Most employers offer employees
a variety of benefits, from
health and dental insurance to 401(k)s and other retirement plans.
The cost of many of these benefits is
charged to employees, but many companies, including Enerco Group Inc.,
are beginning to implement other benefit programs that cost employees
nothing.

Cleveland-based Enerco, which manufactures portable wall-mounted heaters
and other heating devices, implemented an employee benefits program
through National City Bank about 15
years ago, after a bank employee
spoke with the company about the
work perks program and how it could
benefit the company and its employees.

“He thought that would be great, just
to help with the whole flow of paperwork,” says Lelia Coleman, Enerco’s
human resources coordinator.

The work perks program includes a
free checking account for all employees, with direct deposit set up for their
paychecks. Employees also receive
discounts on other banking services,
including ATM fees, safe deposit
boxes, loans and mortgages.

Coleman says it is easy for other
companies to find similar benefit programs to implement into their business.

“If you have a great relationship with
your bank, you can sit down and talk
to them and ask what they could do to
help you to move forward and have
these great benefits,” Coleman says.

Most companies offer direct deposit
to employees, and at Enerco, it’s the
only option — ensuring employees
have cash available at the earliest possible time. And a banking benefits program could also be an incentive in
companies where the employees are
not too keen on setting up direct
deposit.

An employee benefits program can
benefit your company, as well as your
employees.

“Reconciling the payroll account is a
lot easier; it doesn’t even have to happen anymore because everything just
clears that day,” Coleman says. “Also the ease of using it. You can open a
checking account as I’m sitting here at
the desk with an employee without
them having to take time out of their
busy day and go to the bank. It’s so
easy for us and the employee.”

Coleman says response to the program has been great. Nearly all of
Enerco’s 93 employees are enrolled in
the work perks program.

Enerco’s program has been updated
quite a bit since its inception 15 years
ago. The company receives regular
communication from National City
about additions to the plan, so employees can take advantage of them, and
work perks coordinators visit companies enrolled in the program every few
years to talk to new employees and
present information on new benefits.

Coleman says having an employee
benefits program has made a big
impact on how Enerco employees
bank, and implementing one at your
own company can be as simple as talking to your bank about finding a program or talking to other companies to
see what type of programs they use
and how their programs run.

HOW TO REACH: Enerco Group Inc., (216) 916-3000 or
www.enerco.com

Finding the right benefits program

Implementing an employee benefits
program is something all companies
should do, says Todd Wade, vice president in National City Bank’s commercial
banking group.

“It is simple, there’s no cost to it, and
it’s a benefit to employees,” he says.

Implementing a program is good for
the company because unlike benefits,
such as health care, there is no cost to
the employer, which Wade says, is especially important with the rising cost of
health care packages.

“Any time an employer hears something as far as a benefit that doesn’t cost
them anything, I think that is appealing,”
he says.

According to Wade, there are several
questions companies should ask when
trying to find the right employee benefits
program.

• Will the bank make it easy for
  employees to participate? This includes
  ongoing communication through on-site
  visits and offering the ability to open
  accounts at the workplace.

• Are there any size, participation or
  minimum balance requirements for the
  program?

• What is the breadth of the product
  offering? What are the advantages of
  that particular program?

• Do employees see the value in participating in the program and in the information provided from the bank on products and services?

• Is the program easy to administer?
  Companies should consider how they
  want to provide ongoing information to
  employees, such as through on-site visits
  from the bank or by distributing materials
  directly to employees.

Wade also recommends companies
revisit the program every few years to give
new employees a chance to learn about
and enroll in it.

HOW TO REACH: National City Bank, (216) 222-2000 or www.nationalcity.com