Small Biz Watch: Uptick in concierge service
With unemployment low, big companies may have to go the extra mile in coming months by offering aggressive benefits to workers. And that may be a boon to small businesses that run errands, offer personal services, and handle other types of "concierge" duties, say Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, consultants and authors of Herman Trend Alerts. Some insights from a recent analysis of theirs:
We have already seen the return of concierge services. This benefit will be offered by large companies. National and local providers will sell concierge services to smaller companies as well, challenging concierge firms to be more creative, stronger in their outreach, and more responsive to needs and opportunities of valued employees. This field will soon become even more competitive, including numerous home-based businesses.
What sorts of services might small businesses be able to supply? Mobile car washes, massage therapy, hair cutting, and financial planning are just a few. One other benefit employers might begin to offer: paying off debt for new employees. From Herman and Gioia:
Employers hiring college graduates realize that these employees often arrive carrying a heavy load of student loan debt. Some sort of support to help reduce that debt is a most welcome benefit. . . . Under current law, a federal agency can repay as much as $10,000 of an employee's debt annually, not to exceed $60,000 for any one employee.
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