A White Paper The 5 Benefits Most Requested By Employees of Tech Startups in the GTA and KW Corridor

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1 A White Paper The 5 Benefits Most Requested By Employees of Tech Startups in the GTA and KW Corridor 1 Compliments of: Mike Fox mfox@brightlightsinc.com

2 Employees in GTA/KW Technology Firms really just want the Basics in their Benefits Package Based on a Brightlights survey* of Tech Companies in the GTA/KW area, February, 2016 Introduction Tech executives are bombarded with articles on the latest and greatest perks (benefits being offered by major firms such as Facebook, AirBNB, Google etc. They wonder how they will compete and if it will make a significant difference in attracting talent and keeping their employees engaged. The answer from Brightlights recent survey is a resounding no In the survey*, the top 5 benefits requested were: 1. Medical and Dental benefits 2. Flexible work hours 3. A feeling that the company has a Noble Purpose and the ability to learn new things 4. A bonus plan 5. RRSP matching (N.B. - The business profile of responding companies is included below This list of benefits is reflected in Glassdoor s survey results of what matters most to employees: Healthcare insurance (medical and dental 40% Vacation paid/time off 37% Performance bonuses 35% Paid sick days 32% Retirement and pension plans (mostly in the U.S 31% Compared with the media hype of over- the- top benefits like unlimited vacation days, three catered meals a day, on- site acupuncture and foosball tables etc., the items of most interest are actually quite conservative and tame. As a matter of fact, the three least in demand perks were provision of food/meals in the office, gym memberships and reimbursement for courses taken. 2

3 What Did We Learn From the Survey? 1. Less than 5% of respondents provided information on the costs associated with their benefits. The implication is that very few companies have a real understanding of what these perks actually represent as a monthly expense. That s why we put together a simple, but illuminating, Benefits Cost Analyzer (See Appendix A for a snapshot. 2. Regardless of the benefits that you provide, employee satisfaction is as much a function of the how, as the what. Companies that provide a positive work environment, with strong leadership and feedback, end up winning on the talent front. N.B. I ve enclosed a benefits info package (Appendix B from a successful technology company, Traction on Demand. One piece highlights the costs associated with their package. The other describes the perks in an upbeat and positive manner. It s a great piece of marketing to make people feel special. Stock options in place 60% of the companies have a stock option plan and 40% do not. Employee incentives 80% of the companies have an employee incentive plan of some type while 20% do not. Out of those that do have an incentive plan, 60% have it for all employees, 18% for executives only and 3% exclusively for salespeople. Incentive payout 85% of the companies provide incentives based on personal and company performance. In the last three years, 47% have paid out bonuses at least once, 29% have paid out two of the three years and 29% have paid out all three years. Vacation policy Two weeks holiday - 15% Three weeks holiday - 62% Four weeks holiday - 17% Other holiday plans - 15% Some interesting notes: One company provides an unlimited number of holiday s but no one has yet applied for it. 65% of companies started at three weeks and then moved to four weeks after 5 years. For Director- level positions and above, the majority started at four weeks Some companies add an additional week of holiday after the person has been an employee for five years. 3

4 Company Health and Dental Policies Yes 50% Co- pay 40% No 10% Pub style Beer Friday s Yes 18% No 60% Another options includes occasional get- togethers ($10- $20 per person per event Gym Memberships Yes 24% No 58% Other 18% Options include a 50% subsidy off the corporate discounted rate, subsidizing a corporate discount rate or providing a fixed amount towards a gym membership (e.g. $500 per year. Concierge Service Yes 3% No 97% Only one company provides this and it includes subsidizing a cleaning service for five hours per month. Subsidized Daycare Yes 3% No 97% One company said they have subsidized daycare. Education reimbursement Yes 62% No 38% Some companies will cover the cost of your annual membership fees for accreditation. Others will cover courses that are pertinent to your work needs. One company stated they will cover tuition up to 3% of your base salary. One company estimated that costs are $2,000 per year per employee although use by employees is quite sparse. According to Glassdoor, PWC applies $1,200 towards your student loans. EAP - Employee Assistance Program Yes 50% No 50% 4

5 Charitable Donation Matching Yes 15% No 78% This includes sponsorship of employee teams for various events, subsidy for various corporate supported charities plus a charity event with a free dinner afterwards. Free Lunches Yes 53% No 32% Other 12% Here are some responses from the survey: $50 per person /quarter Free breakfast every day Two breakfasts per month One breakfast day each week Ice cream day each week Free pop, juice, apples/oranges daily and a free lunch once per month Lunch and Learns every 6-8 weeks with free pizza. Employees can present and choose any topic. Breakfast smoothies one day per week. Company fridge stocked with snacks like yogurt, hard boiled eggs, etc. Fruits one day per week Every Friday ($20 per employee Lunch twice per week Monthly at all- hands meeting Top up of Pregnancy Leave Yes 15% No 85% RRSP Matching (20% yes, 80% no Yes 20% No 80% One offers a pension plan. One offers up to $2,500 per year and one provides matching up to 2% of salary after 2 years, increasing by 1% per year up to a maximum of 5% of salary. Another will match up to 4% on all earnings. Time Off for Community Work Yes 40% No 60% Offerings include four days per year and up to 4 hours per month. 5

6 *The Survey Responses We received 34 responses out of approximately 250 surveys that were sent out (13%. Age of the companies responding Funding Number of employees 6

7 Appendix A: Sample of Benefits Calculator Worksheet 7

8 Appendix B: An example of a Benefits Offer Package TOTALCOMPENSATIONPACKAGESUMMARY FORMAURICE $ Tractionoffersacomprehensivesetofcompetitive compensationandbenefitsprogramstohelpyou manageyourhealthandwellness,taketimeoffto unwind,andshareinthesuccessofthecompany. Health&Wellness: $XXXX EmployeeAssistanceProgram $XX FitnessAllowance $XXX WellnessLunchProgram approx. $XXX ExtendedHealthBenefits: $XXXX Basiclifeinsurance Accidentaldeathanddismemberment insurance Travelinsuranceandemergencytravel assistance Extendedhealth Dental Vision HealthSpendingAccount $XXXX ProfessionalDevelopment($: $XXX Certifications Administrator $XXX ServiceCloud $XXX ProfessionalDevelopment Memberships/Associations Additional($ $1500 TractioniteReferralReward Sickdays(5,Personaldays(3 TRACTION(+ HealthInitiatives FlexibleWorkSchedules TelecommutingOptions(SaaSdays PhilanthropicDonationMatching CommunityEvents CompanyRetreats TractionforGoodVolunteerism BeerO clock StandingDesk ShortTermIncentive PUMP $XXXX LongTermIncentive ESOPpaid ESOPincrease TBD BaseCompensation Salary: $XXXXX Vacation: XXdays TotalCompensaWon Package Base Benefits 8

9 TRACTION SIDEKICKS PROGRAM ON-SITE REGISTERED MASSAGE THERAPY As a new Tractionite, it can be tricky to know who to ask for what, get the lay of the land in a new place, and make new friends. The Traction Sidekick Program is designed to pair every new hire with one veteran Tractionite dedicated to helping them settle in, answer questions and be their cultural connection during their first three months at Traction. Every 6 8 weeks Traction brings in an RMT to the office and Tractionites can sign up for 30, 45 or 60 min appointments over two days. The cost of the session can be claimed on your Sun Life benefits AVAILABLE AFTER 3 MONTHS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUNDS BRING YOUR KIDS TO WORK Traction is a place of learning, we do it a mile a minute every day and it is our thirst for knowledge that makes us who we are. If you know of a learning opportunity that would directly benefit you in your everyday role, let us know and we ll look at how we can help financially support growing your skills. If you are unable to find child care for a day, bring your child to work We don t want you to feel stuck without options and we have lots of fun games, crayons, coloured pencils and toys to entertain for a day. Traction 2.0 is set up for you to work from if you bring a baby as well. AVAILABLE AFTER 3 MONTHS 9

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