Perks Culture vs. Purposeful Culture

Kim Heyer, Marketing Manager at BlessingWhite, writes on the firm’s website that perks are important for recruiting the brightest talent, but they may actually keep the wrong (aka disengaged) employees in the organization as well. “This got me thinking,” she says, “about the difference between a ‘Perks Culture’ and a ‘Purposeful Culture.’ A purposeful culture centers on a compelling mission and core values, with shared accountability for maintaining the culture and delivering results. A purposeful culture, when combined with a killer business strategy, drives an organization’s performance and can tie directly to positive bottom-line results. A free lunch does not make a culture. My point is a culture based on perks can be dangerous! Without a clear purpose, an organization is at risk of sitting on its successes and drifting over time into a state of low performance. Alternatively, in the absence of a purpose, an organization can become solely focused on driving results, leading to burnout and employee churn.”  Read more >