I'd love to hear your feedback on these six points. Here's what happened in case you missed it:Would love to hear what everyone thinks about the Basecamp blog that outlined new corporate direction for staff. Here's a summary and some thoughts on it:In the woke age of corporate culture, it's no too often that someone wakes up and thinks, 'you know what's really going to get my employees fired up and engaged; by taking things AWAY from them.' But that is exactly what the CEO of Basecamp did.And he announced it via a company-wide blog post.(If you don't know what Basecamp is, they're a SaaS company for project management and team communication. I'm sure they've done supremely well during the pandemic).THE CHANGESThere are six of them. And we'll go through them quickly here and since this is our newsletter, give our two cents on what we think about them!1. No more societal and political discussions on the company Basecamp accountThe thinking here, as Jason (CEO) writes it, is that today's social and political landscape is far too polarized. Sensitivities are at an 11 and conversations that deal with social and political issues very quickly spin out of control and get nasty. He believes it takes too much energy away from the real goal and becomes a major distraction.This seems like a good idea. It's often said you don't discuss politics or religion unless you are looking for a fight. And if your team is supposed to be rowing in the same direction, fights over politics or the world at large, in a work forum, probably isn't the best way to foster a positive team atmosphere.We're buying what he's selling here.2. No more paternalistic benefitsThis means that Basecamp will no longer provide employees with paid benefits like a wellness allowance, continuing education allowances, or fitness benefits. The thinking being that Basecamp should have no influence on what employees do, or feel pressured to do, outside of work. To compensate, they are giving every employee a cash value of these benefits for 2021, and then moving forward there will be a 10% profit sharing plan that will provide direct compensation to employees to spend on whatever they want.Some businesses have some of these perks baked into their benefits plan through their carrier. So they might be harder to extract. But the thinking seems sound. There can be undue pressure placed upon employees to feel like they need to keep up with others. You can imagine how a group of employees super into fitness would use the perk, and then potentially behave negatively towards another group of employees who are visibly not super into fitness...Ultimately a larger group of employees would probably prefer the cash outlay instead of the forced usage of funds. So this is probably a win.3. No more committeesYES! God, please, yes!!! Always a bloody yes to this!!!!!Moving on.....4. No more lingering or dwelling on past decisionsJason states this is born out of decision-making becoming paralyzed over wanting to be too perfect and overthinking what happened in the past. It's time to make a call, explain once, and move on.This is great. This should apply to pretty much everything in life, not jus your work place. So yes, adopt this. For everything. As a leader of a company, you should absolutely empower your staff to feel his way.5. No more 360 reviewsThey introduced 360 reviews a few years ago, and while they're fun, because your co-workers give generally positive reviews, they are cumbersome and ultimately not healthy. So they're canning them and going back to more straight forward performance reviews.360 reviews seem helpful when doing a managers review. But I see their point. Ultimately we suggest giving constant, ongoing feedback. It's way more effective when you're timely to the project and moment, not once a year rehashing everything.6. No forgetting what we do hereJason wants them to focus on what they do; project management, team communication and email software. All the rest is a distraction from the main cause. He says they are not a social impact company, and as such, they should focus on making change where it is relevant to them.Makes sense. That's a bit of a line in the sand, especially in America, since corporations are becoming more political in their actions (think the voting repeal laws in Georgia and the corporate response). But that could help employees stay focused. It's also a good recommendation to all businesses, especially small ones, to focus on their strengths, and align their staff with that..Your employees are extensions of your company's beliefs. They represent you. You should pay attention to what they are doing and saying and how it can reflect on you.So, who is going to run out and remove perks from their staff. It's an interesting approach. The logic seems sounds. Now we'll see if there's an exodus or not. And since he clearly doesn't mind being public about stuff, I'm sure we'll see the outcome!-------------------Thanks a ton for making it this far! If you liked what you read, maybe I could entice you to join my newsletter by signing up here. It focuses on small and family business news, ideas, insights and tips that are actually useable. Thanks so much! ❤️If you wanted to share this on twitter, feel free! You can find the twitter thread here. Much love! 😍 see hubwealthy.com/wealthy
0 comments:
Post a Comment