[Paul]

It's not what to spend on bennies it's what you can afford! This comes with sitting down with your insurance agent and accountant. One benefit is that you can take part in a 401K that your company offers, along with health and life insurance. It's hard to tell you what to offer you need to compare what others are offering in your area.

My best advice is to sit down with your agent and your accountant.......

[Stonehenge]

I'm sure an agent has some grand ideas of what should be offered - I'd prefer to not get too much advice from the person who would benefit from overspending in that department.

There aren't too many around here that offer much in the way of bennies, and those that do aren't talking. At least not to me.

I'm not looking for specific figs, just a ballpark. Lanelle, for example - has a great new position - it would be interesting to know how much is being spent on her benefit package.

I'm trying to do a little reverse engineering here - if I know what it'll take to offer a package nice enough to get and keep people, I'll offer that, then charge what I must to make that work.

[Paul]

Thats where your accountant comes in........You have to see what different packages are offered then look in to their cost, they won't just give you 1 package, most likely they can offer you a few packages. they can also tell you what you have to offer to ALL your employees

[diginahole]

I have heard of the 'landscaper's union' but I don't know a thing about it or even the name of a unionized company 'round here. It surely hasn't made it's way to the residential market, likely for the reasons mentioned above.

I will in future be offering a benefits package to employees, but at this time don't have much of an idea as to the cost. I suspect it would be somewhat cheaper here than in the US as the medical part is covered by the gov't until payroll hits $400,000.

My suggestion would be to make some inquiries at the trade association. I'm sure there would be a package or two geared toward your needs. That's the first place I would look.

[Bexter]

For Health Care…this covers all doctor’s visit’s, hospital stays ..pretty much everything, even open heart surgery, prescription drugs - covers 85%, Dental varies but works out to around 80% coverage, Eye glass- a couple of hundred every 2 years, Life and disability Insurance.
Costs the Company $200 per month for an employee with a family. Costs the employee $60.00
RRSP contribution – I think this is like your 401K …company kicks in an additional 30% of my contribution up to a certain maximum.
I also get a company truck with all fuel and insurance paid …off the clock this is mainly used just to get back and forth to work but it is no problem if I used it occasionally to pick up something for my personal use … drywall for my house…that type of thing.

[Rex Mann]

Bexter,

HMO or PPO?

Peace,

Rex

[Bexter]

If I knew what those initials stood for I would respond. Something to do with sick days?

[Stonehenge]

Health Maintenance Organization and Preferred Provider Organization.

An HMO tends to be more restrictive, as treatment can rarely be sought outside of the network of doctors and hospitals in the HMO (unless there are unusual circumstances).

A PPO is similar, in that there is a network of doctors and hospitals that are under that umbrella. However, a PPO tends to be broader in geography, and also less restrictive - there are typically coinsurance amounts (they pay 80%, you pay 20%, for example) for seeing docs within the PPO, but you can also seek treatment outside your network, and the PPO will reimburse those docs/hospitals as well (though only at the 'usual and customary' amount, which BTW is unusually low, and never customary...). So if you have a favorite doc but he doesn't belong to the PPO, you can still get partial payment of his bills, where in an HMO, that doc would be paid 100% by you, 0% by the HMO.

I worked in mgt in an insurance company in a prior life, and can answer most questions one might have about insurance (at least in the USA).

[Bexter]

Ok …I would have never guessed what those Letters stood for… never heard of them here in Canada.
Like diginahole said our health care is government run …costs about $100 per month and that covers everything I mentioned in Health care .. even meds would be covered during a hospital stay. The other drug, eye and dental plan is through an insurance company.

[jwholden]

Rex,

You mentioned in this thread that you help your employees gain citizenship to the US. I'm curious how long they hang around once they get it?

[Bill Schwab]

By incorporating a system of bonuses and benefits for working hard, doing your job, and running jobs in or under budget, you can
A) offer far more than union shops have to offer. And B) work less to make more for both parties. Union employees as well as thie runions tend to care only about the employee and have a screw the boss attitude. I'm not at all a fan of labor unions, never was, never will be....

We use a system of bonusing where employees get rewarded for coming in under the time we have budgeted in each job.
Part of the problem here Jeff, is in the age/mentality/place of birth of who you hire. I hate to admit it, but you ain't gunna find no white boy who will work as hard as out friends south of the boarder... The other thing is the seasonal nature of your work...Been there did that for 21 years before we moved here...Here are a couple suggestions:

First, try calling Chuck Twist, H.O.L.A. services, he has a business setting you up with H2B workers, who will give you that 110% you want. He is out of Oklahoma and can walk you though all the steps needed to gain great employees. All of our employees are from Guatamala, and we work 52 weeks a year, and the original bunch are still here working hard as ever.

They came from nothing to make a better life for themselves, where here, parents of kids buy them BMW's when they get their drivers licenses. Well, they had to have a car you know....LOL

Second, I'm not going to get on a soap box here...You may not even agree with this, but, if you Call Rick Carver, Compass Systems in New Castle Delaware, he can show ways to motivate your people with a better qualtiy of life, more money, and a better more conciencious work force.

We are planning the training ourselves, and you can ask Dale Wiley who participates in this and many other forums of the wonders this system can do for your business...
The only reason I have not taken it this far is we are far too busy to stop momentum, and we have a superintendant in training...When he is ready, then I am more free to grow and sell....

We have never had our business so easy as here... When our guys come to work, they go to work. They do thier job, flawlessly, without belly aching or griping that so and so has more antennas on his radio or has a newer truck than they do...

I would be willing to bet that 80% of your issues here are because of the seasonal work, and the ethics of who you hire. That was the same with our business...

I hope this helps!

[scott C]

AH the ol' how to attract and keep good labor question. I feel your pain. Go through it every year and still don't have an answer.But a couple of things do come to mind.

1) i think benefits are a key to retaining employees and making them feel as though they have a career rather than a job. If there spouse has beny's that will cover your employee the extra funds could be used for retirement fund or wage increase.

2) Is it wise to offer beny's to a first year employee who works only 8 mos(+ or -) or is it better to use that as a "negotiating chip " for an employee to return to work the following season.

3) What about having your employees collect unemployment during the winter months. Any out of season work could be paid in cash as an extra bonus.

4) as far as asking an insurance agent what to offer you have to remember that they want to make a sale not scare you away with high numbers. They will probably be more help than you think.

[CNW]

I see the same problem out here in Mt. After talking with others out here I don't see a real answer other than what Rex said. Go south of the border.

I worked for about 3 years for a guy as production supervisor. Average wage $15.00 an hr. (at the time average wage in the area was $8.00 hr.) We couldn't get anyone but Mexicans to work!!

They never complained, didn't mind extra hours and took pride in their work and were always on time. In three years only 3 left, and that was because I.N.S. shipped them back to Mexico. I am in the process of looking at a firm out of Texas that will Help you get Legal workers as Rex suggested.

One thing I have done that guys out here seem to like is 12 hour days Mon- Thur.and 3 day weekends. I do my bids and customer relations on Fridays

Craig

[chc]

Jeff;
I've been in your spot, still am, in fact. I have good people runing the mowing, & the grounds maintenance(weeding, etc). As each group becomes more able to stand on their own feet, I'm ab;e to pull away a bit to concentrate on different stuff. Right now we are really pushing to get the paver group producing as much as the other areas. Same sort of people problem as the rest of the industry. We pay supervisors as high as $18/hr, with (limited) company gas card privileges, bonus based on a number of factors, & pay about 75% of their medical benefits. In our neck of the woods that runs about $3600 per employee. Interestingly enough an employee making $17.00/hr, working a normal season, actually costs me about $34,000/yr. I am inspired to hear that you think you can sell an additional $ 750.000. per year. Like to hewar your marketing ideas.

[Stonehenge]

My marketing ideas aren't all that different than anyone else's, except that maybe I have tuned in a bit better to promoting the company than the average guy. I believe we appeared in 3 different publications last year at the local, state and national level, and were either the topic or author of approx. a dozen articles in those publications. I think good PR can make up for a small marketing budget, but you have to be willing to work at it. But that's all a little off topic. (But if you want me to spout on about marketing - start a thread in that forum. There's really only one thing I do differently from what you read about everywhere else, but it seems to work pretty well.)

I think my biggest fear at this moment is that the 2 crews run independantly enough that I don't have to constantly run out to put out fires, and can focus on sales and designs. If I can do that, we should hit the numbers we're after this year.