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Mary Lou Panzano, CESP, senior manager, Communications, Pfizer, Inc., Peapack, NJ, Says:

"Businesses always talk about things like Employer of Choice and attracting/retaining talent. When you talk about such things, be specific. Offering employee services programs does not cost companies much when you consider what it takes to replace one person. Here’s an example of how to talk about this.
 
The salary for an average, mid-level employee in health care in your market might be $45,000. (Whatever it is, find out for your company.) To replace that person, it costs 1.5X’s the salary. $45,000 x 1.5 = $67,500. Get the turnover ration for your company for 2007 and see how much talent and money is going out the door and how much their spending to fill open positions. Health care is particularly understaffed and the war for talent (another employer-speak notion) is even tougher than most other industries.
 
Your ESM Association membership costs you $210 a year. It provides you with resources and programming that helps keep employees healthy, satisfied, engaged, and productive—and less likely to leave. And, many of those services and programs can be offered to your employees at no additional cost to the company and can even provide a nominal income stream to help you offer additional programs/services. Who wouldn’t invest $210 a year to save $67,500 a year? Who wouldn’t want to earn a small commission on ESM Association product/services sales so that you can provide a social event for employees again at little to no cost to your company?
 
This doesn’t even take into account the savings in time and money that you can offer employees, especially in times of economic down turn. Employees save money on the cost of products and services offered through ESM Association National Associate members and most of the time, those discounts cost you nothing to offer. www.onMYtime.com provides 24/7 access, for example, a great feature for a 24/7 health care operation. You’re in good company because you learn from and ‘copy’ from the best employers in your field, which makes you a more competitive and attractive company.

These are just some of things you need to stress when advocating for what you do."


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Paulette Bondi, CESP, ClubHouse Manager, Honeywell Process Solutions, Phoenix, AZ , Says:

"The 10 components are included below to help you describe ESM Association programs. Of particular interest:  1) Online buying opportunities at www.onMYtime.com; 2) online resources through Listserve (you ask the question of your peers); 3) certification = expert in your field.
 
Some past & present hospital award recipients:
•  North Shore - Long Island Jewish Health System
•  M D Anderson Cancer Center
•  Harper University Hospital & Hutzel Woman's Hospital, Detroit, MI
•  Mercy Health Systems
 
Other nominations:
•  California Pacific Medical Center,
•  Sutter Health
 
Here’s part of what I presented to management at Honeywell:
 
ESM Association offers a wide range of program elements (components) that enable companies of every size to create programs that help us enhance our employee’s life, before, during and after work. Our participation in ESM Association for work/life balance programming is the MOST affordable association I have found—$210/year = $17.50 per month.
 
The bonus is happier employees, and more fulfilling work and personal lives for everyone. ESM Association employee benefits attract top-notch employees and will retain them especially through tough economic times. The big difference is that while they drive productivity for the Employers, the Employees feel that the company really cares about them as a person.
 
It creates a culture that reflects a common language in the organization. This culture brings a positive balance within the organization that increases achievement and enjoyment, which expedites reaching company goals and reflects a respect for the personal side of each individual’s life. Some results include a clearly observable improvement in employee morale, which translates to a commitment to the company. It is easily measured through employee surveys.

Employee Stores
Employee stores are physical retail establishments or on-line buying sites that allow employees to purchase a variety of items to save employees time and money. The top selling items in employee stores are logo/clothing items, T-shirts, discount tickets, sundries and greeting cards. Each employee services manager spends about $71,170 annually on store merchandise/inventory.

Community Services
Employee services managers organize employee efforts to feed the hungry, clothe the needy, educate the less fortunate and shelter those without a home. These programs help unite employees of all levels and reinforce a positive statement about their employers, who are providing outlets for them to make a difference in their communities.

Convenience Services
Onsite services such as dry cleaning, discount ticket sales, resources and referral services, car services and more, attract and retain qualified employees in today’s tight labor market. Online buying programs bring products, services and savings to employees’ fingertips. These programs make it convenient for employees to run errands and buy gifts during lunch and still return to work on time. Employers benefit from the outcome of these services through lower absenteeism rates.

Dependent Care
Employee services managers provide employees with solutions to the demands of eldercare, childcare and even pet care. Whether they are managing onsite facilities, a consortium back-up center, summer day camps, lunchtime education programs, or outsourcing research and referrals, employee services providers help employees address dependent care issues.

Recognition Programs
Employers of Choice quickly reward employees for solid contributions to the company’s goals. ESM Association members spend $41.8 million collectively on employee recognition programs each year. Association findings show that more and more employee services providers take on the role of main purchasing agent for all of their companies’ recognition programs.

Recreation Programs
Sports leagues and special interest clubs allow employees to express themselves as individuals. Through involvement in these activities, employees develop a broader range of skills, learn to be leaders and enjoy coming to work.

Special Events
Holiday parties, company picnics, and company celebrations – all of these are special events employee services providers plan to further direct company goals and unite employees.

Travel Services
From planning group trips to providing discount information packets for specific destinations, employee services managers help employees get away from it all with travel services.

Voluntary Benefits
Employees turn to employee services providers to help them search for the best values on voluntary, portable insurance policies, services and warranties. Insurance policies include automobile, home, long-term care/personal care, serious illness, group life insurance, prepaid legal and home office; services include benefits consulting and Internet banking; and warranties include automobile and home service agreements.

Wellness
ESM Association members focus on health promotion by offering lunchtime seminars, fitness incentive programs, personal development opportunities, onsite fitness centers, ropes courses, experiential training, and more. These programs encourage healthy lifestyles and help reduce medical claims, in turn, saving employers money."


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David McClure, Chairman CWC East, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Bethesda, MD

"My Agency management has never questioned our ESM Association membership."


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Paula Blanche, president, Sterling Educational Media, Miami Lakes, FL

"Regarding justifying membership, we have an outside HR consultant who highly recommended ESM Association to us and we based our decision on his recommendation. He explained one of the benefits was survey’s such as the Listserve and we liked that idea."