Tuesday, October 13, 2009
No Free Coffee anymore ...
YES! ... that's what one of the large IT organization has decided to go for ...
replacing the existing coffee-day vending machines with another one which is integrated with "smart card" ... will serve you coffee / tea / other bevs on a cost ... to be charged on smart card.
just wondering ... cost accountants say that given the volume, the expenditure on the free coffee would be substantial ... i agree to just the cost part ... however, i disagree with the whole concept ... simply because, if we see the earnings per employee, this cost is really insignificant on per employee bases ... and would really make no big difference ...
on the other hand, employees might as well walk down to cafe to have a coffee ... if i am to pay for my coffee, i might as well get it from barrista than the horrible vending machine coffee ... the amount of time spent not on seat will increase from 10-15 mins to 30-45 mins ... the productivity per employee will go down drastically ... something which organizations need to really look into ...
lot of time organizations miss out the larger picture while implementing the small patch ups ... which ends up as a costly affair ...
replacing the existing coffee-day vending machines with another one which is integrated with "smart card" ... will serve you coffee / tea / other bevs on a cost ... to be charged on smart card.
just wondering ... cost accountants say that given the volume, the expenditure on the free coffee would be substantial ... i agree to just the cost part ... however, i disagree with the whole concept ... simply because, if we see the earnings per employee, this cost is really insignificant on per employee bases ... and would really make no big difference ...
on the other hand, employees might as well walk down to cafe to have a coffee ... if i am to pay for my coffee, i might as well get it from barrista than the horrible vending machine coffee ... the amount of time spent not on seat will increase from 10-15 mins to 30-45 mins ... the productivity per employee will go down drastically ... something which organizations need to really look into ...
lot of time organizations miss out the larger picture while implementing the small patch ups ... which ends up as a costly affair ...
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Soon they'll send you a bill for total electricity cost divided by number of employees. Then they'll charge rentals if you wish to come to office and work. May not be as absurd as it sounds. After all, 10 years ago, wouldn't you institutionalize a person who said people would be carrying their own parathas with achar on a PLANE?
As for productivity, I don't think any office has solved that puzzle yet. Except, maybe, the Japanese :-)
As for productivity, I don't think any office has solved that puzzle yet. Except, maybe, the Japanese :-)
Well...the paid coffee is not such a bad idea. After all, there are no free lunches (er..in this case..coffees). I would not be surprised if the employees also received emails citing the adverse effects of having too much caffeine :-)
you may be right about short term productivity loss, however in the long run, employee may evaluate the cost of spending 35 mins on a coffee vs benefit of rushing home to family 35 mins sooner.
This may have been a brain child of some HR/Admin guy who as part of his objectives needs to cut so many $s. He has done his job and may get good appraisal/bonus.
As good times to the industry returns and attrition rates goes back to double digits, such fringe benefits will start coming back...
you may be right about short term productivity loss, however in the long run, employee may evaluate the cost of spending 35 mins on a coffee vs benefit of rushing home to family 35 mins sooner.
This may have been a brain child of some HR/Admin guy who as part of his objectives needs to cut so many $s. He has done his job and may get good appraisal/bonus.
As good times to the industry returns and attrition rates goes back to double digits, such fringe benefits will start coming back...
# posted by 
: 13/10/09 10:26 PM
: 13/10/09 10:26 PM
this is what can be called 'Tunnel Vision' ... looking at the 'cost' of providing service and NOT looking at the Opportunity Cost of NOT providing the same.
Paid Coffee in office can prove to be a huge demotivator for an already demotivated workforce !!
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Paid Coffee in office can prove to be a huge demotivator for an already demotivated workforce !!
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