A Christmas party in a concert venue. Working from home. Pets allowed in the office. A lakeside cottage available for staff.

These amenities sound like fantasies dropped in the suggestion box.

In fact, they are all real benefits for staff at various Ontario employers. And as companies seek to retain workers with lures beyond lucrative salaries, job perks are a creative means to two ends - low turnover rates and high staff morale.

"If you want to keep the best employees, you better make sure you're one of the best employers," says Jay Robb, public affairs officer of Dofasco Inc. in Hamilton.

Delete Photo by Vytas Beniusis, Dofasco Visual Services
Onsite gyms for employees are among the perks companies are using to lower turnover rates and keep morale high.

One of the leading steel manufacturers in North America, Dofasco has such a large workforce it would be impossible to satisfy everyone's needs.

But at its annual Christmas party, more than 30,000 employees, retirees and their families enjoy the immense space of Copps Coliseum, a nearly 11,000-square-metre concert and sports facility, complete with skating rinks, a toyland for children and a visit from Santa.

"This is a way to not only thank our employees, but also their families," Robb says.

Following a growing trend, Dofasco also offers a fitness and recreation centre in nearby Stoney Creek.

The 100-acre facility features a double gym, indoor basketball courts, a driving range and a children's summer camp.

It is also used to train new employees, which Robb regards as indispensable. "It's a chance to pull people into a new park-like environment."

Hewlett-Packard Canada also gives employees a chance to enjoy their own private Walden. A lakeside cabin near Kingston is available for staff and their families at no charge.

Are these perks ideal across the board?

"It comes down to each manager understanding the rewards that have value for their people," says Daniel O'Connor, president of Keeper Inc., an employee retention firm based in Toronto. The worst-case scenario is where leaders fail to align perks with the different demographics.

O'Connor's classic example cites the president who invited a young high-tech employee to a club where the average age of members is 65.

The young employee was bored and restless, and couldn't understand why he was attempting to socialize with people three decades older than himself.

"One perk that works for the under-30 set will not work for the baby boomers," O'Connor says.

At several information technology (IT) companies, a young workforce opens the door to a creative environment. At Toronto's Alias, whose software is featured in films such as Spider-Man 2 and Finding Nemo, autonomy is the key to flexibility.

Human resources (HR) administrator Lisa Bellis says Alias staff can bring pets to work - one woman in HR lets her friendly golden retriever follow her around. "The culture here makes people happy," Bellis says, adding that the general tenet in most software companies is to relax and be casual.

For the ultimate convenience, why not work at home?

That's the job perk offered to employees at iAnywhere Solutions, a Waterloo-based wireless and mobile software provider.

Cathy Mallick, senior HR manager, says the company covers the cost of high-speed Internet at home, in case employees need an undistracted day or they need to take care of children. Mallick sums up iAnywhere's philosophy: "As long as you're productive and meeting the needs of your role, we're pretty flexible."

If iAnywhere staff work at the office, it doesn't have to be within cubicle walls.

A wireless LAN network set up throughout the building allows employees with laptops to work on picnic benches or in the games room.

"No one wants to be stuck in the office all day," Mallick says.

That commitment to job perks - beyond health benefits or profit-sharing - is almost crucial in competitive industries such as high-tech, according to Richard Yerema, author of the annual Canada's Top 100 Employers.

Hunting for the best staff, though, is the first step; retaining them is another. Yerema has noticed several growing trends that help keep staff onboard: More vacation time, organized sports events, onsite fitness facilities and tuition or course subsidies.

A Statistics Canada study in 2003 found that innovative practices in workplaces were no more successful in retaining their employees.

A footnote to that study, however, noted that sectors with highly skilled workers - including the finance and insurance industries - who implemented unique job perks held on to a greater proportion of employees than other sectors such as manufacturing.

The companies interviewed for this article heralded their job perks as ways to retain employees: Turnover rates at Dofasco, iAnywhere and Alias are all below three per cent.

Credit employers for catching up to a changing work culture, says Robert Levasseur, senior consultant at the Toronto-based Hay Group. He applauds course subsidies that boost employees' productivity while also making them marketable to other sectors within the company. "In many industries, the more you know the better," he says.

Waterloo's iAnywhere provides up to $6,000 for professional development per employee annually. And the courses studied don't have to directly relate to the job.

"We have tech-support employees pursuing psychology degrees," Mallick says, "and even though there may not be a direct link, it can definitely come in handy for staff dealing with people all day."

At Dofasco, Robb says, employees can have many different careers within the company, so course subsidies not only develop related skills, but also enrich someone's development for future leadership positions.

Another popular trend in the workplace is the onsite gym.

Even if companies don't have a work-out facility on their property, they can offer subsidies toward a fitness centre nearby. Yerema sees it as the overall mantra for employee wellness. "A healthy body means a healthy mind," he says. "This isn't new, though, it's almost understood."

Caveat emptor: Installing a gym or daycare centre won't automatically reduce turnover rates and increase staff smiles. "Differentiate yourself," Levasseur advises, "and customize a program that isn't a cookie-cutter solution."

(David Silverberg can be reached at silverberg@businessedge.ca)