Employee Perks vs. Company Culture: What’s the Difference?

As a leadership coach, I’ve encountered a lot of business owners and managers who dive into culture-building head-first. I always admire their gusto, but sometimes I must caution them to pull back. That’s because it’s all too common for leaders to confuse perks with culture — and while both have their place, the one is not a substitute for the latter.

Where Perks Come Up Short

Let me give you some examples. Say you want to build a culture that attracts new employees — top talents from within your field. So you set up a break room with a nice eating area and a Ping-Pong table. You institute casual Fridays. You maybe even let your team members work from home one day out of the week.

That’s all well and good — but it’s not culture. These are all perks, and they may well bring new employees into the fold. They’re not going to help you retain employees, though, because they’re not providing your team members with the thing they’re really looking for — a sense of belonging, and of usefulness, within the organization; a chance to make a difference, to develop, and to grow.

Creating Culture

That’s what culture can provide — a sense of ownership. And it goes well beyond perks. Any leader can provide some creature comforts…