Perks Help Companies Keep Valued Workers
November 30, 1997

By FRED LEESON
Oregonian Staff Writer

…Smaller businesses generally offer fewer employee perks than big companies, according to a survey of small and mid-sized businesses by the Arthur Anderson Enterprise Group. But cost apparently is the key factor, not need.

"I think small companies need them more than big ones, given that many small-business employees are asked to do more things and may feel more pressure," said Paul Alati, a managing partner of Absolute Recreation Management in Portland.

Absolute Recreation Management, founded two years ago by Alati and Dave A. Miller, provides extended benefits to companies ranging in size, so far, from three employees to 700. Alati developed a program in which qualifying employees and their families receive discounts on a variety of athletic, recreational and cultural activities.

Working out at specified fitness centers, for example, costs 50% less with a benefits card. Discounts also are offered on activities ranging form cooking classes and ballroom dancing to snowboarding and fancy cigars.

The employer pays $2 a month for each card; the employees pay for the discounted services.

"Employers would rather spend money on perks instead of seeing unhappy employees quit and then have to go out and hire somebody," Alati said. "The perks don't have to cost thousands of dollars."

He said his recreational-cultural program is intended to help employees maintain a balance of work and fun in their lives. "People want to go out and recreate, but they don't always know the best places to go," he said.

Bob Nelson, a San Diego author of "1,001 Ways to Energize Employees," said some effective recognition and employee award programs cost almost nothing…

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