By Debra Solomon Baker Likemoney? Who doesn’t? Everyone becomes excited at the prospect of a nice raise or an end-of-year bonus. But who among us doesn’t get a thrill when handed a freebie—whether a pair of tickets to a ballgame, or a case of beer? Or, what about free roundtrip flights, or even college tuition? Many employers around St. Louis are offering creative perks to help make their employees feel connected and valued. “Perks have been used very effectively to give a strong impression that certain organizations are good places to work,” says Craig Kaintz, managing principal at Towers Perrin, a global professional services firm. “It is not all about pay and benefits.” According to the 2003 Towers Perrin Talent Report, which reflected the views of more than 35,000 employees in U.S. companies, only 17 percent of employees consider themselves to be highly engaged in their work. Nineteen percent described themselves as disengaged, while the remaining 64 percent fall into the moderately engaged category. “If you can get employees to a higher level of engagement, you are going to see significant results in terms of the bottom line,” Kaintz says. Indeed, certain companies would benefit from taking a portion of the money being spent on traditional benefits and reallocating it to create more learning opportunities for employees, or to improve their overall work environment. Both of these are factors that contribute to an employee’s level of engagement, Kaintz says. So what is your next-door neighbor getting at his or her place of work? Commerce decided to take an informal look at the perks and privileges being offered across the St. Louis region. Here are just a few of the things we found. ST. LOUIS RAMS Each full-time employee receives a pair of season tickets. If the Rams reach the play-offs, full-time employees receive a pair of tickets to each home play-off game. If the Rams wins the Superbowl, every full-time employee receives a Superbowl ring and a portion of the bonus money. MONSANTO Each employee is eligible for onsite daycare at company headquarters. Adoption assistance is available for employees, as are domestic partner benefits. Also provides an onsite fitness center with personal trainers and locker room facilities. BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP Parents may bring their children to work when faced with issues such as snow days or daycare unavailability. Employees can also bring dogs to work (there are a number of dogs that are a regular part of the workforce). When associates are given gifts or event tickets by vendors or other company partners, they are put in the Build-A-Bear Workshop prize closet. A few times each month, there is a random drawing and all associates are eligible to win one of the items in the prize closet. ENTERPRISE RENT-A-CAR Employees are offered no-cost loans to purchase work clothing, along with clothing discounts at selected stores. Holiday parties are held for summer, winter, and the end of the fiscal year. Enterprise holds a Midwest sports extravaganza, where employees take part in competitive sports competitions. Also, mammography screenings, flu shots, Weight Watchers are available at no cost. All employees receive holiday gifts. ANHEUSER-BUSCH COS. Employees receive free tickets to Busch Entertainment Corporation theme parks, along with complimentary beer. WEBSTER UNIVERSITY Employees, their spouses, and children all receive 100 percent tuition remission for both undergraduate and graduate level courses. The university also offers the Global Staff Exchange, in which staff can apply for grants to spend two weeks working at one of the university’s European campuses (London, Geneva, Vienna, or Lieden). SOUTHWEST AIRLINES Employees, their spouses, their dependent children and their parents fly free on a space available basis—as often as they like. SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY Offers employees an award-winning retirement plan, in which for every dollar an employee contributes, the university puts in two (up to 9.5 percent). Employees can pursue undergraduate or graduate degrees tuition-free. Undergraduate tuition remission is also available to eligible spouses and children of regular, full-time employees after three years of full-time service. Plus, a program called “Hometown SLU” provides forgivable loans for housing in designated neighborhoods around the campus, as well as special lender offers and homeownership education. BJC HEALTHCARE On-site child care centers are located near Missouri Baptist Medical Center, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and Children’s Hospital. Employees receive a discount at various fitness facilities and for Weight Watchers Program participation, tuition reimbursement, adoption benefits, loan repayment for certain positions, and employees can donate their unused earned time off to another employee in need. RITZ-CARLTON ST. LOUIS Employees get special employee rates and family rates at all Ritz-Carlton and Marriott hotels. In addition to a 50 percent discount in the gift shop, there are also complimentary meals at The Lion’s Den, the employee dining room. Cultural Days (i.e. Bosnian Day, Vietnamese Day) celebrate the nationality of the employees at The Ritz-Carlton, who collectively represent 35 different countries. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN Employees receive free reciprocal membership at other Botanical gardens nationwide, a 10 percent discount in the restaurant and a 20 percent discount in the gift shop. Also, a free brown bag lunch series is offered for employees on topics such as personal finance, health care, and communication skills. Plus free attendance at all Garden events. THE MAGIC HOUSE Part-time museum guides receive an annual trip to a Cardinals baseball game and a fall staff party. Full-time staff receive special discounts on educational programs including summer camp, toddler workshops, birthday parties and museum rentals. They also receive tuition reimbursement and professional development opportunities, and get to see hundreds of smiling children each day. CANNON DESIGN Has an extensive mentoring program, from one-on-one experiences to scheduled breakfasts, seminars, and panel discussions with licensed professionals. The Shadowing Fellowship, a program for career advancement, offers employees an intense coaching experience. After a successful 18-month relationship, the protégé will gradually assume the role and responsibilities of the mentor. THE PASTA HOUSE A 20 percent discount is offered to all employees every pay period. An employee receives one meal for every five-hour shift they work. Bend Over Backward (BOB) bucks are earned when an employee does something exceptional, and can be used within the restaurant at any time. DAVE & BUSTERS Full-time employees have a ‘Powercard’ charged each week in which they earn 100 chips (about 20 games) for free. Regularly held sales contests are held, in which the winners can pick out prizes or earn coupons. Employees who receive written guest compliments earn awards, and the Employee of the Month wins a prize valued at about $100. BARNES & NOBLE Employees receive a 30 percent discount on most purchases at Barnes & Noble Bookstores, B. Dalton, Scribner’s, Bookstop, Bookstar and Doubleday. Employees also receive discounts at GameStop, Funcoland, Babbage’s and Software, Etc. WILD OATS Employees take a 15 percent discount off all merchandise for the first year of employment, and 20 percent off all merchandise after the first year of employment. COMPANION After five years of service, employees receive an engraved watch and have their caricature drawn onto the break room wall. CENTER OF CREATIVE ARTS (COCA) Each employee receives one free class per semester and two free tickets to any performance. Caring Workplace Program Brown Shoe, UniGroup, Emerson Motors, Monsanto and SSM St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood have all been involved in an initiative called the Caring Workplace Program. The program offers assistance to employees who are serving as full-time caregivers for relatives in addition to managing full-time careers. Offered through St. Andrews Resources for Seniors, these employee/caregivers receive resources such as cost-effective geriatric care management and support services, referrals for community resources, and counseling. As the pilot phase ends, the program will be available to employers and employees throughout the region. RideFinders Nearly 470 employers in the St. Louis region participate in RideFinders. The employees at these companies have access to the RideFinders free ride-matching services to share the workday commute in a carpool or vanpool. Washington University School of Medicine, for example, has over 400 employees who carpool, and offers the more than 30 employees who vanpool a $15 monthly subsidy. Scott Air Force Base, another RideFinders employer, offers a $100 monthly subsidy to vanpoolers.

October 2004 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Peter Kinder, Missouri Senate president pro tem, sees the St. Louis region as Missouri’s economic engine. Mark Hochwalt wins the Olin Cup at Washington University. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - www.stlrcga.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - www.technologygateway.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Stan Royer makes a financial hit. Citirama partners Greg Vatterott and Jerry King. The Spotlight, Ralph Butler, “public entertainer No. 1.”