ALLEN COUNTY 2008 FRINGE BENEFIT SURVEY AND OCCUPATIONAL WAGE DATA Approximately 340 employers were contacted in November 2008 by the Community Research Institute (CRI) on behalf of the Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Development Alliance and asked to complete an employee fringe benefit survey. This was not a random survey; employers that were recognized as major employers in , both public and private, were contacted in addition to a number of companies that were new to the county or had an expansion announced in 2008. A printed survey was enclosed as well as instructions offering the company the option of responding electronically. A follow-up post card was sent to in December. A total of 105 surveys were returned, representing a 30 percent response rate. Of the 105 responses, 26 of these were sent electronically. (Note that two of these were disregarded since the company had also responded on the paper form.) CRI also requested that the company respond with the number of full-time equivalent employees as well as their product or service description, or NAICS codes. This was done so that the results could be analyzed by these additional characteristics if sufficient responses warranted. The results of these subsets are enclosed as an appendix to this report. There was an attempt to be concise, yet not to overwhelm survey participants with a myriad of benefit options. In some situations, the company responded that a different set of benefits were offered to different classifications of employees. In summarizing these responses, there was an attempt to identify the fringe benefits offered to the majority of employees. A copy of the survey is included as Appendix B. The wage section of this report is not on our survey, but is from a joint program sponsored by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. More information is given in Part II-The Occupational Wage Report for Allen County. 1 – Survey responses dealing with the various types of leave given to employees are summarized in Table 1-1. Since many companies are now offering a bank of combined vacation and sick days which are commonly termed “paid time off” (PTO), we have identified a PTO response as an affirmative response for both vacation and to sick leave. For informational purposes, the responses to the options “vacation”, sick leave, and “paid time off” are listed in Table 1-1a. Table 1-1 HOLIDAYS AND
people willing to accept accountability for their attention to detail in a high-liability environment lack of experienced people in the local area lack of focus pushing US students into tough IT training programs lack of skill knowledge in area Less students entering into technical fields; lack of understanding at high school level of opportunities available in this field People not changing jobs at the present because of the economy, moving, specific sets. retirement; Warsaw The skills are specific to the industry and not taught at collegiate survey or advanced level- which is amazing because you are in one of two major composite industry centers in US. turnover/lack of work ethic 1. turnover churning within the industry / 2. retirement/aging of the workforce Retirement commissioned sales reps turnover high Hard to find qualified people to work for a not-for-profit, as are lower. Hourly direct care providers: They will move from job to job for .10 -.15 per hour. doesn't seem to be an understanding of the benefits of long term employment such as retirement and career advancement. / / Professional and Management: general leadership skills. job specific industry sales aptitude in the banking industry The possibility of the Baby-boomer generation leaving a gap and level of skill sets to fill. This could be delayed however, with the current economic downturn. We do not believe schools encourage bright people to learn skilled trades.