Opinion: providing additional benefits around housing and child-care are examples of how an employer could really make a difference
The owners of Walsh Colour Print and Educate.ie in Castleisland, Co Kerry are funding the building of up to 20 houses on a not-for-profit basis so their employees can get a foot-hold on the property ladder. Has the war for talent gone mad or is this corporate social responsibility in extremis? Most likely a little bit of both, but it’s not as new an idea as one might think.
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From RTÉ Six One News, three families in Castleisland, Co Kerry are preparing to move into new homes developed on a not-for-profit basis by the company they work for
Going back to the industrial revolution of the 1800s, enlightened business owners came to realise that a happy workforce was a productive workforce. Stemming from their Quaker beliefs, the Cadbury family are a strong example of a business which believed in the welfare of their employees. One of the first to provide employee housing, they actually built an entire village around their Bournville factory designed to accommodate a diverse mix of people from a range of occupations and social circumstances.
Closer to home, Guinness are another example of a business which pioneered an employee relationship that extends beyond a wage. In the 1870s in the face of serious over-crowding across Dublin city, Guinness built houses for their employees to rent, leading to the establishment of the Iveagh Trust with Dublin Corporation in the 1930s. This partnership built over 350 houses for rent to Guinness employees eventually being offered for sale to tenants in the 1960s.
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From Dublin City Libraries, a guide to the work of Sir Edward Guinness in setting up the Iveagh Trust buildings in Dublin
Such innovative thinking on the value of employees sat within a wider system of advancing business practices at that time. They clearly showed the critical link between a business leader’s view of the world, the value placed on each employee’s contribution and longer-term business success.
Today, we are keenly aware that the housing crises is as relevant as ever. Many organisations note the global challenge of attracting potential employees to particular locations. Big brands such as Facebook and Google have initiated plans to construct thousands of houses for employees in the highly priced tech valleys of San Francisco. Another approach has been taken by KPMG who have negotiated preferential mortgage packages for their London-based employees. Ireland is no exception, with the Web Summit organisation offering mortgage and rent subsidies to attract new employees to Dublin in recent years.
However, one thing which has been consigned to history is the concept of a ‘job for life’. While our forefathers may have worked with Guinness for 50 years, we are more likely to have at least six different employers over the course of our working lives. Therefore, the idea of building a house for an employee takes on a different meaning. We are very familiar with the idea of the war for talent, as it pertains to high-tech data scientists or engineers. Yet recently we were reminded of the challenges faced by Eir customer service in ensuring appropriate resourcing of their regional call centres.
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From RTÉ One's NIne News, Eir CEO Carolan Lennon has blamed Covid-19 for much of the company's customer care problems
Regardless of the job, companies need to build a strong employer proposition. This has typically included a range of offerings starting with appropriate pay plus a mix of other benefits beyond the legislated employee entitlements such as health insurance, additional annual leave, long-term illness benefits and study allowances. Societal trends around corporate social responsibility have also emerged such as matching paid leave for engaging in volunteer work. During the Celtic Tiger era, things became more ambitious with subsidised meals, on-site gyms, dry cleaners and even crèches.
But this is where things can become a little murky. While all of these are designed to make one company's job offer more attractive than the next, when do all these employee benefits stop feeling like perks and start feeling like a trap? Trapping you ‘on-site’ for a longer period each day or trapping you in a job because you have become so dependent on the benefits?
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From RTÉ Radio 1's The Business, the Holistic Gardener Fiann Ó Nualláin on green office benefits such as walls of plants and gardens
Companies need to tread cautiously. There is no doubt that big brands such as the Googles and the Guinness of this world can afford to offer some very worthwhile benefits. There is even a strong social argument that such organisations have the potential to create real social change should they take a ‘not-just-for-profit’ look at the world around them. In Ireland, housing and child-care are examples of where an employer proposition could really make a difference.
However, such ambitious benefits should be designed in a way that they attract and retain rather than tie-in employees in any unreasonable manner. Nevertheless, it is perfectly achievable with some careful thought, consideration and possibly some national guidelines and corporate incentives.
Maybe it’s time to swap the on-site gym for some serious assistance with child-care? With more of us working from home, perhaps divert the spend on award-winning, glass-fronted headquarters for some help with employees' mortgage? Let’s hope the example set by Patricia and Tony Walsh from Walsh Colour Print and Educate.ie in Castleisland will inspire more of the same in the years to come.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
