Nicholas Craig column

Aug 4 2006 By Nicholas Craig, The Journal

Work perks work. Look at the long-term success of flexitime, bonuses, cars, separate offices, even Christmas parties.

I am a firm believer in rewarding staff, particularly the more junior levels, who tend to remember the reward longer, and can replicate it as they rise through the ranks, hopefully more motivated, enthusiastic and committed because of timely recognition by an employer.

When you tot up the amount businesses spend on corporate hospitality for potential clients, the balance could perhaps shift towards the people at the workplace rather than be spent on those outside the office.

Perks are now beginning to come in ever more creative guises as companies realise the sense of investing in employees. Some of the new ways to attract and retain staff, however, show either remarkable generosity or a slight edge of desperation.

The latest perks include concierge services to pick up your groceries or dry cleaning, the opportunity to bring children or pets to work, working from home, free house cleaning services, pamper days, family and pet health insurance and even gardening help.

More creative perks suit smaller businesses that can't afford the mega-buck perks of the largest organisations. The more successful benefits are not necessarily the most costly and in some cases they are even free. One company's employees can set their own hours from the day they are hired.

One of the more effective perks is a scheme including flexitime options, which allow many employees to stay at work when otherwise they might leave. A growing number of firms provide games rooms, and some dot.com organisations buy games and toys for the office. In hard working schedules a bit of fun is not only enjoyable but eminently good sense.

For the really budget conscious boss even free coffee and tea makes a difference to staff. The real value is in the recognition perks give to employees who can all too easily feel overlooked and under recognised.

Whatever the basic package was that enticed someone to work for a particular company, it will be the day-to-day relationships with colleagues and the approach of employers that converts them from a nine-to-fiver to an ambassador for the business. Having perks is a customised way to ensure staff enjoy their time at work and are likely to carry on doing so for some time to come.

Nicholas Craig is a partner at Watson Burton law firm.