The Plus and Minus of Employee Valuing Investments

A client is experiencing the downside of a profit sharing system and not realizing the benefits of employee valuing tactics embraced long ago. Many of the events and activities fostered in earlier years have become entitlements for the employees who have come to expect these perks as part of the way the company does business every day. It will be a difficult transition to help employees understand that free lunches, free beverages every day, and paid company celebrations and events had a powerful core reason for existing when they were created.

The newer employees have no clue about the history of the company or why these events, activities, and customs were created, what they hope to achieve, or why they are currently provided. I have long believed that companies need to do a much better job of educating employees about the cost of the benefits they receive and the reason the benefits are being provided.

I am an even bigger believer in not allowing people to take for granted company provisions that were initiated to value people, but become entitlements when people fail to understand the history, the rationale, or the value. Yup, I'm on a roll today, having encountered several of these situations this week. Educate people and enable the recognition provided to support the development of the culture you want to create.