According to Coopers and Lybrand, companies are doing several things to attract top people. Hewitt and Associates finds firms trying to increase employee freedom of choice when it comes to benefit programs. Their survey shows a large increase in programs such as flextime, compressed workweeks, and telecommuting.
Telecommuting is up.
Here are some of the less common benefits mentioned in several surveys. The ability to buy or sell vacation credits Dependent care spending accounts. Group legal services plans. It's interesting that after a decade or more of downsizing, rightsizing and re-engineering, we're beginning to rediscover that top people both scarce and valuable. Look for a couple of things to happen in this area in the next few years.