Google, Facebook and Silicon Valley tech paved the way for incredible employee experiences. It seemed as though swanky environments, rest areas, collaborative pods and free food were the pinnacle of an ideal office culture. They’re highly visible across lists of the best companies to work for. While incredibly fun and a luxury for most employers, are these offerings the reason employees stay with an organization for the long haul?
To answer this question, which takes on a sense of urgency during the pandemic-triggered Great Resignation, let’s define some key terms.
Perks are intended to make employees cheerful and lift spirits. They’re essentially a vehicle or method to enhance employee experiences, help improve well-being and just plain make work more enjoyable. It’s all about providing liveliness and smiles along the way: birthdays off from work, financial incentives, a platinum or concierge benefits package, massages, ice cream, ping-pong tables, books, yoga sessions, discounted benefit sessions and much more. The list can run long, depending on what is affordable.
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Culture, on the other hand, revolves around customs, shared values and behaviors, social institutions, intellectual achievement and much more. I love to start with why this is important, as the esteemed Simon Sinek would say. Culture revolves around emotional targets for a collective group of individuals. Once your clients realize, as an organization, that they have the right people on their team due to those shared values, then it’s possible to determine how to pull everyone together to deliver the company mission and what it’ll take to round it all out.
Culture is a loaded topic with a common misconception which, to a lot of people, means benefits and perks. I challenge brokers and advisers to identify the key elements of what it means to be part of an organization and realize that culture really is multifaceted. With culture, we’re tugging at the heartstrings of employees, stemming from the emotional impact our clients have on their No. 1 asset. But what are they doing to allow their employees to feel valued and heard — to have opportunities for personal and professional growth while also feeling they have a voice?
Diversity, equity and inclusion are incredibly important aspects of workplace culture that tie in specifically to the overall mental wellbeing, comfort level and career opportunities within an organization. Thriving corporate cultures are finding ways to be supportive of those with different backgrounds and ideals. They also take it a step further to enhance this experience and be intentional about displaying opportunities to those who normally would be passed over.
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Companies that have nailed this approach realize culture isn’t a box to check; rather, an all-encompassing belief that empowers people.
For much of 2021 we’ve been dealing with a tightening labor market of disgruntled and disenchanted employees. So as employers fight for top talent nationwide, are you and your clients hiring for the right culture fit, sharing the best benefits and perks, or maybe both? Either way, these areas are vastly different, and it’s important not to confuse them.
Oftentimes, we find leaders believe that in order to have a great culture, they need to boast about ping-pong tables in the break area or a four-day workweek. These are so much fun, and can attract great employees as they do indeed enhance the overall employee experience. Thus, perks bring happiness, but it’s short lived. Obviously, employees can’t play ping pong all day and expect to keep their jobs. Instead, it’s a way to clear one’s head, hit the reset button and become productive again.
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While perks attract talent, we need to focus on culture in order to retain it. Personal and professional development are an emerging aspect of what younger generations are looking for in their new workplace. The pandemic has paused the ability to rub elbows with mentors in-person, which is pivotal for a young worker in the market. If a leader can identify this dichotomy and plan to bring up new generations, providing access to this development regardless of physical locale can help employees feel more embedded in the company culture.
It’s all about shared values, which is why they are different. The goal of culture and perks have two different, yet significantly impactful results.
None of this is to say one is better than the other, but rather give each its true shining light. They are two completely different ideals within an organization. While culture is the “why,” the “how” and “what” can be satisfied by various perks. Carefully melding them together will give organizations a leg up at a time when they can stand to benefit from them more than ever in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
