This is part of my Substack series called “Greatness Graphics” where I share a weekly infographic about leadership and the future of work. To get the full HD infographic with more context, Subscribe to Great Leadership on Substack.
Whenever I tell organizations to invest in employee experience the first thing that usually comes up is cost.
Specifically, I hear comments like “We don’t have the budget as Company X.” This usually happens because of an overemphasis on things such as free gourmet food, designer office spaces, and crazy perks like free dry cleaning, massages, and on-site dog walking.
That’s not employee experience.
It’s true; these things do cost money, but the majority of things that shape the employee experience are actually free. What’s the cost of treating people well, giving them flexibility and autonomy, hiring a diverse group of people, and giving them the opportunity to learn and grow?
How we treat our people is free. Employee experience is a combination of three environments which are culture, technology, and space. More on that below.
Culture is the most important one and in the graphic I posted on Substack, I break down the 10 attributes of corporate culture and the cost of investing in each one.
I define corporate culture as the side effects of working for your organization. These can be positive side effects such growth, development, learning, and a sense of purpose and meaning or they can be negative side effects similar to those of a prescription drug. These can include things like nausea, weight gain, skin discoloration, loss of hair, depression, bleeding from the eyes, and in some cases death!
When looking at the chart above it’s clear that most the things that shape corporate culture are actually free. Variables like creating a sense of purpose, treating people fairly, helping people feel valued, and referring others to the company don’t cost anything. In these cases, it’s less about the investment and more about the mindset shift.
So what’s your excuse? Why doesn’t your company have an amazing corporate culture?
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