March Madness

“Maryanne, got a minute? Another problem averted,” said a grinning Kyle, my employee relations manager. I motioned him to come in. 

“We’re approaching time for March Madness, the NCAA basketball tournament. Remember last year how we struggled to keep the staff focused on their work, since parts of the tournament take place during working hours, and productivity takes a hit.”

“If you’ve got a plan, I want to hear it,” I said. “I just read that during the weeks of the tournament, lost productivity from March Madness is estimated to cost businesses close to two billion dollars.”  

“Before I tell you my brilliant idea,” said Kyle, “I want to talk about office betting, sticky issue, I know. Even though we’ve a policy prohibiting gambling, you know, I’m sure, many departments here at Kings do have office pools, and have had them for years, and, well, we’ve kind of looked the other way.”

“You’re right, Kyle. And we’re not alone when it comes to office betting.  My friend Jason shared a story that adds fuel to the fire.  A company’s employees organized a significant pool that selected winners for each game and predicted the national championship. There was even a tie breaker to predict the final score. I think it cost $10 a bracket to join, and a lot of people did, so the pot was significant.”

“I don’t think anyone participates for the money—they do it for the fun and for the bragging rights if you win,” said Kyle. 

“Well, someone in the group must have seen it differently. The person who set up the pool and collected the money couldn’t produce the winnings.  The employees who lost money complained to HR. The thing is, this company had a strict no-gambling policy, and they did enforce it. HR reminded the complainers that everyone who participated violated the policy, and asked what they thought the company should do. That apparently was the end of it, at least as far as the company was concerned.”  

“Unbelievable,” said Kyle before explaining his idea—organize an office-wide pool with no cost to enter, and give winners in certain categories prizes—maybe gift cards or Kings-themed merchandise. This would get around the ethical or legal issues surrounding gambling on company property, but also create some buzz in the building.

He continued, “We can let people know that the monitors in the break rooms will be tuned to the games, but ask that they not live-stream games on their own devices.  And we can encourage people to wear team colors, and host tailgating parties in the cafeteria to add to the festive spirit. These ideas may not keep our productivity as high as usual, but should go a long way toward building morale.” 

“All great ideas, Kyle. Let’s advance them among our HR team, marketing, IT, and the Leadership Team. I want you to take the lead on this. You know, work is serious stuff, but there’s nothing wrong with lightening things up from time to time.”

Maryanne Robertson

December Dilemma: Year-End Rewards

Back in the working days of yore during the industrial era, employers often gifted a ham or turkey to each of their employees at the end of the holiday season. It was considered a standard “Christmas” bonus – a way to thank the employees and their families.  In fact, I remember receiving a turkey when I worked in a restaurant during college.  My mother was thrilled.  Personally, I could have used cash to put gas in my car.   

If you want to do something for your staff this December, keep in mind the ideal bonus expresses gratitude, so make it meaningful and appropriate for your particular workforce. While you'll never be able to please everyone, know your workforce and what they value. Cash alone could be welcomed, but some practical suggestions in lieu of or in addition to cash could be:

• Gift cards – one employer gave employees gift cards to a local grocery chain. Other examples could be movie tickets, gas cards, or Amazon/American Express gift cards which can be used to purchase a large variety of items.
• Time off – one employer gave employees an afternoon off for holiday shopping, to take care of other holiday related errands, or to spend however they wish if they don’t celebrate any year-end holidays.

Don’t be afraid to get creative, but it you do, consider varying the nature of the bonus from year to year to keep an element of surprise for the employees. For example, one year give movie tickets, the next a grocery card. This helps you avoid setting a precedent or expectations, especially if cash is involved.

Don’t overlook some of the pitfalls of year-end rewards – this is where knowing your staff is priceless.  Give careful thought to what you do in order to avoid unintended consequences. For example:

• Don’t forget about employees in remote locations.  The employer mentioned above who gave the gift cards to a local grocery chain failed to do anything for employees working in other locations. It created a great deal of ill-will which could have been avoided. 
• Be careful with tangible gifts – people have different tastes and at the year-end holiday season, they could be overwhelmed with an abundance of stuff.
• Don’t give the bonus any holiday label – stress that it’s a year-end bonus. This works especially well if the end of the fiscal year coincides with the end of the calendar year. 

Year-end bonuses can be a powerful way to boost morale and strengthen employee engagement. Let employees know that you are providing this “2018 year-end bonus” because we want our employees to share in the organization’s success. And if you can, let them go home early!