Incentive - August 2008 - (Page 43) FUEL FOR High prices at the pump have inspired new ideas for incentives he soaring cost of gas has caused companies to use more incentives—and even alter their working structures—to keep employees happy and productive. The numbers are stark, and ugly too: The average American commutes about 30 miles roundtrip for work each day. Over the past four years, the price of gasoline has doubled: from $2.02 per gallon in May 2004, to $3.04 in August 2006, to above $4.00 per gallon at press time. So from these figures, it’s estimated that the majority of employees would need more than a 2 percent raise simply to offset the increased cost of commuting. Such startling cost pressures on employees could soon produce a staffing crisis for employers. A recent survey by Chicago outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas found that 34 percent of responding firms have had a preferred candidate By Rob Carey CHANGE T turn down a job offer due to commuting factors. Another survey, by Florida State University’s College of Business, found that 33 percent of 800 full-time workers who commute via personal transportation said they’d quit their jobs for a comparable one closer to home if they had the chance, due in large part to higher fuel prices. Furthermore, in sectors such as retail and restaurants, where proximity to and convenience of the workplace are high employee priorities, turnover is now higher than the long-term average. In other sectors—and among sales reps in every industry—grumbles about the cost of commuting are getting louder by the day. But many employers have responded to the situation, not only with financial assistance for their employees, but also with substantial changes in the way their companies operate. And both approaches are serving to help employees feel valued and stay motivated to be productive for their companies. Show Me the Money Executives at Stamford, Conn.–based human resources firm OperationsInc knew that employees were talking about the rising cost of coming to work. In response, the firm gave out American Express credit cards to its five on-site employees, on which they can charge as much as $100 a month for fuel. “At some point, someone will be in a position to have to make some choices,” says CEO David Lewis in the Hartford Courant. “I don’t want one of those choices to be whether they can continue to work in Stamford.” Brandermill Woods Retirement Community in Richmond, Va., has given gas cards to its 235 employees monthly since May: $20 cards for full-timers, $10 cards for part-timers. In St. Louis, manufacturing company EFC International has begun subsidizing some of its employees’ fuel costs, based on distance traveled to work. The firm now reimburses fuel costs above $2.50 per gallon, and assumes a usage rate of 20 miles per gallon. The average employee saves about $50 per month under this program. STS Telecom, a nationwide VoIP service provider in Cooper City, Fla., recently implemented a $2-per-gallon rebate for miles driven to and from work for its 75 in-office employees. In Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth University Health System has gone even further: It’s giving between $100 and | August 2008 | Incentive | 43 Photo: AP Photo/Lisa Poole incentivemag.com http://incentivemag.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.