Attracting and retaining skilled workers is an ongoing battle in the plumbing industry these days. And to emerge victorious from that battle, companies are offering their employees unique perks that go beyond common salary and benefits packages.
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal took a look at some of the things that plumbing firms across the country are doing to entice workers.
In Fort Collins, Colorado, Neuworks Mechanical Inc. maintains a craft beer tap, a kitchen stocked with locally roasted espresso beans, a smoker for brisket lunches, and several recreation options like a pool table, a pingpong table, and a putting green.
“We want to offer as many perks as possible,” Neuworks Mechanical senior project manager Travis Slisher said in a report by TV station Denver 7. “We’re trying to encourage people that we’re just not investing in their financial gain. It’s about their well-being as an employee.”
In St. Paul, Minnesota, at Bonfe’s Plumbing, Heating & Air Service, perks include an array of arcade games and a plush “quiet room” that employees can use to unwind.
“When people have a bad day, they go in there,” Peter Bonfe, company president, told the Wall Street Journal. “They literally check out for a while.”
Other employee perks offered by various companies mentioned in the Wall Street Journal article include regular on-site massages, company-sponsored pottery classes, indoor basketball courts, and personal use of different company-owned facilities (e.g. George Morlan Plumbing Co. in Portland, Oregon, has a beach house available to employees).
Does your company provide any interesting “extras” that help with employee retention? Email kyle.rogers@colepublishing.com or comment below.
