Exceed expectations
Employees have come to expect generous
benefit packages from large companies.
Small ones like Delta, which has a payroll of
just 34 employees, can get away with less,
but that’s not Tackett’s style. She likes to
exceed expectations with plentiful, unique
and — perhaps most importantly — affordable employee benefit packages.
“We start with offering benefits that mirror
those of Fortune 500 companies,” she says.
The benefit package includes medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, a
401(k) plan, plus vacation time and sick leave.
“In addition, we have a performance
incentive plan that is based on team and
individual performance,” she says. “The
largest component of the payout is based on
our financial success as a team, reinforcing
one of our sayings: ‘If one wins, we all win;
if one loses, we all lose.’”
Flexible work hours are also a big hit at
Delta.
“We always encourage our parents to
attend school functions with their children
whenever possible,” Tackett says. “We are
extremely flexible with employees when
they have personal issues with parents or
children that take them away from the
office unexpectedly.”
Other benefits include offering free
snacks, sodas and fruit, catered lunches for
special occasions, an on-site fitness room,
an on-site basketball court, and monthly on-site massages.
Then there are the Friday lunchtime cook-outs in the summer and the happy hours on
the patio to celebrate business accomplishments.
While the scope of the benefits package at
Delta tends to wow employees, the real
kicker is the cost.
“It has been our mission to maintain or
increase the coverage associated with the
traditional benefits, without increasing premiums,” Tackett says. “In fact, while health
care costs have risen dramatically since we
formed Delta in 2003, we have absorbed 100
percent of the increases.”
How does she justify taking on those
increases?
“I believe that the return for Delta is a
work force that has peace of mind that
they will have the benefits they need, when
and if they ever need them,” she says. “This
peace of mind eliminates worry, thereby
allowing our folks to focus on their responsibilities for Delta.”
