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laska businesses across various industries are using unique employee benefits to recruit new talent and help their existing workforce be more productive, healthy, and engaged. Many companies are focusing on inventive ways to promote employee well-being. Some offerings are directly correlated to health, such as onsite or near-site clinics; health fairs and flu shots; or onsite fitness equipment and gym memberships.

There’s also been an increase in companies offering wellness-related education and perks, from exercise and cooking classes to healthier food options available in lunchrooms or during meetings, according to Colleen Savoie, a principal and employee benefits producer at Parker, Smith & Feek. “For example, one of our clients subsidizes healthy options in their cafeteria; less-healthy options are offered at full price,” she says. “Some clients are making changes, such as removing sugary drinks like soda and replacing them with tea or flavored water.”

For many businesses, Savoie says, the definition of wellness has evolved beyond physical health. These employers are also looking for ways to promote mental and financial well-being—especially now with many people worried about COVID-19 and the economy. Apart from offering flexible schedules and resources to facilitate working from home, some companies are looking for novel ways to support employees. Some employers are promoting benefits that were previously offered but overlooked such as the services available through an employee assistance program. These programs typically offer help with personal and family challenges, as well as access to legal and financial counseling.

With Millennials and Generation Z making up a larger part of the workforce, employee benefits are evolving in interesting ways. For instance, pet insurance is becoming more popular as a perk, although not as prominently in Alaska. And more employers are offering student loan repayment as either a direct benefit or as an alternative option to a 401(k). They’re also supporting employees’ personal values and causes. “We’ve learned that Millennials value a sense of mission, and we see more companies directing charitable contributions to their employees to donate to causes they believe in or providing paid time off to volunteer,” Savoie says.

As an employee benefits broker and consultant, Parker, Smith & Feek is in a unique position to test new benefits and programs on its own staff. Over the past two years, the firm has focused a segment of its wellness efforts on work/life integration. As part of that focus, in 2019, the company gave each employee $1,000 to spend on an experience of their choosing. Some employees used the money to subsidize a family trip while others took their families to theater or sporting events. Afterward, they shared photos and stories about their experience. “As a result, we were able to get to know each other and our families better,” Savoie says.

This year, Parker, Smith & Feek decided to concentrate on different community causes that its employees support with their time and money. So the company is giving each of its 303 employees one day of paid volunteer time off. The company also gifted every employee $500 to donate to the 501(c)(3) charity of the employee’s choice. “Although our Community Giving program started prior to the pandemic, we recognize the value now more than ever,” Savoie says.

It’s difficult to measure the impact of non-traditional benefits, Savoie says. But she feels that her company’s robust wellness program has contributed to a decrease in the prevalence of chronic conditions and an increase in employee satisfaction. “Our high employee retention rate is one reflection,” she says. “We also observe a high level of employee satisfaction in our annual employee engagement surveys, which are conducted by a third party.”

Employee benefits continue to evolve at Parker, Smith & Feek. “In our current economic climate, employers need to focus their compensation and benefits spend where employees see the most value,” Savoie says. “For us, that means we will get creative and find new ways to help our clients attract and retain great employees.”

Spawn Ideas strives to match its values with the benefits it offers employees. That’s why the full-service advertising agency is expanding its list of twelve paid holidays to include Juneteenth. And earlier this year, the firm introduced “PAWternity” leave to give employees two days off if they get a new pet and two days off if they lose a pet. “It lets employees bond with new pets or grieve when one passes,” says President and CEO Karen King. “They love it.”

In addition to earning personal leave (starting with twelve days for the first year) and sick leave (one sick leave day for every two months of full-time work), employees at Spawn Ideas annually receive a $200 activity bonus. They can use the funds—which are a hit with employees—to pay for state-park passes, ski passes, race-entry fees, or whatever activity they want. Describing the motivation for giving the financial perk, King says: “We encourage you to be active. Here’s a little money to help out.”

Another popular Spawn Ideas perk is peer-to-peer awards. Peers bestow weekly “Applause” and “Thank You” awards for recognition as well as a monthly “King Salmon” award that gives the winner temporary access to a garage parking space. Spawn Ideas also gives out a rare “Punch Above Your Weight” award to employees who share business ideas that help the agency advance. “These kinds of things really help people to feel valued and think outside the box,” King says.

Other benefits include an in-office kegerator, free snacks, an in-office gym, gym membership at The Alaska Club, half-day summer Fridays, paid time off for volunteering, weekly organized summer hikes, and family ice fishing. On top of these perks, Spawn Ideas is an employee-owned business. And its staff are automatically entered into the company’s 401(k) and receive employee stock ownership.

The extensive benefits provided by Spawn Ideas help create a fulfilling workplace and increase employee satisfaction, King says. They make everyone feel more valued and enhance their quality of life. “When you are listening to your people and their ideas, and you are providing these benefits and the type of culture that we do, your people feel part of an organization that is relevant today,” she says.

King says employees of Spawn Ideas express that they are “very satisfied” with workplace culture. And they often describe the company as a very family-friendly workplace—which is not surprising, given Spawn Ideas’ baby-friendly environment. “New parents who come back from maternity or paternity leave can bring their baby back to work with them until the baby crawls,” King explains.

As a testament to its employee-friendly culture, the company was named for eight consecutive years on Outside magazine’s list of 50 Best Places to Work in America. The company earned this distinction from 2012 to 2019, coming in as high as number four on the list.

While Spawn Ideas endeavors to maintain a positive culture, King emphasizes that culture is more than employee benefits and perks. It’s an attitude. She explains: “It’s how we work together, not just what we give to employees… It’s providing a real comfortable, attractive, and progressive place for people to work, led by agency values. It’s the quality of the workplace itself.”

Business Insurance Associates also provides a generous package of benefits that includes group medical insurance with Premera Blue Cross, group life insurance with New York Life, and supplementary medical insurance with AFLAC. The insurance company’s eight employees also have sixteen days of paid time off per year, along with flexible scheduling that allows them to work some hours from home.

Business Insurance Associates also focuses on the well-being of its employees. As part of its employee wellness program, it provides memberships to The Alaska Club and brings a massage therapist into the office once a week to give chair massages.

The company’s benefits package is an important part of attracting and maintaining good employees. Not only do the benefits foster professional development and wellness among staff but they also have a positive impact on the company. Pobieglo explains, “We’ve had very little turnover in the past ten years and certainly that’s due, in part, to providing our staff with a competitive compensation program, and an important part of that is the benefits package offered.”

The staff at GCI enjoy a number of nontraditional benefits, including the opportunity to sample some of the company’s newest products. GCI employees can test out and provide monthly feedback on all its products at no cost through its employee product monitoring program.

GCI employees can also take up to sixteen hours a year off work with pay to give back to the community. They can use this time to work on any project they find fun, interesting, or worthwhile. “Some teams get several employees together and combine it as a team building, such as building a home with Habitat for Humanity,” says Joe Wahl, GCI’s chief human resources officer.

In addition, on Veteran’s Day GCI executives engage in a unique service project. They serve breakfast to veterans in the community to thank them for their contributions to the country.

GCI also has a “university” where its employees can take technical, leadership, and other self-development courses at no cost to the employee. The classes can be completed both on-campus and through remote learning for employees’ convenience. “We also augment our training by providing tuition assistance at accredited universities and reimbursement for professional certification exams,” Wahl says.

The company also has recognition programs to reward employees for doing a great job. For instance, twice a year any employee can nominate someone for its Very Impressive Performer (VIP) awards for going above and beyond their normal duties. “We host an elegant dinner for the employee and their guest and recognize each for their accomplishments and present them with a nice trophy and gift certificate,” he says.

Speaking of recognition, GCI has been recognized for being a top employer three years in a row by its current and former employees. The company has also received positive feedback through its employee engagement surveys. “In fact, our latest engagement survey, where we checked the pulse on how people are doing during the pandemic, resulted in a 74 percent response rate, and 90 percent of our employees gave the highest rating, saying our company leaders are making the right decisions,” Wahl says. “It also showed our productivity is up, and routinely we have a higher retention rate above the Alaskan cross-industry published rates.”

As a final thought, Wahl says GCI believes that its success as an organization is determined by its decisions and actions as individuals aligned by shared commitment to certain key values and characteristics. These elements are translated into employee benefits that result in better outcomes for the staff, customers, and company. “In other words, happy employees are productive employees that lead to well satisfied customers,” he says.

Arctic Slope Telephone Association Cooperative (ASTAC) is a company that loves its employees, says Human Resources Manager Megan Clapper. While few businesses offer a retirement security plan or pension, ASTAC does. “We provide it as an incentive to help us attract and retain the best employees,” she says.

ASTAC, which is a member-owned telephone utility, also maintains an active wellness program for its eighty employees. As part of the initiative, it provides $100 for employees to purchase a fitness tracker. Each year, they participate in a fitness challenge with an opportunity to win a prize for their efforts. This year’s winner, incidentally, was a technician who worked in Deadhorse and walked to keep busy.

The company operates a Rally wellness program that involves an interactive website where employees can participate in a range of activities. ASTAC gives its workers a $75 gift card for enrolling in Rally as well as a percentage off their health insurance premium if they submit blood work and complete a health questionnaire. Employees can earn another $75 by submitting daily checks on their activities through their fitness tracker. The checks, designed to cover a three-week period, record the employee’s walking, water drinking, and other healthy habits.

The wellness program is part of ASTAC’s broader efforts to serve its employees. “We wanted to give employees more than the pension,” Clapper says. “We also wanted to make them healthier.”

Each year, the wellness program is getting better, Clapper says. Not only is the program helping employees become healthier, but it’s bringing everyone together. Employees are reaching out more to the human resources department to inquire about and participate in the company’s wellness program. “Normally, I only see employees with onboarding,” she says, “I’ve gotten to be closer with the group.”

At Southcentral Foundation, promoting wellness is at the core of serving its customer-owners in Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. It’s also important for staff at the Alaska Native-owned, nonprofit healthcare organization to maintain healthy lifestyles. That’s why Southcentral Foundation offers a variety of benefits to help its 2,800 employees enhance their physical and mental health. “The organization really cares about employees and wants them to be healthy and successful,” says Dr. Donna Galbreath, senior medical director of quality assurance. “Southcentral really puts money and effort into their employees in whatever way they want to get help.”

Staff can use Southcentral Foundation’s wellness center to take advantage of free weights and other exercise equipment as well as exercise classes like Zumba, yoga, and cycling. “They do a lot of classes during lunch hour, so all employees can participate,” Galbreath says. “Every employee gets a wellness hour once a week.”

Employees can also work to rid themselves of unhealthy habits and other activities in the wellness center, including classes on elder wellness, weight loss, diabetes, tobacco cessation, and healthy cooking. There are also programs on birthing basics, breastfeeding basics, toddler time, and healthy food fun demonstrations.

Southcentral Foundation also provides a life balance program that allows users to address important health issues at their own pace. And for mental healthcare, the organization offers an employee assistance program for staff and their family members. “It deals with all sorts of things: marriage problems, parental programs, substance abuse, legal counseling, or financial counseling—and it’s all confidential,” Galbreath says.

Southcentral Foundation also operates an employee and community assistance program. Staff who experience an unexpected or immediate hardship can apply to receive funding from the program. “It’s like a grant—not a loan,” explains Galbreath. “It’s something Southcentral Foundation organizes, but the employees fund it.”

In addition, Southcentral Foundation offers educational opportunities through its development center. The center provides programs to help employees succeed throughout their careers. The organization also supports employees who take college classes—sometimes with paid time off. Galbreath explains: “If you’re taking off just a few hours a week, you can do that and still get paid. It’s a great program.”

Southcentral Foundation has a 98 percent satisfaction rating with its employees and an 11 percent turnover rate. Employees are “extremely satisfied” with the organization’s benefits as well as its mission and vision, Galbreath says. “We believe in the value of the organization and the work we’re doing,” she says. “It’s such a positive model. You feel like you are doing something and making a difference.”