And Linda,
it sounds like you had a plan/story for the chairs so that the purchase was understood ‘correctly’, and was appreciated. Even in a not-very-flush not for profit, the people who are the organization are the most important resource. We need to care for each other before we can really solve the problems of the world. … cv

The health benefits – and less time off due to back problems, doctor visits, etc – was important to me. It seemed to increase productivity and let us know that we were valued.

The biggest takeaway for me is our nature to make judgments and opinions based on what we see. You did a great job analyzing this and realizing that many things have a story that we don’t know. I.E. those chairs may have been a gift, or purchased during a boom time in the past.

I sit at my desk for 40-60 hours a week, and after a few months of that I started saving up and bought an Aeron chair on eBay with my own money. I spend more time working and less time stretching so I have no doubt about its productivity benefits.

In the end, (maybe being sympathetic towards the awesomeness of Aeron Chairs), I look at them as another tool which can enable your staff to do more, and do it comfortably… (and with some style). Obviously there is a right time and a wrong time to buy such things and such purchases should be handled with sensitivity toward staff and stakeholders of the organization. No one balks when it’s time to spend $800 on new computers for the staff, as it’s required to get your job done. In my opinion, so is comfortable, adjustable seating.

Garry

Perception is reality– and it’s crazy how the same item or action can symbolize so many things to different people. All the more reason why symbols/actions should be embedded in stories/explanations about the reasoning and the relationship to organizational goals.

Thanks so much for sharing your experience. cv

I worked at a nonprofit that was struggling with a positive cash flow, slashing budgets for the third time in six months and looking for new revenue streams. Then our Executive Director went out and bought a $300 new automatic trash can for our kitchen, a $200 new coat hanger, a host of other kitchen products and a $1,000 leather massage chair for a closet to create a quiet room for the staff. There were also 18 new $800 Aeron Chairs, a $1,500 plasma screen and a new board room table for $2,000. More than $20,000 worth of new items were purchased.

What was very disturbing was that we were hurting financially and dipping into our rainy day reserves. Staff was very upset as we didn’t want a quiet room, massage chair, new chairs or new kitchen items. We wanted to be ensured that there was money to cover our next paychecks and that we didn’t have to slash important items from the budgets. We even had let go part-time staff that we desperately needed to complete some projects.

Were these purchases to make employees feel cared for? I believe the Executive Director thought so. But no one every asked the employees.

In your story, I submit that most people would not ask the nonprofit leadership about the costs of the chairs and would automatically assume incorrectly. Perception is reality in their minds.

In the nonprofit sector, finding a balance between wants and needs is always challenging work.

In a mindful organization that was striving to demonstrate its values throguh its actions, even someone in a staff role like purchasing agent would be thinking about how to choose items that express or at least don’t contradict the value messages that the organization wants to send.

Although you’d have had to click the link ” – the “We care about our people who work here long hours” story”‘ < /em>to find it, one blog post I cite is from a manager, Zane Safrit who describes doing exactly that “52-Week Employee Recognition Plan – Week 1: Buy Them An Aeron Chair”

What’s even better about Zane’s story is the story of the process the organization created to deal with concerns about cost and favoritism (since they couldn’t avoid chairs for everyone all at once). It’s a great story that also might address your interest in engagement in general. cv

What I keep thinking of here is the story of the cobbler’s children who went without shoes while their father provided them for the rest of the village. Whether in perception or reality, my picture of your non profit is that they took care of themselves first. To my mind, that only strengthened their ability to support their constituents.

Thanks, as usual, for being provocative, CV!

You know at first I was thinking, “Wow what a grand misuse of money.” Then I re-read this post and read all the comments. I do believe Meghan has swayed me just a tad.

I can see how the right image of a company can add value to the employee and cause them to want to remain or even work for a company that oozes the impression they care. I guess in todays world of tough competition that is a welcomed idea.

Here is my rub. I just believe the company wasn’t really thinking about the employee, nor were they thinking about the ramifications of purchasing such expensive chairs. I feels more like an arbitrary decision by someone in charge of purchasing. Maybe we are giving them too much power and authority to think like we see it.

Here’s to Meghan for opening my eyes a bit more regarding employers caring about their image or level of care toward employees and customers.

; )