Bigger paychecks still the best benefits strategy

With the job market still refusing to recover, one might think that unusual benefits perks are a thing of the past.

Not so, says Jan Mercer, a partner and human capital market business leader with research firm Mercer.

"Interesting employee perks are still around, particularly in sectors where skilled workers are in short supply," Rose says.

Rose offers the following as examples:

• "In some high tech firms, employees can take classes or get coached on how to raise venture capital."
• "An increasing number of high tech firms allow employees to spend up to 20% of their work time on their own dream projects."
• "A hedge fund permits workers (mostly Millennial-age) to wear shorts and sandals every day."
• "An advertising firm provides free beer and ice cream on Fridays."
• "Sabbaticals, time-off for charity, and flex-time are still prevalent."   

All of these examples are certainly nice-to-have perks and privileges, and reflect creativity, flexibility, and tolerance on the part of employers. But they may not hold as much value as they seem.

"While these perks attract attention, they are not primary drivers of engagement," Rose says. "Survey research from Mercer’s 2011 What’s Working research series indicates that employees have a strong preference of base pay over other types of rewards.  This research is a warning to organizations that they could be investing in reward strategies that will not have the impact they expect."