Benefits on a budget.

From flu shots to flex-time, businesses are keeping warkers happy with an array of benefits and perks that don't necessarily cost a lot of money

Would you care for a sniff of vanilla-scented air from our scent bar?

That might sound like an unusual offer anywhere -- especially in the workplace. But Barbara Kate Repa swears there are companies that offer "flavored air" as a benefit.

"They have a little bar of flavored air and little hoses that exude five different scents," says Repa, vice president of content for HR One, a Website that offers advice to human resources professionals. "You can pick whatever scent is supposed to make you have some nirvana and also clear your mind."

Most benefits offered to employees today aren't quite that exotic, but they are generous and they are likely here to stay -- and some of them are surprisingly cost-effective.

Some benefits are traditional, like 401(k) plans, health benefits and vacation time. Others that have gained steam in recent years include signing bonuses, self-directed investment plans in which employees choose where to invest their money, immediate vesting and investor education, says Maria Grant, principal in charge of the human capital practice at the Detroit office of the national firm Deloitte & Touche.

"You've got to let these employees understand that they are in it for the long haul and the risk of changing funds daily is not a good idea," says Grant. "It used to be that just executives received financial planning, and now we're seeing financial planning coming down to all levels of the organization.

"Some of the most sophisticated employees get it. They understand how to put together balanced portfolios, and then they leave it alone. It's not like they're in there every day. You want to make sure you offer those options to your employees."

Perhaps surprisingly, some of the benefits that employees value most don't cost a fortune -- just some time spent thinking about what is really important to their workers.

"The first thing I think of are things that don't really cost a whole lot of money," says Tracy Herman, who works in human resources for NuTechs, a Bloomfield Hills-based information technology firm. "For example, I called one of the outlet malls and had coupon books sent. I just signed us up for Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum and that doesn't cost us anything. (These are) things people don't do on their own or can't find out about. A lot of the perks we offer cost us money, but there are some things that we're trying to do that are just different and are not really very expensive things for us.

This year, one of those "extras" was flu shots on the premises, says NuTechs President Jeff Styers. A nurse came in and gave all interested employees the shots.

"A week later, eight of our employees (out of 85) came to me personally, e-mailed me or called me telling me how much they appreciated that we were able to give them flu shots at no cost and make it convenient for them. That's something those employees remember and it only cost us $15 per employee to do."

The competitive information technology market forces Styers to compete hard for employees. In that industry, Styers says, the attrition rate is about 54 percent. "So if you make the industry average, for every two employees you hire, you are losing one."

Styers says the information technology industry draws a different breed of worker, which creates additional challenges. "You are dealing with technical folks who have a different mindset. The No. 1 attrition factor is challenging assignments. They want to feel that they are being fully utilized. No. 2 is training. They want to know that they're going to get training to enhance their skills. In this industry, everyone wants to be something else. The Oracle programmer wants to learn Java, the main-framer wants to learn client server, the networking guy wants to learn the Unix side of the house."

In an environment where employees are putting in more hours, perhaps, than ever before, flexibility and balance between work time and free time are becoming increasingly important.

"A lot of people are looking for a balance between their work and personal lives," says Christina Duncan, human resources manager for the Southfield office of Grant Thornton, an accounting and consulting firm. "They will leave organizations if they don't feel they are getting (that balance). So things like banking, dry cleaning and child care are going to continue to be in demand."

"It used to be that the biggest benefit that employers could waggle out there was money, and that certainly is no longer the case," says Repa from HR One. "I think that people are looking more and more toward other kinds of benefits that will make it feel like their life is a little more fulfilled."

She says liberal Internet surfing privileges, a positive political atmosphere and being treated like a "grownup" in the workplace are high on potential employees' priority lists.

Duncan sees generational differences in the demand for particular sorts of benefits. "Your younger workforce, Generation Xers, they're looking for flexibility -- job sharing, telecommuting, part-time options. Older workers are more focused on retirement, pension programs, 401(k) programs. They're also looking for flexibility, but not as much as the younger generation."

There's also a streak of corporate altruism that appeals to prospective employees.

Duncan says, "One of the things we focus on here is our involvement in the community. We do a lot with Junior Achievement, United Way campaigns. We're really supportive of people getting involved in outside activities.

Still, cold, hard cash retains its allure.

Deloitte & Touche's Grant says many firms are offering prospective employees financial projections that demonstrate the earning potential attached to stock options, performance-based company contributions and 401(k)s. She says this type of approach is especially appealing to younger workers who take the projections home and weigh them along with salary and more traditional benefits when making an employment decision.

Did you know?

* 82 percent of U.S. employers provide at least two weeks of vacation to salaried exempt employees after one year of service. After five years of service, 75 percent offer three weeks or more and after 15 years, 87 percent provide at least four weeks of paid time off.

* 83 percent of U.S. companies had flex-time programs in place for employees with "hot" skills last year, compared with 57 percent in 1999, Telecommuting programs also increased to 62 percent in 2000 from slightly more than 40 percent the year before.

Source: Hewitt Associates LLC 

Benefits and perks: What's hot

1. Flexibility -- Employees are increasingly valuing part-time options, telecommuting opportunities and other non-traditional arrangements that help them balance family life with long working hours.

2. Extras -- Dry cleaning services, hot meals to go, child care, flu shots, investor education and, yes, in some cases, even flavored air -- little things that make employees feel pampered.

3. Money -- Early vesting opportunities, higher employer matches in 401(k) plans, signing bonuses, self-directed investment plans.

4. Training and education -- Tuition reimbursement, technical training, challenging projects that build skill and marketability for employees.