Perks With A Purpose

What do free lunches, company-wide workouts, and bidets have in common? (Hint: it isn’t a riddle from an SAT test or a set-up for a punchline.) 

The answer?

They’re all markers of a workplace culture that values intentionality.

Your Company Culture Matters

There has been a lot of buzz about company culture over the years, and it’s for good reason. A positive company culture leads to better performance, higher job satisfaction, and greater employee retention.

With this in mind, tons of organizations have rolled out an array of perks with the goal of enhancing company culture. From tech giants offering on-site nap pods to startups with unlimited vacation policies and pet-friendly offices, the landscape of workplace benefits is evolving rapidly.

But here's the thing – while these perks are fantastic (who wouldn't want a midday nap or to bring their dog to work?), they only scratch the surface of what truly makes a company culture stand out. At the end of the day, perks are just perks unless there’s purpose behind them!

Crafting a Culture That Cares

Improving company culture is not just about making your workplace an objectively cool place to work – it’s about crafting a culture that cares! It’s about showing your employees that their value at your company extends beyond their productivity and that you respect and care for them as individuals.

When our CEO, Samer Khouli, started TCWGlobal fourteen years ago, he knew he wanted to create an environment where his employees felt valued and cared for.

At the time, that meant doing weekly Costco runs to stock the company kitchen with cost-efficient snacks. He would jump in his car, load up the cart himself, and make sure his employees had what they needed to be productive (and well-fed!).

Our employee perks have evolved over the years (enter bidets and discounted employee pet insurance!), but they have been driven by the same purpose: we want to intentionally care for people.

Perks with a Purpose

As an example of how company perks can be rich with purpose, let’s take a look at the three examples we kicked off the convo with:

At TCW Global, we’re treated to free lunches twice a week (and free breakfasts twice a week, too!) While these complimentary meals help ensure no one goes hungry and eliminate the hassle of having to pack food for the office, their value extends much deeper. Served in our company cafes, these meals are designed to bring people together. They encourage community building, collaboration, and synergy, and they’ve become one of our favorite parts about coming into the office! The purpose of this perk is connection, and it is definitely working!

While our employees have access to the company gym and mental health resources year-round, we also host monthly initiatives that focus on physical and emotional health. During our Wellnesspalooza month, for example, employees are invited to participate in company-wide workouts, attend workshops on nutrition and meditation, and even join in on cooking classes!

Participation is entirely optional, but it’s an opportunity most employees love to take advantage of! The purpose of this perk is to make sure our employees know that we care about them as whole people and that we want to partner with them in pursuing a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle. We don’t want people to feel that they need to sacrifice their health on the altar of productivity. We believe people are more productive when they are healthy and happy!

This is one of our most noteworthy perks, and we understand why. Bidets and themed bathrooms? It definitely has pizzaz! Beyond being fun, however, this perk also has a purpose: we want our employees to feel worthy of being treated well – even down to the most minute details!

What better way to do that than by giving employees an elevated experience everywhere – even in the bathrooms?

Samer put it this way: “Almost everything we have around campus is designed to help people be the best version of who they are. We invest in our employees – even with the smallest details – to remind them that they are worthy of elevated treatment. And when they believe they are worthy, they rise to the occasion!”

The other benefit of this perk? It helps us cut down on paper products, like toilet paper (which is great for going green.) Plus, it’s hygienic! Sounds like a win to us!

What’s Your Purpose?

Ultimately, it’s the purpose behind these perks that spills over into our company culture, not just the perks themselves.

Because the more your employees see that they are being intentionally cared for, the more intentionally they will care for their work.

Consider this: if TCWGlobal treats its people this well, imagine how well they'll treat your contingent workforce!