You’ve got the fancy high-end coffee maker that can brew up any specialty order at the touch of a button. You’ve got a massage chair, a ping-pong table, an ice cream guy that comes by in the afternoons, and a yoga instructor that takes over the conference room every Thursday at 11am. Perks keep employees happy, right? You must have an awesome workplace culture with all that. Or do you? Unfortunately, perks don’t automatically mean culture. You can entice new employees with extra office benefits, but once they’ve settled in and realize the culture they’ve entered, will they stay?
What Is Culture
Let’s define exactly what we mean when we say “culture.” It’s not the bean bag chairs in the brainstorming room, or even the fact that you have a brainstorming room. It’s whether or not management is actually listening during the brainstorming sessions; whether ideas from there are put into action; whether employees are heard and then recognized for their contributions. Culture is the personality and character of the company. It is the core values, attitudes, and behaviors. It is how day to day activity plays out through the lens of what the company stands for. And that is translated into how management handles issues, makes policies, drives engagement, and rewards performance. It’s also influenced by every employee you bring on board.
How Perks Are Different
Perks are amazing, don’t get me wrong. Everybody likes perks. According to Corporate Wellness Magazine, most larger workplaces should provide perks such as fitness and wellness options, a social area or lounging space, flexible scheduling and/or remote options, free food (snacks and occasional meals), and professional development. Then there are benefits that are often assumed, like:
- Health insurance
- 401(k) plans
- Paid vacation and sick days
- Disability insurance
- Worker’s compensation
- Life insurance
These are perks so commonplace that most employees simply expect them. But the kind of perks, often referred to as fringe benefits, that sway prospective employees are things like:
- Standing desks
- Required breaks
- Company fun runs
- Incentives for participating in wellness programs
- Free health trackers
- Paid maternity/paternity leave
- College scholarship programs
- Time off for volunteering
- And basically anything offered by MUD/WTR (who can compete with that!)
I’m not saying you shouldn’t have perks, but they don’t make your culture. Ideally they’re the result of your culture. In other words, you can have a negative culture but great perks, and you can also have a very positive, healthy culture and no perks. But the combo of a supportive culture AND perks that work to reinforce the culture, is a total winner.
Perks can also hide fractures in crumbling corporate culture for more established companies who may have started off with a positive culture. Whenever there is a change in leadership from a once employee-friendly company, it can lead to a dramatic shift in culture that belies the benefits being offered. New leadership would be keen to understand the difference between perks and culture in these circumstances, otherwise they may fall victim to assuming the perks were the culture. It seems almost antithetical to think of Google, with their Don’t Be Evil culture, as struggling with sexual misconduct, but even the best companies can be stained by negative culture over time, which is all the more surprising by the juxtaposition of industry-leading employee benefits.
How Do You Determine Which You Have
So are you using perks as a bandaid to cover a lack of culture? Well, what is the tone of the workday in your office space? Do employees come in, ready to start the day, excited to tackle the next task, with a clear view of what they are doing and why? Are they engaged and feel a sense of ownership in the current project as well as the overarching goal of the company? How about employee retention. Do you have high turnover? Perks will entice new employees, but they will leave when they realize the culture isn’t supporting them. A lot of workplace gossip is also a sign of poor culture. If your company retreat is marred by office tiffs and whispering behind closed doors, you’ve probably got great perks and a faltering culture.
How to Support Your Culture
If you’ve been focussed on providing enviable perks, but your culture still needs some help, we’ve got you. The Culture Assessment is a diagnostic tool that examines behaviors and values, and helps to identify opportunities to improve employee perceptions and workplace performance. We can give you an action plan to triage your culture! If you decide to DIY it, you need to first step back and reassess goals and values. The rest of your culture filters out from there, so if you don’t have a clear mission, vision, and values, you need to start there. Look at your leadership to promote a management style that encourages teamwork and collaboration. Give special attention to the environment – all employees should feel valued, supported, and included. When you encourage questions, create clear goals, and recognize achievements, the spirit of the entire company is uplifted, and forward momentum becomes a given.
