I’m trying to attract new employees, in this ever so changing market, and was looking for some input on what other companies are offering, to bring in new and keep the old. This also goes out to the people that work for someone else. What are you being offered now and what would you like to see change? As I’m finding out, it’s a Dog-eat-dog world out there when it comes to hiring and keeping good people. The problem is, I’m wearing milk bone underwear!
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I brought this over from another posting to get things started. Hey Butch, are you guys looking for any help? With these bennies, I'm there!
Sorry, but I'm the only carpenter at this office that does this. I was really shocked to see someone reply as no one as said anything about it. The LORD as really blessed me with a good job.
48 sick days????? Talk about an employee benefit. I could use 48 days/year! Is that maybe 4 TO 8 sick days?
Looks like a nice package. Why are you getting no response? High cost area? What is your billing rate. At those pay rates you must be billing at about 75-80 dollars/hr.
Lets keep on track here people. What do get or what are ya given!
Im an small potatoes contractor in central Ks, with two employees. They currently get
11.85/hr
2 weeks vacation
6 pd holidays
3% company contribution to IRA
Major medical insurance $673/month
How does this stack up with other contracotrs in the area
We're small too, so our benefits are very similar. It seems the only way to attract better help is to provide more than a challenging work environment. I don't mind giving back to people that work hard and care about what they produce.
Another area that hasn't been refined is bonuses. Be it quarterly production or end of year, based on hours worked. I was asked recently about lead fees for jobs referred. Any thoughts on this, along with the other benefits?
Edited 8/5/2002 6:36:00 PM ET by CRAIGERMAN
I have been giving a several hundred doller end of year bonus, and my health insurance premium has been going up at 20+% each year which makes a large increase in the compensation package (which my help does not always realize.). I do have one man who has some of his own tools that are somewhat beyond what he would have to provide as personal tools, and I have been paying for repairs and sometimes replacement of them when they wear out. Im happy I have not had to look for any new help since I took over a company four years ago. It sounds as if it is difficult to find folks who want to work like one has to in construction.
Here's my findings so far:
Lead Carpenters $18-24 per hr.
Health Ins. 50-100% paid, more singles than family
Pension/401's, employer contribution 1-3% of gross wage
Sick and personal days, 0-5 each per year
Vacation, 1 week after 1 yr., 2 weeks in the next 2-3 yrs., some give 3 weeks after 5 yrs.
Paid holidays, 2-11 days per yr.
Disability Ins., if provided was 70-100% of gross, short term coverage
tool allowance, $0-500 per year
Yearly bonus, $25-600
Profit sharing, not many doing this, but it's usually averaged by gross wages (or hrs. worked) and done once or twice a year.
Most everyone is providing phones
Not many providing vehicles, but do have milage reimbursements or gas allowances
Not much in the way production bonuses or lead referral bonuses
Edited 8/8/2002 5:50:41 PM ET by CRAIGERMAN
I just got my health insurance premium notice for this year, and find a 25.55% increase for family coverage. This translates to $5.44/hr. cost based on a 40 hr work week. I have absorbed and passed on these similar high increases for several years, but am considering passing the increase on to my employees this year for the first time. How would the rest of you out there who pay health insurance premiums for your help handle the situation. It is getting to the place where it is cost prohibitive to offer this benefit, but in order to attract good help, which I have, it needs to be. Any suggestions?
You mean some companies actually do offer health insurance?
$673/ month for medical, ouch! (I hope this is family and not individual) If your paying around $0-$5/ office visit and no more than $10 co pay for meds then it's not so bad as long as your annual deductable is no more than $500/ per person, and only 2 required to reach the annual family max. I hope your paying no more than $50 for emergency room visits and have incredible outpatient coverage. If your not close to any of that then shop around because your getting hosed.
OK to not drift away from the subject. I quit my last job and moved out of state because the medical insurance was so outrageous. We went from paying around $320/ month for family medical with $10/ office visits, $5 generic, $10 name brand, $15 premium for meds to having less coverage a year later, paying $840/ month for family medical, $15/ office visit, and $15 generic, $25 name brand, and $45 premium for meds. We went from $50 for emergency room visits to $75. The amount of coverage for outpatient procedures went down dramatically, hospital coverage was nominal at best and OB/ GYN coverage for my wife was almost non-existent.
Kids cost a fortune when it comes to medical expenses, especially when they get sick three to four times a year (schools and day cares are germ factories!). There is the occasional emergency room visit at 3:00AM, sprained or strained joints from sports (broken bones, we have been fortunate so far to not have that), 3 year old daughter jumps off the nottom step in the basement, falls down on the concrete floor, splitting her forehead open and requiring 7 stiches on Sunday evening fifteen minutes before bed time in the process of going with her brother to retrieve jammies, that sort of thing. Yeah there are certain early evening accidental maming incidents were you could go to a walk in clinic but my past experience with them has been that they are staffed by over worked, under paid, under trained people who can't get a job anywhere else. Not to say that all are bad, just the ones I have been to.
Medication is the real killer. My wife has asthma and needs reglar medications. Myself and my oldest son have really bad seasonal allergies and until recently have reqired medicine year round as well, so in my situation the premium can be high as long as the annual deductable, meds and copays are not that expensive. My wife's asthma medication is $20/ month for generic brand without insurance ($15 with insurance, $5 perviously), allergy medication was $50/ per month x2 for premium brand (no substitue for generic, I tried, there were non made by any pharm. company) without insurance ($45 x2 with insurance, $15 x2 previously). My wife also takes Zoloft, $100 per month with no insurance, $45 with the insurance (so we licked out on one prescription). When we got bumped up to the new meds pay scale it was almost like not having prescription coverage at all. We went from paying $35/ month for meds to $105 prior to the Zoloft addition. After that it was $150/ month. I now understand why seniors are often left with the choice of eating and paying bills or buying meds for the month.
Individual coverage is important, but how much family coverage is provided is even more important.
I would stay at a job that I didn't like that much if the medical insurance was really good rather than go to a job I would like much better and the insurance not be nearly as good. I would even be willing to take a little less pay if the cost of the insurance is significantly less than at a job where I would get a better salary.
I did a lot of research on insurance because of my last job. I even toyed with the idea of getting my own family insurance. Insurance is worth paying a higher premium for out of your pay check if your going to spend less out of pocket for office visits and prescription drugs. these policies however are hard to come by and the majortiy of people don't want to see high premiums coming out of their pay checks even if they are getting astronomical coverage in return.
SRDC: My wife is a 4 year cancer survivor, and her Dr. told her not to loose the insurance we have because it pays better than many he has seen, ( and with my premiums it should). My son in on asthma meds., so between them I dare not get to brave about changing. My son and my employees sons will be on their own in a couple of years, so we can go to an employeespouse policy which will be significantly cheaper, but in the mean time I have talked to the employee and will probably ask him to pick up the increase in premium. Insurance companies in Kansas at least don't like small group policies and are attempting to price us out of the market. I wish there were a larger group that we could join, but I'm not aware of one. With a cancer pre condition, no one would pick us up anyway, so we are probably at the mercy of BCBS of Kansas.
I hear you loud and clear on the small group premiums. It's good to hear that you are getting back good benefits for your high premium. I don't mind paying a higher premium if the coverage and the pay offs make it worth while.
okay that is my question. IS there some type of builders group or something that we could all join and get better medical rates. We just switched planes for our family plan to get better copays etc. WE looked into getting our guys a group policy, but you have to have like 85-90% group participation. Plus our family rate would be 200+ more than the policy we have now. There are only three employees besides us in the company. Most are young and apt for no health or their wife has it. This makes it really not practical to even try to carry it when we have to have so many to join.Tamara
The company I now work for has given me an incredible benefits package.
Health insurance, and dental insurance for me and my wife costs me right at $100 a month. I have a $100 deductible for the health insurance per year (total, not individual). After the deductible, EVERYTHING is covered 100%. That includes office visits, major medical, prescriptions, EVERYTHING.
I get an automatic $30,000 life insurance coverage, paid for by the company. I get 60% of my salary for long term illness, and 50% of my salary for permanent disability (plus disability lump sum payment). All this is paid for by the company.
Dental insurance covers 100% for some things, 90% for some things, and 80% for the rest. NO DEDUCTIBLE, but there is a $1500 max per year, per person payout.
I get 10 days vacation each year (starting Jan 1 of each calendar year), 8 sick days per year, 2 personal days per year, and 11 paid holidays per year. All of this accrued, which means that Jan 1 of each year, all days are active, and useable. If I get fired or resign during the year, and I have used up EVERYTHING, then I will get docked on my last check for days that I used, but did not earn. I started Aug 1 of this year, and I already have 4 days paid vacation, 3 sick days, and several paid holidays. My insurance coverage began on the day I was hired, even though the paperwork had not even been filled out. I have already used it, so I know it has been activated.
Not a bad deal for an old country boy.
LIFE IS GOOD!!!!James DuHamel
J & M Home Maintenance Service
What to look forward to when you get to my age (60). Blue Cross & Blue Shield is $786 per month and an additonal $137 monthly for my share of the 6 meds. I take. I'd kiss their rear end if I could, even at the $786 since they know I've had two heart attacks and two minor strokes. The last heart attack and two stint (or is it stent) implants was about $65,000.
Covet your good coverage and thank God for the ablility for even have it.
Covet your good coverage and thank God for the ablility for even have it.
I do - every morning when I wake up I thank God for the little things like health insurance and benefits. It may sound silly, but I spent the last 17 years with no health insurance, no life insurance, no vacation, and no benefits of any kind. I've got a great job that I absolutely LOVE (less than 5 mile from my house), a wonderful wife, lots of good friends, and peace of mind. It doesn't get any better than that. James DuHamel
J & M Home Maintenance Service
Yes, there should be. Have you looked into it in your area?
I did plenty of research when I was laid off.....before making the decision to go back to self employment. Health Ins was the primary concern. Our first kid was just a few months old when I got the layoff notice....suddenly it wasn't about what kinda work I liked doing or where.
I'm a sole prop, no employees. Less than 1 year in business, this time around. I called all the local and national builders associations. I also called all the local chambers of commerce I could pick from. I'm in an urban area....Pittsburgh.....and several of the smaller communties have chambers as well.
In my case, all the different groups gave different 800#'s to get the insurance info....and all the different numbers lead me to the same voicemail box. So....after I got a hold of the woman...I told her what I was and what I needed....and it turned out that only one group would accept me as a sole prop/less than a year on the books/no employees/group of one/family plan.
If I had even one employee that was also seeking insurance...I woulda had alot more options. If I had at least one year in business.....I woulda had more options thru builders groups.
As it was, I could get a family plan thru the Greater Pgh Chamber of Commerce. A full membership would have been $360/ys...I joined as an Associate Member for $180/yr.....that still gave me access to the insurance plan. I had several levels of plans to choose from. I think the lowest price was around $400 and the highest was over $750. We went with a very good plan for $507/month. The only limiting factor in this plan is the cost goes way up if you go out of network. But, our kids Dr is in the plan as well as the wife's allergist. And Pgh is a major medical center in the country....so even with the "limited network"..there's still a ton of Dr's in our book.
If I lived an hour any direction....the plan would suck. This one was their "low cost option". We discovered we actually have better maternity coverage now than what we got from my old company..which paid for the kid's birth. Prescription plan is good.....since it's a group plan...no pre-existing conditions to worry about. No pre-physical.
At my age....35....we might have found an individual plan to be a bit cheaper....but when the rep told me the group plans are 70% tax deductable...and individual are 0....that made my mind up.
BTW...I sit here sick...waiting for the Dr's apt on Tues morning! Working in the rain today didn't help much either. Hope this helps ya.
Jeff.......Sometimes on the toll road of life.....a handful of change is good.......
Okay now I am confused. The lady that does our taxes says our insurance is tax ded. at 100%. Does anyone else know anything on this? Glad that you found something for your family Jeff. Sounds like congress is trying to make it easier for small business owners to group together to be better able to purchase insurance as groups. Thanks for the info.Tamara
For SE persons 70% (and it is going to 100% in a few years) is deductable on the 1040 and the remainding is deductable on sch A as medical expenses. But it is rare to have enough other medical expenses to get over the 7.5% limitation.
Nowever, there is another option if that SE person has a spouse that works for the business. They can have a company policy that the the company provides insurance as a benifit for their employees. Then it is becomes a business expense and is fully deductable. That can be a Family policy so that the business owner is also cover. The owner can't deduct his insurance as a business expense, but he can for his employees. He can also have a medical reimbursement plan to pay the out of pocket expenses of his employees as a buisness deduction.
How this is perfect if it is just the business owner and their spouse. But I think that the same benifits have to be give to any other employees.
It does need to be setup by someone that knows all of the in's and out's and can explain the pitfalls as well as the advantages.
So what are you offering your new guys? Any benefits? Do you have steady work? When was the last time you had to lay off guys because of no work?
Not that I'm trying to be ugly but I would be curious as a potential employee to know these things.