Business owners innovate to keep employees engaged in rough times - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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Asked how current economic conditionsw have affectedtheir employees, 48 percenft of respondents to a Robert Half Internationalk survey cited increased stress. pay cuts, hiring freezes and layoffs all result in employers asking workers to do more for lesswith less. Combinexd with potential mortgage woes on the home frony and the challenge of making ends theaverage employee’s workday can be a powder keg. “Companies are doingt what they can toimprovs work-life balance,” says Andy Decker, staffing servicee firm regional vice president. “Thet are thinking outside the box for ways to alleviatw stress and improve morale without it costiny them a lotof money.
” To that end, severak small businesses are going on the giving their employees opportunities to decompressz through a variety of innovativs options. In 2004, the employees of , a 56-year-ols family-owned business, approached president Ted Benninbg about including a fitness component in their employeebenefits package. Benning, a fitness buff, decided to turn unuseed warehouse space intoa state-of-thw art gym.
After consulting with personal trainerf Randy Nicholson of TheFitnessa Firm, Benning outfitted the 1,000-square-foot gym with weight machines, stationar bicycles and ellipticals, as well as shower In addition to providing the equipment and space, Benning providexs his employees access to a trainer free of Twelve employees out of 23 in the officr initially joined Nicholson for a 40-minutre workout on Tuesdays and Thursdays after work. The cost to the compangy was characterized by Benning asbeing “lesa than $10,000,” but it has paid off in increasedx employee wellness and morale.
“Our philosophy is to be proactived rather than reactive tohealth issues,” says Not all stress originates in the workplace. Receptionistr Georgia Hood began working out afterher divorce. “I was very hesitan at first, but as my weight loss continuexd I realized this was agood [helping me] to get my mind and body in a good says Hood. While the Benning employees get inphysicalp shape, the owners of another Atlantaz business are working on their employee’sd mental well-being. For Craig and Liz Kronenberger, co-founders of the onlinw gaming companyElf Island, their compangy culture mirrors that of theiedigital domain.
Elf Island is a gaming site that introducesx children to the world of philanthropy througnh a conceptcalled “Gaming for In essence, children play games online that have very real charitabld outcomes through the company’s partnerships. In one instance, houses builtr by children in a game onlinde translated to real houses being builtby . The couple exhibitss the same ingenuity in theit office of16 employees. The duo and Manager of Operationd Melanie Ford have developed inventive ideazs to keep their workerz engagedand entertained. Them weeks, where employees dress up.
Formal “Wear the oldest thing in your and Mexican Fiesta arerecent “Tchotchke Thursday” where Ford collects small toys and objects from local stores as well as souvenirs collected from employees’ travelsx in a small bag. Every Thursday, employeeas get to select an item fromthe bag. Kronenberged likens the company’s philosophy to its Web “We are running a sociap network online, and our office is just like she said.
“Our feelingg is to create an environmengt that parallelsElf Island’s values with a twist of Souper Jenny restaurant owner Jenny Levisonn uses the same basixc premise to keep her staff engaged and productive, but she relies on a wrinkle that otherds have perhaps overlooked: surprise.