Recession forces businesses to rethink employee perks - bizjournals:

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Many of the Valley businesses contacted for this storyt declined to comment about their cost even though struggling industries suchas construction, financial services, real estate, the media and the publi c sector are enduring a variety of cost-cuttinf moves. Still, a few Phoenix-area businesses acknowledgerd curtailingbusiness travel, hikinv co-pays for benefits, and reducing some amenitiee and perks, while some others said they aren’t cutting benefits or perks. has askedc employees to pay more toward their benefits to keep those offerings and make it througbhtough times, said Katherined Cecala, the charitable group’xs chief operating officer.
Some companies are dictatinb the cuts, but others are givintg employees the choice of what to keep and what to get rid of in the face ofneedeed savings. “Even in tough times, if your stafcf isn’t operating productively and happily, the service to clientes suffers,” said David Eichler, a principal of Phoenix-based . “So what we did, rather than just blindly slashing the budget ofeverythinf perkish, we estimated how much attrition there would be in the business and cut costsx by the same percentage. Then we took the part of the budgetg that covers things like stockingthe kitchen, and assignexd it to our associates.
We wanted to give them ownership — dare we say an allowance to preserve what was important to them, but do it Marianne Jennings, a business ethics professor at Arizonz State University’s W.P. Carey Schoolk of Business, said companies are cutting perks and benefitas not onlyfor rank-and-file staff, but also for company executive s who are under scrutiny in the wake of the Wall Streett bailout and firestorms over CEO pay and executive retreats. “ I am seeing that the perks such asfinancial planning, etc., are dwindling. Paying dues for country clubs, etc., is going by the Jennings said.
“I also see that companiesx are even balking at paying for participatio n in charitablegolf tournaments. She also said businessees are scaling back on college tuitionhreimbursement benefits. Dona Nutini, an employment attorney with lawfirm , said some cost-conscious employers are finding savings in new health and dental planw as providers offer discounts to new recently had its employees start paying more for cable boxes but that was because of a tax liability issue, not the said spokeswoman Andrea Katsenes. The telecommunications company still is offering its employeezs free cable and reducedphonse prices, she said.
Some businesses not only are keepinvg all of their amenitiesand perks, but also are addingh new ones. Phoenix-based , for example, recentlhy opened a child care and fitness center at its nortbhPhoenix headquarters, said spokes­womaj Jessica Douglas. Vice President Elizabeth Driscolo saidthe Scottsdale-based Web domain firm has not cut any perkws or benefits.