In the past, the fairs often better served the vendor(s) who came on-site than the needs of the hosting company or their employees. More recently, companies have refined the planning of the events to serve specifically to launch or promote a wellness program.

To be successful, the events need to serve two purposes: boosting employee education and building their enthusiasm to participate in the wellness program. To make sure you and your employees get the most out of a wellness fair, it helps to be aware of the plusses and minuses – and some little touches that can mean the difference between a so-so event and a hit.

Double-edged sword
On the plus side, employees received easy-to-grasp information on key wellness topics such as illness detection, symptom control and smarter medication practices. They also receive important services like free blood-pressure screenings.

On the down side, some experts said the more newfangled events were more like “disease fairs” than “health fairs.” In other words, the tone was little too somber and employees weren’t particularly tuned in because they weren’t enjoying themselves.

Wellness program consultant Dr. Ron Goetzel believes that the savviest firms strike a balance in their health fairs. Stick with the screenings, but also feature exhibitors who offer “lighter,” more enjoyable services. Examples:

• a booth from a local health-food store
• a chair-massage station
• elder-care info from the AARP, or
• a “complimentary medicine” info booth (e.g.,a chiropractor or an acupuncturist).

Offering incentives
In many cases, employees still need an incentive to attend the fair and get the desired screenings, in addition to doing the fun stuff. Some real-life programs that’ve worked:

• a contest offering prizes to employees who visit every station
• quizzes and prizes based on info from different vendors’ literature
• flex-scheduling or time-off incentives for getting screened (e.g., a comp day or an extra afternoon off), and
• cash incentives (as little as $20 and as much as $100) to people who voluntarily take part in various screenings.

Here’s how one small company in Arizona cleverly tied 401(k) education to employees’ other financial concerns. Rather than simply holding its usual 401(k) open enrollment education meeting, it held a “financial wellness fair.”

Stressed 401(k) importance

How it worked: On the same day the company’s 401(k) vendor sent a plan rep to discuss the retirement plan, the company also arranged for a certified financial planner to speak to employees.

The financial planner went first. She started the session by pointing out that she wasn’t affiliated in any way with the management of the 401(k) plan. That was crucial both for the company’s legal protection under ERISA and for building trust with employees. She then discussed why it’s vital for people to participate in the 401(k) plan, and offered attendees budgeting tips and basic strategies for cutting their debt.

The financial planner’s talk cut to the heart of several major issues that hurt both employee salary satisfaction and 401(k) participation. Numerous studies show that the No. 1 reason many people avoid 401(k) participation is that they feel they can’t sacrifice any part of their entire paycheck and still survive financially.

The second part of the session was the standard 401(k) enrollment presentation from the vendor. End result: Employees were more attentive and there was a noticeable uptick in both new 401(k) enrollments and salary contributions from already-enrolled workers.

The event was such a smash that the company plans to make the Financial Wellness Fair a regular part of 401(k) enrollment. While the financial planning advice is generic (the company may add third-party personal finance planning as a voluntary benefit in the future), it’s also timely.

The 401(k) signup appeal comes while the financial planning tips are still fresh in employees’ minds and they’re motivated to do something to help themselves.

One of our readers shared a horror story from her company — one that at least had a happy ending — that underlines the need to be extra careful, especially in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling that makes plan sponsors vulnerable to employee lawsuits.

Mistakes caught after the fact

The company was in the process of changing 401(k) service providers when it discovered the outgoing provider had goofed on the plan documents in the existing plan.

The documents said the normal payout form would be a joint survivor annuity. So if anyone wanted another option – such as an IRA rollover or a cashout – he or she needed documentation with a notarized signature from a spouse or other beneficiary.

Even worse, there were administrative errors made on the election end. Records showed the old provider put through inappropriate elections from both current and ex-employees. A nightmarish paper chase ensued. Senior management had to calculate if the plan and its participants suffered financially from the inappropriate elections that went through. In addition, the company had to contact everyone who may have been affected by the errors and issue corrected documentation.

One saving grace in this whole mess was that the outgoing vendor (a well-known vendor with a good reputation) agreed to pick up the tab to correct the mistakes that’d been made. It took several months to clean up the mess, but everything was sorted out. Things could’ve turned out much, much worse.

Ever since then, the company has been muc wiser for the wear. Management is now hyper-vigilant about staying on top of its new 401(k) vendor. The firm has made sure the vendor got all the documentation right up front, and has made a habit of checking to make sure everything’s adminstered according to the plan documents.

Best practice: Create a records retention policy as your first step. A host of federal and state laws specify how long you must retain pay- and benefits-related documents.

Compliance is essential if a current or former employee sues or the DOL, IRS or the state audits your records.

Here’s a records-retention schedule recommended by employment lawyer Jacqueline McManus:

• Retain for two years employee personnel files, including performance reviews and training.
• Hold these for three years: wage records, including time cards, base pay and overtime wage-rate calculations and records explaining wage diferentials for employees performing the same job, and hold I-9 forms for three years from hire date or one year after termination, whichever is later.
• Keep these four years: all Payroll documents, including:home address records, and all wage records, including weekly OT earnings, straight time pay, deductions, bonuses, pay period designations and payment dates.
• Use a five-year retention window for employee health info such as medical and first-aid records from on-the-job injuries, and drug and alcohol testing records.
• Keep this benefits data for six years (or one year after plan termination): elections and enrollment forms, benefit change documents, and COBRA notices.
• Retain 401(k) files indefinitely.
   

From Girl Scout cookie drives to workplace birthday clubs, non-work fundraisers have become a part of many company cultures. Should management be concerned?

There are no simple answers to this question. Most employers want to encourage a family-friendly company culture, but employee (and supervisor) solicitations often have a way of spinning out of control.  Left unchecked, onsite “selling” can go from a harmless activity to an unwelcomed one that causes tension and can actually hurt morale.

No-soliciting policy?

In one recent survey, 22% percent of employers said they have a policy against soliciting. In most cases, the policy limits the times and places (e.g., break rooms only) where employees can engage in the activity. Some employers have created bulletin boards where workers can post their fundraisers for interested co-workers.  According to the survey, about one employer in 10 has banned unapproved fundraisers entirely.

Another thorny issue: In some cases, the one doing the selling is a supervisor or an executive, even if the company bans rank-and-file employees from doing it. 

Unfortunately, this leaves HR/benefits in a real tough position. How can you be expected to enforce a policy that managers themselves ignore? It sets you up to be the bad guy, and also shows employees that the powers-that-be either don’t take the policy seriously or don’t think they need to follow the same rules.

Office sports pools: Harmless or harmful?

Odds are pretty high (pun intended) that your employees and/or supervisors have an office football pool going right about now and/or a March Madness pool during the college basketball tournament. If not, they’ve probably worked somewhere in the past where such activities have had the tacit — or open — approval of the top brass.

Is that a good or bad thing for your company culture?

Never mind the fact that the pools are rarely used for “entertainment purposes only.” Although wagering in office pools (and fantasy sports leagues) is technically an illegal activity in some states, the laws are rarely — if ever — enforced. In most states, the typical $5 to $20 office pool is legal.

A bigger, more practical concern: presenteeism.

Easy to spot, hard to stop

If you were to take a random walk around your office and glance at people’s computer screens, chances are you’d find more than a few folks who have game reports open in one Window and their work in another. Want to guess which screen the employee pays more attention to? Yup.

One estimate says March Madness costs employers nationwide $1.7 billion each year in lost productivity. During that time of year, many employees (and supervisors) are paid to do little more than check on how the teams in their office pool are doing in the NCAA basketball tournament.

Truth be told, even if your organization bans office pools, many employees will sneak glances at the scores, anyway. But people are more open about goofing off — and spend longer doing it — when they participate in a pool at work. Many supervisors simply look the other way.

Morale builder?

The typical reason given for allowing office fund-raising solicitation or sports pools is that the activity boosts morale and employee bonding. In reality, the morale-building advantages depend on your company culture and the demographics of your workforce.

One survey found that 30% of professional and business service employees eagerly look forward to participating in an annual March Madness pool at work. On the flip side, only 13% of employees in the hospitality industry expressed interest in the activity.

Gender also comes into play. Roughly 24% of male employees said they’re likely to participate in an office pool, while 11% of women do.

Bottom line: Some workplaces wouldn’t miss such activities if they disappeared. In others, the long-term morale boost cancels out the short-term productivity hit.

We’d be interested to see how you handle this challenge in your own organization. Do you have a policy banning solicitation and/or office pools? And if so, how has it gone over?

Here’s one that’s recently been adopted at the publishing company where I work: a progam called “See something good, say something good.”  It’s a way for employees to bring positive attention to things that their co-workers, managers and the company’s different departments do well. 

How it works: The company provides colorful index cards, placing them conspicuously in several commonly traveled areas in the building. When employees and supervisors want to publically recognize someone else’s efforts, they can grab a card and fill it out. It takes very little time.

When the index card is filled out, the employee drops it into a wrapped box (there are two in the building). The boxes are later collected and the cards displayed in a room the company uses periodically for meetings, presentations and quarterly employee appreciation events.

In order to build awareness and participation in “Say Something Good,” management put up fliers around the building, so people from every department can see them, as well as visitors and job applicants who’ve come in for interviews.

The program, which was originally thought up by the head of our product marketing division, doesn’t cost anything apart from the cost of the index cards and paper. There’s minimal administration time, and it takes employees only a moment or two to fill out a card on a fellow employee’s behalf. 

But the return is tremendous, and the recognition possibilities are endless. It’s a good way to boost morale, encourage productivity and differentiate the company culture from work environments where the negative things seem to get the lion’s share of the attention.

Some workers barely pay attention, ask few (if any) questions and then hurry to leave the room. Others seem overwhelmed by the info presented.

Almost inevitably, in the days following the presentation you find yourself answering the same basic questions from employees on the very issues that had been addressed during the presentation.

One company in Northbrook, IL, found a simple, but effective way to break the cycle and get folks to pay attention: a contest for employees.

Rewarded folks who paid attention

The HR manager put together a 20-question quiz cribbed from handouts from the presentation. There were 10 true or false questions, eight multiple choice and two fill-in-the-blanks. He distributed the quiz at the end of the presentation.

The employee who got the most questions right received a $20 gift card. In case of a tie – usually, several people got all 20 questions right – they drew a random winner.

The contest was a hit, and served two valuable purposes.

First of all, it successfully got employees to be more engaged during the session. Secondly, the quiz results helped point to areas where employee knowledge was particularly weak and helped HR better target its future benefits education efforts.

A pretty good investment for $20, wouldn’t you say?

The common thread: using your own communication skills as a powerful tool for boosting morale.

1. Put in face time

When time permits, managers may want to put in some “face time” with employees. This in and of itself is a type of employee recognition. Example: There’s a lot of value in simply walking around the building, chatting with employees.  Ask employees about the personal items they display at their workstations.

In the short-term, folks will notice and appreciate your interest.  Long-term, this may inspire ideas for rewards and incentive programs. The same technique works at  firms with multiple locations.  Make a site visit to get a feel for the morale. This is much cheaper – and often more effective – than designing a formal benefits survey.

2. Send ‘em personalized stuff

Looking for a simple way to show employees that HR/Benefits cares? Create a template from which you can send personalized “Welcome” letters to new hires or “Happy Anniversary” notes for employees’ company anniversaries.

3. Target overlooked employees

Most firms have employees (e.g. part-timers) who aren’t eligible for the 401(k), health plan and other company-sponsored benefits.  Small gifts help firms connect with these often-overlooked employees.

Example: On the first day of spring, send them a packet of flower seeds and attached a note from Benefits. Burston-Marsteller Worldwide has used this simple, low-cost idea and gotten good results.

They are the most popular recognition incentives among employees, a recent study shows. The best part: The incentives usually amount to less than 1% of base pay. That also can makes this option attractive to C-levels. And the awards don’t even have to be given in cash.

Spontaneity grabs ‘em

Traditional end-of-year or quarterly bonuses cost employers an average of 10% of base pay yet often have a lower payoff in morale and retention.

Reason: Employees appreciate them less because they expect to receive them for reaching certain goals. By their nature spot awards are spontaneous and paid out immediately. Honorees are pleasantly surprised and see the organization values their work.

Here are four keys to successful spot bonus programs, according to benefits consultant Ken Stahlmann:

1. Creativity is crucial

The most effective programs typically give out awards weekly or monthly. To avoid over-stretching the budget – and avoid a ho-hum attitude setting in – creativity is a must.

One way that never gets old: combining time off with a second, non-cash award.

Example: One firm gives a half-day off in combo with movie passes once a month. Another, at weekly staff meetings, holds a random drawing for a dinner gift certificate, plus permission to leave work early once.

2. Make it personal

Rewards have more lasting impact when they’re geared to people’s personal needs or interests. Two examples:

• one firm with many foreign-born, low-wage employees awards a $20 pre-paid phone card after 90 days of service, and a $100 card for outstanding work, and
• another firm with a lot of sports nuts took a few top-performers to a ball game. Managers said it was the best $200 they’ve ever spent in terms of creating ongoing enthusiasm.

3. Add structure

The awards may seem spur of the moment, but the most effective programs have a fixed budget and structure set before anything is handed out.

Example: One retail firm awards “points” for good work. Folks can then trade in their points for store merchandise. By letting people bank points for more valuable rewards, the employer saw a solid jump in retention.

Other organizations prefer to let employees reward each other. For instance, a small healthcare provider keeps a “goodies box” onsite – paid for in petty cash and stocked by employees themselves.
When someone spots a co-worker going the extra mile, he or she pulls out a prize and awards it.
The program is a huge hit: It’s immediate and personal, yet structured.

4. Don’t let good intentions backfire

Most spot awards go over well. But keep these issues in mind:

• For most cash or cash-value awards, there are tax implications (just as with traditional bonuses)
• Awards need to be spread around or else resentment can creep in
• Make sure honorees don’t mind being the center of attention (some firms have accidentally alienated people they tried to reward), and
• Make sure the reward is something people actually want. One firm that awarded a VIP parking space next to the CEO found no one used it. No one wanted the CEO knowing what time he or she came and left.

Right now, there’s no bigger threat to employees’ salary satisfaction than the sky-high prices at the gas pump. Here are five ways companies are helping employees cope.

1. Tax-free transit benefits 

Now’s a good time to look into the pre-tax and de minimus transportation benefits allowed by the IRS. As gas prices soar above $4 per gallon, interest in such plans is at an all-time high. 

The pre-tax benefit works much like a cafeteria plan although, legally, it must be set up as a separate type of flex account. In 2009, the monthly tax-free contribution for qualified parking has increased to $220. The one for public transit or vanpool passes increased to $115. 

Employees can either pay through a pre-paid debit card — three of the more popular options on the market are Transitchek, eTRAC and TransLink – or submit receipts and get reimbursed.

The biggest advantage of the transit benefit is that it has the same effect as a small pay raise, without an actual salary increase. An employee earning $45,000 per year, who incurs $115 per month in mass transit expenses, lifts take-home pay by approximately $492. That’s equivalent to a 1.70% raise.

On a very limited basis, the IRS also allows employers to reimburse employees directly for transportation expenses without imposing taxes. In order to meet the de minimus requirement, the reimbursements must be of small value and given irregularly. For instance, if you reimburse the occasional transit fare to an employee working overtime, you’re in the clear.

Unfortunately, the feds consider gasoline gift cards  a taxable fringe benefit. Nevertheless, they can make for excellent incentives and recognition awards, especially for employees who drive long distances to work. 

2. Carpooling subsidies

A handful of companies — about 5%, according to the Society for Human Resource Management — currently offer subsidies to employees who carpool to work. A small fraction (less than 1%) offer a gas subsidy to employees.

One way to make such benefits less costly: Tie a subsidy to a pay-for-performance compensation plan. That way, you’re rewarding only the most deserving employees and giving average performers incentive to pick up the pace.

3. Telecommuting and flex-time

It’s not always possible or desireable to offer employees the option of telecommuting or flexing their schedules to come into work at off-peak travel hours. But if you do have such programs, plug the heck out of them not only as a work-life perk, but also a financial incentive for employees to lower their gas costs.

Remember: Employees are much more likely to notice the relationship between their commuting times and the extra money in their wallets if you connect the dots for them. The more you promote your existing benefits to your own employees, the higher their satisfaction with their current pay. 

4. Tie commuter benefits to recruiting and retention

A great way to get more bang for the recruiting and retention buck from any of the aforementioned programs is to participate in the Best Workplaces for Commuters program. The non-profit Best Workplaces organization provides qualified employers with national publicity and an “elite employer” designation for offering innovative programs.

Even if you don’t participate, the Best Workplaces site has a slew of free resources for employers, including interactive calculators for doing a cost-benefit analysis of offering commuter benefits, ideas for innovative but low-cost programs, and employee education tools which you can adapt to your own organization’s needs.

5. Sharing money-saving tips

Many people don’t realize the power of simply passing along useful information to employees. For instance, one cynical radio commentator recently suggested that employers who post articles about cutting gas costs on their employee bulletin board are doing “a whole lot of nothing.”

In reality, however, concerned employees notice and appreciate your effort to help them save a few bucks on their own. Some useful pointers that make for good bulletin-board fodder:

• Car sense 101. Even if you’re no auto expert, you can pass along easy-to-use strategies to greatly improve gas mileage. One of our readers e-mailed employees this online checklist of proven ways to get better gas mileage. Here’s another one from an auto parts retailer that’s in a little more bulletin-board friendly format.
• Cheap gas finders. Free sites such as Gasbuddy.com are a great way for employees to locate the cheapest gas at stations near work or their homes.
• The dollars and sense of carpooling. Runzheimer International showed how employees can save up to $1,800 a year in gas money by carpooling. The calculation is based on an average 20 work days per month, a four-employee carpool, a $4.00 per gallon gas price, a standard four-door sedan that gets 20 miles per gallon and a round-trip commute of 50 miles.

Do employees really pay attention to this sort of information? That’s up to them. But at the very least, folks realize that managers go through the same type of aggravation every time they pay $45 or more to fill their own gas tank.