Without coffee without me? Let’s talk about employee retention.
Sustainable – the term is mostly used for ecological topics, for climate protection, and the like. But retaining employees sustainably – in the long term and effectively – is an idea that is coming up more frequently now, in times of a shortage of skilled workers and baby boomer retirees.
foto: olha ruskykh von pexels
Without coffee without me? Let’s talk about employee retention.
Sustainable – the term is mostly used for ecological topics, for climate protection, and the like. But retaining employees sustainably – in the long term and effectively – is an idea that is coming up more frequently now, in times of a shortage of skilled workers and baby boomer retirees.
Bringing new people up to the experience level of an old hand even more so. But turning down orders because of unavailable capacity is pretty much the most expensive thing to do. What this has to do with coffee? Quite simple.
Good coffee puts you in a good mood.
The other day, I read a post about a company that actually charges its employees €1.40 for a cup of coffee for reasons like “Rising energy prices.” “Having to save costs.” “Inflation…” Really? We’re not going to do the math here on what a colleague’s daily coffee consumption might cost (for me personally, it wouldn’t be quite that little, so much is clear). But not providing coffee, especially good coffee, to your people costs considerably more.
On the one hand, because it simply puts me in a bad mood when I have to spend a lot of money on drinks at work. Contributing a small amount to the costs when the company is temporarily in crisis may be acceptable. And it’s a topic that can be discussed with confidence.
The way to a every person’s heart is through their stomach – that also applies to employees.
Just imagine that there were no informal exchanges over coffee. All the small and large things that are solved, discussed. and exchanged would have to be handled by e-mail, via Slack or phone, and during meetings. Wow. Or imagine the open space of the coffee kitchen would not exist. What would that mean for the company climate and culture? It wouldn’t smell like fresh coffee, which is an absolute feel-good smell for most people. (Small side note: Did you know that real estate agents often scent their properties with coffee to make them seem more homely?) And the dear colleagues would definitely be quite unhappy, because: Coffee makes you happy. No joke, but scientifically proven, as you can read in the article “Good coffee, good mood”. For most people, coffee is one of the things they can’t go without (especially at work).
So, dear employers, dear managers, management supervisors, CEOs, CFOs, bosses – the benefits of the 1, 2, 3 cups of coffee a day exceed the costs by far, especially if the coffee is 100% organic and fair. And while you are at it: Don’t forget the fruit basket. And the flexible working hours. Eye level communication. And fair treatment. And…
There is a lot you can do for “your people” and a sustainable good working atmosphere. Providing good coffee is definitely one of the things.
