December 23, 2009 at 1:25 am
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Balance of Resources
December 23, 2009 at 5:05 am
You need to know how and when you are going to have your celebration. During recessionary times when your pay is affected its difficult to celebrate and can also give wrong impression to the employees.
"Keep Trying"
December 23, 2009 at 6:27 am
I work for a very small company that almost did not make it through the recession. We went down from about 20 developers, a full team of business analysts, architects and QA to 4 developers, one QA and one IT manager. We recently had a Christmas dinner party at the office, which was very nice and appropriate given the rough times we had just gone through. We are back up to 8 developers and 2 QA 😉 Anyway, to thank the team for its efforts, they handed out gift cards with the same amount of $ for everyone, whether a member had basically made the company survive through very hard times (with a lot of extra hours and the team of 4 handling all aspects of the development process: UI, Business Logic, Database, QA...) or had been hired 2 months ago and is far from being able to handle many of the development tasks. I thought it was not really fair. What do you guys think? Is that an appropriate balance of resources?
"Any fool can write code that a computer can understand. Good programmers write
code that humans can understand." -Martin Fowler et al, Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code, 1999
December 23, 2009 at 7:22 am
Eichpeel - be thankful that they made the gesture. It may have been all that they could manage at this point.
I also work at a relatively small company. Normally, we have a formal dinner in a banquet room somewhere nice. Dinner includes spouses and some gifts.
However, this year we have had furloughs and a hiring freeze. I fully expected that there would not be a Christmas dinner party this year. What the company did was have an employee dinner at a local restaurant, no spouses. I found out that the owners really wanted to do something to show their appreciation but could not justify the all out party.
I thanked them for the great dinner and appreciated the gesture for what it was worth.
Scott
December 23, 2009 at 8:28 am
Thank you Scott. I appreciate the feedback and perspective.
"Any fool can write code that a computer can understand. Good programmers write
code that humans can understand." -Martin Fowler et al, Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code, 1999
December 23, 2009 at 8:41 am
Eichpeel,
You can't win that one. If they gave differing amounts to people, new hires feel less important, though they might understand. However how do you quantify who did what? Some people might feel slighted in not getting more than the next person. Giving the same amount sends a good message there that everyone is important and the company is thinking of you. They might reward someone else in a different way for helping out, or going beyond what was needed, but I would think they'd need to do that privately if they can.
December 23, 2009 at 9:11 am
I like holiday parties as much as anyone, but I like holiday bonuses even better. I think business owners just need to do what is best for business and be transparent about thier decisions.
Also, I think that consistency is important. Whatever you did last year, you'd be wise to do the same this year.
December 23, 2009 at 11:12 am
Of course, a lack of equipment, etc. is important to be addressed, as it makes work easier to do and the company more efficient. And obviously, when times are tough, this would be more important to most in the business than a party.
But it is very important for companies to remember that they employ PEOPLE, and that people are not like other "resources" that don't have feelings or input. I really dislike the term "human resources" because it is too easy to treat people like machines.
It is always good when management takes the time to do something for employees, and to recognize them individually and as a group, whether monetarily, or just a very specific "Thank you for your work on X project, Sam."
December 23, 2009 at 11:33 am
Investing in employee loyalty and morale is an investment in company profits and can have a significant ROI. Has to be managed correctly, but it can be done.
It can be a major mistake for a company to cut an annual party (Christmas is pretty usual in the US, probably not in non-Christian-majority countries). It can be seen as a "luxury" and it can make it look bad if you overspend on it during a financially tight time, but not having it at all reduces the bond between co-workers by some extent.
Personal, physical proximity is the most common and powerful cause for social bonding. Lack of actual physical proximity and contact reduces loyalty, friendliness, etc. That's been proven over and over again in every study on the subject. Quite often, in an office setting, outside of very small companies, the only chance to be physically proximate to people in other departments, or to senior executives of the company, will often be in informal settings like company picnics or parties.
Cutting that directly cuts the emotional investment, including loyalty, to the company, to the executives and managers, etc. That almost universally results in reduced production, increased "personnel churn" (which raises costs and losses directly), and lack of adherence to both policies and strategies from senior management.
In many cases, a newer, bigger hard drive is actually less likely to have a positive ROI for the company than a simple social affair.
Of course, like anything else humans engage in, it can be overdone, or done badly. Then it ends up with negative ROI. But, done correctly, it can have a very positive impact.
- Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
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"Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon
December 23, 2009 at 2:40 pm
I think company events are important to strengthen employee relationships. However they do need done well. I know our non-drinkers aren't particularly fond of our Christmas Party that can feel like its centred around an open bar (not that I have any issue against it).
The real question was how good was the case for extra disk made in the budget.
December 24, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Good article. You hit the main points with this important and very old topic. I think company morale is a very import resource to help the company grow and be more profitable. Christmas parties and other celebrations are a good way to raise morale. Not to mention, they are fun and good for the company. You are correct in pointing out that companies can go too far. The problem with deciding how much a company should spend on morale-boosting activities is that it is hard to quantify. In uncertain and tough financial times I think it is reasonable for companies to reduce their expenditures on parties.
I would like to add that I have seen in nearly every company I have worked for that many employees have come to expect these celebrations even when the company is struggling financially. I think this is wrong and shortsighted by these employees. We are all on the same team and ALL of us need to work together to make our company better. If that means skipping a Christmas party this year, then let’s do it. I, for one, have gone to our HR Department and stated that while I understand these celebrations are good for company morale, I am willing to go without them for a little while until the company is in a better financial situation.
Merry Christmas Everyone!
December 24, 2009 at 3:07 pm
I'm not sure I'd advocate skipping them, but they could be low key, take an afternoon off, potluck, and small recognitions at work, just to remind people that they are part of something.
December 28, 2009 at 7:36 am
Steve Jones - Editor (12/24/2009)
I'm not sure I'd advocate skipping them, but they could be low key, take an afternoon off, potluck, and small recognitions at work, just to remind people that they are part of something.
Totally agree.
It doesn't have to cost much, it does need to occur.
- Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
Property of The Thread
"Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon
January 12, 2010 at 11:53 am
I know I am coming late to the topic - I am behind in my reading. But I thought I would still share.
I worked for a company for 10 years (that eventually went under in 2007) that had lay-offs almost every year that I worked there. But the owner of the company had a holiday party every year that he paid for out of his own pocket - not the company's pocket. I know that is probably the exception to the rule - many owners wouldn't do that when times were so tough in the company - but he did. He also had a LOT of loyal employees.
Sherri
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