Popularly-provided benefits by Hawaii employers such as 401(k) company match, cell phones, educational assistance/training, employee parties, professional membership dues, and recognition/service awards have already been cut back by a significant percentage of companies offering them, a recent HEC survey shows. Another significant percentage of companies are also report contemplating changes to these benefits.

The 2009 Hawaii Employers Council Economic Practices Survey asked a select number of companies at the end of June what kind of employee benefit, pay and other business expenses have been changed by the company due to the current economic downturn, and 63 of the mostly larger companies responded. Popular benefits were determined by the percentage of respondents who had offered it: about 90 percent or more of the responding companies indicated they had provided employees with cell phones (93.4 percent); employee assistance/training (96.8 percent); employee parties (99.3 percent); paid professional membership dues (99.3 percent); and/or provided recognition/service awards (96.8 percent). About 89 percent of the respondents offered a 401(k) company match. Of these benefits, more than half of the respondents reported changing or contemplating changing employee activities/parties: over 28 percent said they already reduced activities/parties, 12 percent have already eliminated activities/parties, and 17 percent are considering changes to employee activities/parties. Educational assistance/training has been reduced by 25 percent of the companies who had offered the benefit, with another 10 percent considering changes. Other benefits seeing a large proportion of companies reducing, eliminating or considering changing: recognition/service awards (32 percent); the 401(k) company match (22 percent), and cell phones (21 percent). About 7 percent of the respondents have reduced their contribution to health plans, with another 22 percent considering changes to their contribution.

For other business expenses, over 60 percent of the companies have reduced or eliminated business travel, with about 8 percent considering changes; more than a third of the companies have reduced their recruitment expenses such as ads, agency fees, referral bonuses, etc., and another 11 percent contemplating changes in this area. Measures already implemented by the respondents to reduce operating expenses: reduction of overtime (65 percent); hiring freeze (47 percent); reduced pay increase (47 percent), delayed pay increase (46 percent); and lay-offs (35 percent).