The Innovative Employee Perk Minnesota Employers Need to Try
If Minnesota employers are serious about attracting and retaining top-quality employees, here's a new perk that can pay off big-time for both parties.
It's not exactly been a secret that when it comes to work, jobs and employees, things aren't the same as they've always been, both here in Minnesota and across the country. The Great Resignation that was spawned by the pandemic is still causing ripples that affect just about every part of the labor force.
In fact, according to a report last fall by the Minnesota Business Partnership, employers here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes are still struggling to attract and retain workers. It noted that, according to a recent survey, Minnesota ranks 46th in attracting and retaining talent.
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But here's an innovative perk that employers here in Minnesota might want to check out. And, while it might first appear to be an added cost, the business that invented this plan says it's actually paid big dividends.
It's called the '3-3-3 Perk' and this Business Insider story says it's a program that allows employees to go out for food and drinks-- and expense the charge to the company. And, instead of costing the company, it's apparently boosting business at the San Francisco Bay Area security firm, Verkada, which started the perk nearly a year ago.
Business Insider says Verkada's 3-3-3 Perk works like this: Any three employees can go out for food and drinks, any time after 3 pm, and the company will pay for it-- up to $30 per employee. The only requirements are that there are three employees involved, that it happens after 3 pm, that expenses aren't greater than $90, and that employees post a picture of the meeting on an internal website.
Verkada's CEO Filip Kaliszan discussed their 3-3-3 perk on a podcast:
'The idea is it's the afternoon and three people go out and hang out together, chances are you'll talk about something that's relevant or work-related and ultimately that will benefit us,' Business Insider noted Kaliszan said in the interview.
Verkada says it's been using the 3-3-3 Perk since April of 2023, and that all of its 1,800 employees have used the program at least once, and that they're encouraged to use it once or twice a week, Business Insider said.
It seems to make a lot of sense, because when you get together with your fellow employees, discussing work always happens, right? And discussing things in a more relaxed setting, like a bar or restaurant stirs way more creativity than sitting in an office or conference room.
I wonder if any Minnesota businesses are already using this program, or would consider it in the future. It might help attract and retain those tough-to-find employees. And speaking of businesses, keep scrolling to see how what 50 top U.S. companies' logos looked like both then and now!
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