Creating a great place to work is something that in most (many?) places seems to be overlooked because some of the perks are deemed to be expensive and that productivity will be the same regardless of the benefits. Or that the only thing people care about is increased pay.
I know if you ask most of us what would make us happy is more money. Of course it is. But we are very difficult at predicting what would make us happy in the future. All of us are.
Watch this video below- I know it is long- and let me know if you would be willing to accept a little less money to work in a great place like this (or as it promotes itself) Productivity in places where it takes some creativity will go up in environments like this. If people are eating healthier during lunch on site they will be more productive after lunch then going and grabbing some junk food and fighting off fatigue.
The risk is always as a company grows those perks become very significant. Taking away just the Herman Miller chairs won't impact creativity and productivity. So there will be a tendency to cut that cost. If you are adding 10 employees a year that will save you $10,000+. So then that cost is eliminated. Maybe employees want to eat out of the office one day a week. So, you have 100 employees and that can save $1,000-2,000 a week. That can be an annual savings of over $100,000. So let's trim that back. This is the beginning of the end. It starts to change the culture. It is noticed. It changes productivity and then this will impact performance and then there is a real need to cut back even more. So salaries are cut, "because we offer such great benefits" which are on their way to being cut even more. DON'T DO IT.
Make your culture a great place to be. Make it a place people can earn a good living. Make it a place where people are treated like people. Do it because it is the ethical thing to do. Do it because you want to be glad to get up in the morning. Do it because it will make the company better. Do it because turnover will be lower for your great people. Do it because you can recruit the best people you can get. Do it because you want to be a hero. Do it because the world is flat.
Do it because it works.
I know if you ask most of us what would make us happy is more money. Of course it is. But we are very difficult at predicting what would make us happy in the future. All of us are.
Watch this video below- I know it is long- and let me know if you would be willing to accept a little less money to work in a great place like this (or as it promotes itself) Productivity in places where it takes some creativity will go up in environments like this. If people are eating healthier during lunch on site they will be more productive after lunch then going and grabbing some junk food and fighting off fatigue.
The risk is always as a company grows those perks become very significant. Taking away just the Herman Miller chairs won't impact creativity and productivity. So there will be a tendency to cut that cost. If you are adding 10 employees a year that will save you $10,000+. So then that cost is eliminated. Maybe employees want to eat out of the office one day a week. So, you have 100 employees and that can save $1,000-2,000 a week. That can be an annual savings of over $100,000. So let's trim that back. This is the beginning of the end. It starts to change the culture. It is noticed. It changes productivity and then this will impact performance and then there is a real need to cut back even more. So salaries are cut, "because we offer such great benefits" which are on their way to being cut even more. DON'T DO IT.
Make your culture a great place to be. Make it a place people can earn a good living. Make it a place where people are treated like people. Do it because it is the ethical thing to do. Do it because you want to be glad to get up in the morning. Do it because it will make the company better. Do it because turnover will be lower for your great people. Do it because you can recruit the best people you can get. Do it because you want to be a hero. Do it because the world is flat.
Do it because it works.
