costs associated with implementing them.

But very few employers have formal and consistent policies and procedures in place to manage these programs. The Hewitt research reveals that just over one-quarter (27%) have companywide, formal written polices, and almost the same percentage do not formally communicate to employees the flexible programs they offer.

In addition, 71% do not measure the effectiveness of these programs. The majority of companies offer programs on an ad hoc basis, with flextime (31%), job sharing (46%) and telecommuting (39%) being the most prevalent. Part-time work is the most likely program to be offered companywide, with 36% of employers doing so.

Less than half (48%) provide education and communication about their flexibility programs to all employees, with 31% saying they wanted to limit the use of these programs, either because their company culture has not yet fully embraced widespread use of them or because they are concerned with the logistics of having too many employees using the program. Another 69% said they do not provide broad communications so that programs can be offered at manager discretion.

Here are some effective tips in creating successful flexibility programs:

1. Survey your employees. Find out what interests them and match up their interests with appropriate flexible arrangements.

2. Tie to corporate initiatives/priorities. Link flexibility to company initiatives like diversity or gender.

3. Develop written corporate policies. Expectations and guidelines are important components of any endeavor. State these clearly and share them with all involved.

4. Train management. Management buy-in and participation are critical to the success of these programs. Offer incentives to maximize management's involvement.

5. Measure and refine. Gather input on your progress from employees, managers, the community you're working with, as well as any others who are involved. Make program changes based on feedback.

6. Reward and recognize. Seek informal and formal avenues to tell your team that they've accomplished a great task. Highlight successful flexible arrangements.

Discount programs

Everyone likes a good deal. One way to help employees financially is by providing national and local discounts on various goods and services. You can negotiate discounts with local merchants, let employees purchase excess inventory or company merchandise at a discount, or partner with a discount vendor, such as Beneplace, SparkFly or NextJump. If you partner, there is generally a one-time cost to the employer for set-up and customization of the Web site.

Wellness services

Employers need to make employees more accountable for their own personal wellness and look at this as an investment rather than as an expense. Integrated services, defined goals and long-term behavior modification are the key to a successful program. It generally takes up to three years to see the full impact of a program.

Coordinate selected services yourself or partner with a wellness vendor (such as ACI Specialty Benefits, WellCall, Wellness Corp, Sutter Health, John Muir Hospital to name just a few).

Be creative and figure out what programs work best for your employees and culture. These ideas provide a win-win solution since you can offer a variety of new benefits for little or no cost. That should make your employees happy, and help your bottom line.

Contributing Editor Cathy Leibow is a client relationship lead/consultant for The Great Place To Work Institute, a research and management consultancy based in the U.S. Contact her at 415-503-1234 or cleibow@greatplacetowork.com.

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