The Effective Marketer

Interesting set of articles on Inc’s Magazine June Edition “Inside America’s Best Run Companies”, showing how the best small business companies run and the perks and benefits they have to attract and retain top talent. Take for example the following stats mentioned in the magazine:

• 75% of companies offer educational assistance to its employees
• 83% of companies practice open-book management
• 28% of companies pay 100% of employees costs for health insurance
• 95% of companies offer flexible work arrangements

On top of that, they highlight some of the nicest perks some companies offer, like:

• On-site pickup and return of clothes that need laundering (McGraw Wentworth)
• Subsidized meals delivered at employee’s desk (Dealer.com)
• Two weeks of full-paid leave to work for a nonprofit (Patagonia)
• $5,000 spending money if you travel abroad plus one extra week vacation (LoadSpring)
• Professional cleaners go to your home every two weeks, at no cost to employee (Akraya)

If you come from the typical 9 to 5 job where being there is what is expected and you look forward to vacations like a prisoner eager for his 1 hour outside in the patio, then the list above is nothing short of a paradise. The reality is, more and more companies are adopting practices like these (especially telecommuting and flex hours) because technology is such that not only allows you to do it, but makes you more productive.

But companies don’t offer these nice perks just because they are run by nice people. They offer them because the market for talent is fierce. Finding and retaining the best people has always been a challenge, no matter your industry. When you have a little bit extra to offer, being that the free lunch or whatever, you are a step above the competition. And the word gets around and your hiring costs are reduced because people are now finding you for a change.

The best marketing ends up being what the employees tell their friends about their companies. How they like (or don’t like) the perks, and when magazines like Inc pick that up and write a story.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 5th, 2010 at 9:00 am and is filed under Hiring, productivity, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.