Outside the Box Compensation: Paying for a GED

I don’t post on the weekend very often, but I wanted to pass along a recent story in the Washington Post.  The paper notes that several employers, including Walmart, Taco Bell, and other fast food chains, have been offering an interesting benefit to entry-level employees: help with the GED.  As the labor market has tightened with the economic recovery, employers increasingly are helping workers to prepare for the GED exam and covering the costs of the test itself.

According to the article, the employers’ programs “include[] online study materials, practice tests, and access to an adviser whose job it is to check in with candidates and keep them motivated and engaged in what can be a lengthy process to study for and pass the tests.”  Articles like these show the importance of considering creative ways to attract and retain employees in what is an increasingly tight labor market.  Lots of employer clients that I work with offer very innovative “benefits” and alternative compensation schemes like this, and this is one more idea to add to the list.