FT.com | Dear Lucy | People have been complaining after I axed free coffee to cut cost

People have been complaining after I axed free coffee to cut cost

October 30, 2008

I have been instructed to slash costs in my department. Last week I put out a memo detailing cuts, among which was axing free biscuits and coffee at weekly bonding sessions. Since then I have had a succession of people marching into my office complaining that morale is being destroyed and that the tea and biscuits were a vital part of the culture. It makes me extremely angry that they should be so petty about biscuits when people are going to lose their jobs. Yet this really seems to have hit a nerve. What can be done to rectify it?

Manager, male, 42

Lucy’s answer

Oh dear. It sounds as if you got it the wrong way round. You axed the biscuits but kept the weekly bonding sessions, whereas what you should have done was keep the biscuits but axe the bonding. To insist that people bond at a particular time each week is a mad idea, especially as now your underlings are so aggrieved that any bonding will be an opportunity to make effigies of you and stick pins in them.

As for the biscuits and coffee, you have made the classic management mistake of assuming that trivial things are trivial and therefore don’t matter.

The reason all hell always breaks out over biscuits is not in spite of their triviality, but because of it. Biscuits are an emotional issue. In one place I worked, there were free biscuits; and even having them caused some resentment, as one colleague always used to get to the plate first and snaffle the chocolate ones. But getting rid of them caused a revolt.

The thinking of your “petty” staff goes something like this: if management can’t even fork out for a few grammes of fat and sugar per person per week, then it evidently doesn’t care.

So you have screwed up badly on the symbolic front. Worse, you have screwed up strategically, too. Now every single benefit that you have yourself – every cab ride or lunch out, and lord help you if you have a company car – will cause massive resentment.

You have a choice.Either cut absolutely everything and put the company on a survival footing. Or bring back the biscuits.
Some readers think that it looks weak to change your mind. This is ridiculous. It is much weaker to stick to a bad policy for the sake of it. And when you perform your U-turn, don’t communicate by memo. Tell them the good news face to face over a weak brown brew and a Jammie Dodger.

October 30th, 2008 in Uncategorised | Permalink

144 Responses to “People have been complaining after I axed free coffee to cut cost”

Comments

Seriously, how much money will axing coffee and biscuits save? Hurry up and fire one person from your department - that’ll then pay for coffee and biscuits for everyone else for the next three years.
Posted by: Benjamin, 25, Investment Banking Analyst | October 30th, 2008 at 2:23 am | Report this comment
To cut the tea and biscuits is simply a dumb thing to do. It saves peanuts and cheeses people off ,as you have found out. It will also make you the subject of ridicule.

To rectify the problem do not say anything, simply put the tea and biscuits back.

Its a bit surprising that 42yo manager is even concerned with this. The tea lady or maybe a junior secretary yes ,but not a manger.

Get a grip !.
Posted by: jonathan | October 30th, 2008 at 4:58 am | Report this comment
Follow their motivations. Produce a calculation showing the number of jobs it will save. Problem is that number is likely to be zero unless your company is huge.

That’s a bit uncharitable from me though, and I am sure you will get plenty of uncharitable responses this week. I assume the reason you have done this is to show that the need to cut costs must be taken seriously, and you are hoping others will follow suit. I would say then that the problem is that you haven’t communicated this properly.

On the other hand, this might be difficult to communicate because in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, tea and biscuits are at the base of the pyramid so they trump job security on the second level.

The only other thing I would like to know is whether your company is going to fire people because it is losing money or simply because profits are not as high as they would like and they are too impatient to use natural turnover to get down to the staffing level they would like. If the latter, and especially if you have been saying “people are our greatest asset” for the last few years then don’t expect “buy-in” or even cooperation from them at all. We are not playing computer football manager, these are real people with mortgages, kids etc. The opposition you are seeing could well be symptomatic the fact they can’t complain to you about the job losses because you can say it’s out of your hands.
Posted by: Samec, 30 | October 30th, 2008 at 7:57 am | Report this comment
In Argentina, managers of estancias give free meat to the peones on top of their salary, because they know that if they don’t, the peones will steal the meat.

The spirit is : if it’s important to your staff, better keep them on your side than go against them, especially in times of crisis / war.

Coming back to your problem :

If I saw that managers try to save a few hundred quid a month on things that actually make a difference to the group, and yet still pay huge travel & entertainment fees or the like, they lose my trust. Which can have priceless consequences.

During hard times, bonding is not just nice, it’s also vital…

I suggest 2 options.

Get the coffee & biscuits back at your next meeting, apologise sincerely and show them you are on their side.

Otherwise prepare for civil war.
Posted by: coco, 36, male, COO | October 30th, 2008 at 9:26 am | Report this comment
a bit overdone from both sides. tell them that e.g. in Spain, coffee is never served on the premises, so that people go out of the office and talk for a moment to other people.
tell them the coffee company went bust?
tell them the coffee was horrible (which it probably was)?
tell them that tea is far better?
move to another job?
fire everyone?
despair at the human race …..
Posted by: mark possemiers | October 30th, 2008 at 10:09 am | Report this comment
The lose of free tea/coffe & biccies is nothing compared to the loss of a job. Inform your colleagues if they want these items at team bonding sessions to go to the nearest Tesco/Sainsbury/ASDA/Morrisons/Lidl/Aldi and but their own
Posted by: Anthony Blacker | October 30th, 2008 at 10:52 am | Report this comment
My goodness, whatever next…counting paperclips and logging the number of biros people take from the stationery cupboard per week?

You need to grasp the nettle and get on with the truly unpleasant but necessary things that will really cut costs, the most obvious being cutting headcount. If you carry on ‘rearranging the deckchairs on the deck of the Titanic’, you will (quite deservedly) continue to attract the wrath of your team rather than their respect.

You’re a manager, so grit your teeth and get on with it. That’s what you’re paid to do.
Posted by: GLH, female, 30, manager | October 30th, 2008 at 10:53 am | Report this comment
A fatal error - if as a manager this is your strategy to reduce costs, I think you need the coffee more than the others - because you need to wake up and smell the coffee.
Posted by: Out of the box | October 30th, 2008 at 11:16 am | Report this comment
The employees most likely think that you are the one who is being petty. Perhaps you’re being a bit too literal about your instructions to cut costs: this kind of intsitutional penny-pinching will create the impression of a company under seige, which will indeed have a negative effect on morale. If the sum involved is truly trivial, but for one reason or another you believe you don’t have a choice about cutting it, a truly inspired leadership move would be to fund the tea and coffee out of your own pocket while the current money crisis continues.
Posted by: Ray, 39, male, designer | October 30th, 2008 at 11:26 am | Report this comment
What kind of budget do you have that cutting biscuits is going to make a huge difference to the overall cost base of your department?

Why did you issue a memo? Given the sensitive nature of the topic, wouldn’t it have been better to go and talk to your direct reports and take their soundings of where costs could be better managed?

No wonder morale is low if you manage your department by memo - manage people by getting alongside them and let them see you understand their concerns. It is not their concern that you are under pressure from those you report to and you should not side step your responsibilitiy by dumping this on your staff.

What change programmes are you running that you could defer some costs on, or could you review training and development costs? Perhaps you could look at the purchasing system and look for synergies or economies of scale to get better value from your suppliers. Maybe you could talk to the managers of other departments and look for areas where you could share the pain together rather than on your own. Whatever, but show some initiative!

On the team building topic. Rather than back down on your decision to cut out biscuits - you have made your bed - lie on it, perhaps you should consider something different for team building. Like organise a regular Friday evening charity drinks (say at 5pm) for all staff and buy the wine yourself - they pay a couple of quid and their charity of choice wins. Don’t do a morale boosting speech - just talk to your staff about the stuff they want to talk about (home, kids, the IT help desk etc.) It need only last an hour and if they go on to the pub, go sometimes if your invited or if you can’t sometimes stick £20 in the pot.
Posted by: Stuart, 43, Associate Director, London | October 30th, 2008 at 12:09 pm | Report this comment
Two thoughts and actions. First, it’s you who’s being petty about this, and your employees know this. It will make absolutely no bottom line difference (unless these get-togethers comprise thousands of people) and your employees therefore see the move as panicky ass-covering at best and vicious at worst. So bring the biscuits back; taking them away was weak, not bringing them back.

The second and far more troubling thing is that you’ve completely misunderstood what’s really at stake here. This is about their jobs, not their biscuits - if you’re doing these cuts now, what will you be doing if things get even a milimeter worse? Fire the entire department? Your employees could handle losing some time for comraderie if it were clear that this was a trade with upper management to stop redundancies, but you imply the opposite is in order. The symbolism to your employees is just too much. Your evident lack of concern for them is what ails them, and that’s not going to be an easy fix.
Posted by: Kyle, Male, Economist, 27 | October 30th, 2008 at 2:16 pm | Report this comment
You’ve done it, old chap. Fixed it so your staff will keep picking away at things you do, and, worse, running up front with constant complaints that you are just the worst boss ever. Do you tough it out or show the white feather and don the tea lady’s apron and, unaided, serve biscuits and tea to everyone? Personally,I have found that in times such as these, it does not pay to play the sap. Tough it out. Explain that every serving adds up, cite the case of the airlines that in survival mode charge for each sip and each morsel. Never apologize for taking an action that everyone, down deep, must know was not taken out of meanness. Show your mettle; let your higher ups see you can handle the tough ones.
Posted by: Wes Pedersen, Washington, DC | October 30th, 2008 at 2:52 pm | Report this comment
Oh my god. People really are losers. Complaining about the demise of office coffee? Some of us have real problems out here in the urban jungle at the moment and we all need to focus on the important things, like axing people, not beverages and biscuits.

Everybody thinks you’ve screwed up, and there’s no undoing it. If you bring back the snacks you’ll just look spineless and people will add pity to their petty list of thoughts about you. I’ve actually done the same thing myself, except when I did it I was thinking multi-stage. I have been told to sack one person from my team so far. They are all pretty similar potential-wise so it was a hard decision. Then I had a really bright idea and told my team to expense their coffee at Café Nero instead of Starbucks. Needless to say they were furious. I mean Café Nero is just such a weak brand in comparison. But I figure the first person to complain is the last person I want on my team, so I fired her unceremoniously. It would have been less trouble if she wasn’t a woman with a minority background, but principles are principles.
Posted by: Stellan Sjögreen, Banker 39 | October 30th, 2008 at 2:53 pm | Report this comment
Why not axe ‘sandwich’ type biscuits (bourbons, jammy dodgers etc) but retain plainer ones (rich tea fingers, digestives)?
Posted by: Keith | October 30th, 2008 at 3:19 pm | Report this comment
Logically it depends how much money you have to save really doesn’t it.
If the removal of teas, coffees & biccies at a weekly bonding meeting are preventing bonding then it’s quite clear what you have to do - save money elsewhere.
Make it clear to your team that you will happily put back the hot beverages and tasty morsels as long as they understand you will have to cut costs elsewhere.
Talk to them like people not employees. It will help.
Posted by: Mel | October 30th, 2008 at 3:40 pm | Report this comment
Buy yourself some good PR here: Before next “bonding session” provide biscuits and beverages at your on expense, say somehting like “I realize this is a vital part of our corporate culture so I decided to get some myself for all of us…” this show that you’re on their side, that you’re generous, care for the employees, etc… it’s cheap PR! Of course you only have to do it once, no would be so stupid as to expect you to keep providing biscuits at your own expense every week, however a one-off would have a long lasting effect anyway.
Posted by: Andrea, Analyst, Milan | October 30th, 2008 at 5:12 pm | Report this comment
The decision to axe tea and biscuits was a stupid one, but putting it back on the conference table will be worse - it will make you look wishy-washy. In this market, people may crib, but they are unlikely to do much else. So, stick to your guns and ride this one out. After a few months, people will get used to it. www.winnowed.blogspot.com
Posted by: Vinod Joseph | October 30th, 2008 at 5:39 pm | Report this comment
Never apologise never explain.

Make a list of the people who complained - sack them.

You no longer have to pay for tea and biscuits. You get rid of the whingers bringing down moral. If in these times peoples only concern is whether they get 50p worth of biscuits - they are living on cloud nine - give them something to really complain about.
Posted by: James | October 30th, 2008 at 5:52 pm | Report this comment
Your staff are better communicators than you. They have let you know that they think you have made a mistake and are angry.

Think of your managing as you would a relationship. Communicate assertively to solve this conflict-
* Say you’ve made a mistake and restore the perk
* Ask them why they are angry
* Tell them why costs must be cut and ask THEM for ways to do it
Posted by: Alun, male, 48, retired | October 30th, 2008 at 5:53 pm | Report this comment
This is clearly not a serious question - unless your coffee and biscuit bill is huge (which would be an issue in itself) axing it is an irrelevance to your bottom line and so you deserve any criticism you receive. I’m guessing you haven’t been a manager for long but if this is your approach to cost management, I fear for your employees.

But now that you’ve done it, you’ll have to tough it out. I’m guessing that if you do need to fire someone, people will forget about the coffee.

Management can be a lonely place, but I wonder if you bothered to ask anyone else’s opinion in your office before you took this decision…? A learning for next time.
Posted by: Paul | October 30th, 2008 at 5:54 pm | Report this comment
why dont you just fire yourself?
Posted by: K, 34, male, VP | October 30th, 2008 at 6:12 pm | Report this comment
This situation is straightforward. You must convene an impromptu meeting, and explain to the group that 1) the firm is in belt-tightening mode, 2) this situation drove the decision to cancel the gratus coffee and bisquits (and could lead to other more substantive changes) and 3) several members of the team have complained. You then indicate that since people believe that the coffee and bisquits are an important tradition, you will pay to have them provided at the meetings for a month, after which other team members can sign up to underwrite the cost each week. This solution should quell dissent because it separates the cultural tradition from the cost of the food and drink, and you set the new tone through your willingness to finance the program. Since hopefully the cost is negligible, no one will complain for fear of being labled cheap.

Ray, 47 male fund manager
Posted by: Ray Gustin | October 30th, 2008 at 6:32 pm | Report this comment
I never understood the logic behind the tea cutting move. It obviously is only a small amout of money. If you are serious about the cost, why not cut other expenses, like business travel? People should use economic class instead of business class. Give up some excess office spaces and nonsense PR. Even cut some headcounts…
Posted by: Z, analyst, 30 | October 30th, 2008 at 7:04 pm | Report this comment
The solution is simple: Fire your self and morale will rise euphorically, your obviously the problem.

So here is how to do it:
Surprise everyone by leaving a box of expensive biscuits with a some Gold Blend Coffee and some Twining’s Tea bags on your chair with a note ” Good Riddance of The Sad B’stard” and watch from a window outside and see how happy all the staff will be.
Posted by: Roshni | October 30th, 2008 at 10:06 pm | Report this comment
This is about honesty and fairness, not coffee and biscuits. You must communicate the business situation, then implement measures that solve the problem. Just make sure that management and other groups share the pain.

As to laying off people in tough times, you must determine who you really need to go forward. Avoid sacking someone because they complained or other arbitrary reasons.
Posted by: Kellaway Fan, 56 | October 31st, 2008 at 1:09 am | Report this comment
I could have sworn my boss was older than 42…we have just had a similar announcement that met an identical reaction. Your decision is pathetic and a tragically common example of truly awful management. Lucy and Harvard Business School should be preparing a case study on you as we speak. You spent more on a taxi this afternoon going to a meeting than the cost of coffee and biscuits for your staff - and they know it. How many years of coffee and biscuits would your monthly (no-doubt inflated) expenses bill cover? Set aside your own highly developed sense of entitlement and, if your equally tragic boss insists on cutting costs, pay for the coffee yourself.
Posted by: Matt, 34, male, director | October 31st, 2008 at 1:49 am | Report this comment
Well, a few thoughts:

First, you clearly do not understand your team. You see coffee and snacks as “petty”. Your employees see it as important. In this instance, their perception is correct, since they can decide what is important to them. You would be a much more effective manager if you seek to undertand what motivates them, and what they see as important. The fact that you could not predict their reaction is a major problem.

Secondly, how does cutting free coffee and snacks save that much money? Buying your printer cartridges from an specialized underpricer will save you more.

Thirdly, I do not understand this silliness about not admitting a mistake. A department head does not need to be an unquestioned god. Admitting your mistake might actually make your team respect you more.

Lastly, remember that your team are people. They work in order to satisfy their needs, not yours. If you create an enviornemt that they can get what they want, they will be more likely to help you get want you want. (For example, coming up with and implementing strategies to cut costs.)
Posted by: az | October 31st, 2008 at 3:28 am | Report this comment
What is the next great management decision … organise a team bonding game of football and run away with the ball. I suppose you are managing to unite your team in contempt, so that is something.
Posted by: Mark | October 31st, 2008 at 4:34 am | Report this comment
You were absolutely right to abolish coffee & biscuits - that will allow you to bring in cheese & wine instead. Your status will then elevate from Plonker to Plonky. Much better.
Posted by: DJ | October 31st, 2008 at 4:59 am | Report this comment
Why not cut the team bonding session too, a far better cost cutting initiative. Tell staff you are uninterested in whether they bond or not but that the time will be better spent working. Fire the first person that come into your office to complain about this, and follow the same practive about any subsequent decision your make.
Posted by: John, 43, 21st century management guru | October 31st, 2008 at 5:36 am | Report this comment
You should have cut the meeting altogether — just as the NY state attorney did to AIG’s $400K retreat. Heck, if they have time to whinge about coffee and biscuits, they’re not productive enough.

Is it a coincidence that the two words I see below to stop robots posting automated responses are “hunted men”?
Posted by: AW, female, Director, 37 | October 31st, 2008 at 7:00 am | Report this comment
I bet you’re really a Guardian reader, Manager male, 42
Posted by: Mac, 64, retired | October 31st, 2008 at 8:15 am | Report this comment
Excellent job. Now you have shown them you mean business its time to wield the axe. All offices have the trouble maker who stirs the pot and creates disharmony within a team. This action will weed these cretinous types out and now lets you remove the scum with confidence. it will even help you sleep better at night knowing you did do the right thing.

This also leaves you in a strong position to motivate the team later on with a simple reintroduction of the biscuits and tea.

As for those who have responded to this situation with the view that tea and biscuits in meeting cost very little, you have all failed to consider the cost of someone having to buy and deliver the goods as well as the time it takes the team to consume them.
Posted by: Mr T, VIP, UK | October 31st, 2008 at 9:22 am | Report this comment
Perhaps you could follow this up by auctioning the now redundant cups and saucers?
Posted by: Bill Clarke | October 31st, 2008 at 9:26 am | Report this comment
Are there any biscuits left by the way ?
Posted by: Ian, 47 | October 31st, 2008 at 9:58 am | Report this comment
It almost makes me angry to see the lack of emotional intelligence you display by admitting that your colleagues’ reactions to your cost cutting have made you angry !

What did you expect ? It is such a petty thing to do and it looks like penny pinching of the worst kind. In-house free coffee and decent biscuits from a supermarket do not cost much.

Why not commute a portion of your salary to pay for it ? The benefits to your self esteem and your team’s perception of you will be worth much more than the cash you will lose.
Posted by: Jack | October 31st, 2008 at 11:07 am | Report this comment
Oh my god, what people in your department are worrying about? Here in Russia coffee and buiscuits have never been free for employees. Really, I can not understand how this could become a problem for them? I guess there are much more serious problems that can appear at work. Losing free biscuits can not be compared to losing job or salary decrease.
Posted by: Anna, 23, female, market analyst | October 31st, 2008 at 11:29 am | Report this comment
You should fire everyone that has low morale to tip the balance in your favour.
Posted by: John, 46, M | October 31st, 2008 at 11:41 am | Report this comment
Just close the firm. You’re not a wonderful manager, your team gripes over petty issues, and you’re facing the biggest recession since the dinosaurs stopped trading rocks.

I love that this attracted such ire, it’s wonderful to see a vibrant and outspoken community of people responding to this nonsense!
Posted by: Walter | October 31st, 2008 at 11:42 am | Report this comment
Provide the biscuits yourself for a few weeks, then gently suggest everyone take turns in providing morsels for the meeting - that might mean shop-bought biscuits, but it might also mean home-made cake or samosas or an enormous bag of peanuts. Stress that it doesn’t have to be anything fancy or expensive, and make sure no one person is having to do it too often.

Make it so that it becomes a way of injecting a note of informality into your bonding sessions, enabling staff - particularly those lower down the pecking order - to express their individuality a little. You’ll learn a little more about your staff that way, and maybe they’ll feel a little more valued as individuals.

It might engender a feeling of ‘we’re all in this together’ and actually raise morale.
Posted by: Richard Walker, PR consultant | October 31st, 2008 at 12:24 pm | Report this comment
Any business/department that needs formal “weekly bonding sessions” is already doomed. Forget the tea, coffee and biscuits you have bigger problems.
Posted by: doug, accountant, redundant | October 31st, 2008 at 12:32 pm | Report this comment
I have 32 people working for me, of whom at any one time there are usually 20 to 25 in the office, the rest being away on business trips, training, holidays, whatever. My organisation pays for all the coffee, tea and water – plus the percolators, kettles and a microwave. Leaving aside the “capital investment” in these last items, I see from my accounts over the last few months that we spend around £100 a month on coffee, tea and biscuits and another 40 to 50 on water, which works out at around a fiver a head per month. If your costs are so much higher than these that cutting this item is so important, I would suggest that you have a serious cost control issue already – your staff would have to be stealing all those packets of coffee, biscuits, etc for home use on a grand scale. However, if your per capita costs are similar to mine then your judgment is weird (saving a fiver a month per person at such a cost in lost morale and hostility towards you). Alternatively, if saving five to ten quid a person a month is really vital, I would suggest your company is already bust.

So, what are you going to do now? After all, you only have to look around to see that virtually nobody gets through the working day without the fortification of tea and coffee. (A). You could provide facilities for all staff to keep their own supplies securely locked up – amazing how so many people think that nicking someone else’s coffee is not stealing. It’s like “borrowing” books. (B). You could allow everybody to go out to the nearest Starbucks or wherever, any time they want a cuppa. Fantastic solution in terms of plunging productivity, given that the average absence from the office will be 20-plus minutes three or four times a day.

Unless Lucy has debunked the idea in one of her columns, I seem to remember that most competent managers recognize the importance of staff being able to “gossip” around the water-cooler (have you cut that out too or do staff drink from the taps in the lavatories?) as a means of maintaining good communications, morale, etc. I think the gurus call this maintaining informal organizational structures effectively or some such.

At any rate, you’re in a bind. My advice is to hold a staff meeting - sorry, “bonding session”. Explain the motives behind your decision – cost-cutting imperatives, huge pressure from top management, blah-blah – then say you recognize that you may have gone too far. So, liquids (tea, coffee, water) are restored (an average of a fiver per person a month maximum, say, and you can tell them that) but edibles are cut; staff bring their own. You should get the respect of your staff back by publicly recognizing and responding to their concerns, while still achieving some kind of cost saving – my guess is that the biscuits will turn out to be costing more than the liquids.

Next, closely examine how much you spend on print cartridges. I bet it will be a great deal more than the coffee. Also, do you recycle paper, i.e. ensure that paper that has only been printed on one side and is discarded, goes into a pile by the printers so that it can be printed on the other side for unimportant documents – drafts, internal communications, etc?

When you’ve got through all these housekeeping items you might find the time to see what strategic and structural changes could be made. After all, you’re the manager. I use my accountant to deal with all the above issues.

BTW, you refer only to what gets consumed at these weekly feel-good get-togethers. What happens the rest of the time?
Posted by: Stephen, 61, male, consultant | October 31st, 2008 at 12:57 pm | Report this comment
Change is hard - Let them eat cake
Posted by: Jonathan, 36, Head of Business Change | October 31st, 2008 at 1:18 pm | Report this comment
It is interesting that in your question you say you were ordered to slash costs……and after looking in the dictionary we find it means to reduce costs drastically. Just how much coffee, and biscuits were you eating and drinking? What were they made from? Where did you buy them from?

Of course there is the idea that you have deliberately cut the coffee and biscuits so that morale would decline, people would resign, costs would be cut without you having to wield the axe….i am not sure you are that smart.

In the wake of your coffee cutting exercise, you will probably find that productivity will fall, again you will be ordered to cut costs…..how about toilet paper, it must cost you a fortune!(Especially considering your suppliers?)

This unfortunately rests on the premise that you are going to have to wield that axe and you don’t like the idea, who does? Sacking people has to be a horrible gut wrenching activity, but sometimes is what has to be done.

Re-instate the biscuits and coffee….. apologise for some daft decision making on your part, and be prepared for the conversations about lack of marole when you start wielding the said axe, a plate of jammy dodgers might make the medicine go down a bit better.
Posted by: Scott, 36, male, | October 31st, 2008 at 1:48 pm | Report this comment
Ask your staff to tell you the non-value added things the business does that should be cut out - there are likely to be many cost-saving opportunities far exceeding the cost of their biscuits and coffee. Implement the cuts in those activities to reinstate the drinks.

Likely to be win-win-win (you/them/the company).
Posted by: Clive | October 31st, 2008 at 2:07 pm | Report this comment
Reinstate the coffee and biscuits. Pay for them out of your own pocket. Nonchalantly mention at the next meeting that it is on you, since some people are really missing it.
Posted by: Steven, 26, male | October 31st, 2008 at 2:08 pm | Report this comment
I have the solution for everyone - a new brand of biscuits:

“Credit Crunch”

5p from every pack sold goes to the hedge fund benevolent fund
Posted by: Adam, 31, Male, Sales | October 31st, 2008 at 2:08 pm | Report this comment
You see cutting costs as an alternative to cutting jobs. They see both as coming from management’s meanness.

Who is right is a wonderful discussion for boards like this, but in your dealings with them you need to be aware that they see it differently.
Posted by: Samec, 30 | October 31st, 2008 at 2:28 pm | Report this comment
“Benjamin, 25, Investment Banking Analyst”

It’s probably best to lie about your job and age when dispensing advice, especially if it relates to dealing with the financial downturn in the economy!

If you pretend to work at McDonalds you’d probably have more street cred…
Posted by: Grant | October 31st, 2008 at 3:22 pm | Report this comment
Even Google is compelled to cut back on food and drink in pursuit of cost cutting.

http://valleywag.com/5070227/google-new-york-hit-by-cost-cuts

A brief part of an internal memo… “Changes have been made recently to programs throughout our company to ensure cost effectiveness and consistency across offices. In New York City, our food service team has closely examined cafe usage, food consumption and labor costs to find areas where efficiency can be improved without compromising food quality and nutrition.”

They are still passing out freebies, just on a reduced scale. Seems like their communication is good and they are trying to be fair, which is what you want in these situations.
Posted by: Kellaway Fan, 56 | October 31st, 2008 at 3:37 pm | Report this comment
I work for one of the biggest American companies around and they ve also cut the free biscuits (coffee s still free).

Just a ridiculous cost cutting measure: just make morale worse and the cost savings will amount to less than a rouding error at the bottom line.
Posted by: rr | October 31st, 2008 at 3:41 pm | Report this comment
Clearly cutting tea and biscuits doesn’t save much money but in many cases employers want to send out a message of cost control and this is good way of hammering it home.

They also might say that “every drop counts”, although it’s true that the savings in this case are almost nothing.

As with most things, it can be argued either way.
Posted by: David, Marketing Communicaiton, 39 | October 31st, 2008 at 5:31 pm | Report this comment
Wonderful range of support for these serious managerial issues. Seem to be two categories of advice, fire their ass or back down and give them their biscuits. I’d suggest real life will require a compromise. So bring back the biscuits but set an example by never drinking or eating yourself when your staff are around. Closely monitor coffee and biscuit consumption and ration supplies so that they ‘run out’ earlier each day. Gradually they’ll get used to living on breakfast lunch and dinner. Make sure your staff are busy at their jobs with no time to discuss coffee and biscuit allocations. You may in fact need to hire someone to manage all this for you as it is a full time job. Job title would be Chief Executive.

If all this fails, we can be sure that you will by then have further advice from the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition, ala Brand and Ross, a national issue of importance similar to that you describe, only difference being that you have now occupied the time of over 50 more important people on coffee and biscuit politics. Did you also consider what effect adding this diversion of managerial time would have on the current economic downturn before you invoked this avalanche of wisdom, let alone the damage you are doing to biscuit manufacturers? You may have triggered the beginning of the end. (I hope so, otherwise you look just plain daft.)
Posted by: Rod male retired | October 31st, 2008 at 5:43 pm | Report this comment
This is so typical of poor mangement. Other bright ideas usually include initiatives such as reusing inbound paper clips, copying on both sides of the paper and (favourites) managers to travel standard class and to use Old Grandmother Crewcut’s boarding houses for overnight accommodation.

None of this actually saves much money. Meaningful savings usually require headcount cuts, but this needs courage so it seems much easier to cut the coffee. The downside of this approach is that such action is easily seen as timid and pointless and causes huge damage to morale. Cutting headcount, on the other hand, may not be pleasant but it at least looks like a serious attempt to deal with a serious problem.
Posted by: John Murray, Partner, TGP Management Advisers LLP | October 31st, 2008 at 7:46 pm | Report this comment
It’s you who are being petty. Coffee and biscuits costs so little and is worth so much in pleasure and convenience for employees that the loss in goodwill far outweighs the money you might save. It’s such a silly, ticky-tack way to cut costs that half your employees (presumably the half that aren’t complaining) assume there is something more subtle behind it. Is he trying to set a mood of frugality, so we cut costs in other areas? Is he trying to make us nervous for our jobs, so we work harder and complain less? I can assure you from personal experience that unless you already have a reputation for imbecility, much more will be read into your gesture than just a desire to save money on coffee and biscuits.
Posted by: David | October 31st, 2008 at 9:54 pm | Report this comment
The cost of the time wasted by discussing this will more than outweigh the savings. If a box of biscuits is the difference between your company surviving or not then you’re stuffed anyway so you may as well enjoy the biscuits.
Posted by: Ian | November 1st, 2008 at 10:11 am | Report this comment
Oh dear, all these posts from bean-counters.

Where you clearly failed was in not linking the coffee’n'biscuits cut to the message that “times are hard”. Forget any other explanations; your message is “times are hard”. Just keep repeating it.

When I was a junior manager (a very long time ago), in similar economic times as now, the Chief Exec decided that the way to get the message over was to change all the (soft) loo-paper with the hard, shiny stuff. I knew it cost more than the usual stuff but, as he explained to me, “count the value represented by the message, not the cost of the product”. All I can add is that people soon ‘got the message’!

Learning from that, in later (equally difficult) times, the first person I made redundant was our 70-year old tea-lady (and her trolley). The ex-gratia payment we gave her made her happy, whilstthe staff were left very unhappy - but the message was heard, and felt.
Posted by: Derek Tunnicliffe | November 1st, 2008 at 10:11 am | Report this comment
Weekly ‘bonding’ sessions? What is the time and cost of these? Your organisation should sack the individuals responsible for holding them, and keep the coffe.
Posted by: Stephen, 48, analyst | November 1st, 2008 at 12:00 pm | Report this comment
Your such a great manager - I would love to work for you and just to show my devotion I will volunteer you a couple of great money saving tips:

No more toilet tissue, bring your own or use bucket and jug. Sheryl Crow suggested saving the planet with use of a single square but you can go better…

Another is cut the internet, lunch brakes and set new working times of 5 to 9 im sure most staff will sign the new contracts and most will miss that they start at 5am finish at 9pm

Will you give me a bonus

Your the best!
Posted by: Roshni | November 1st, 2008 at 12:08 pm | Report this comment
The damage is done. Free coffee axed? Place is obviously going down the pan. High time for anyone who can get another job to do so. Leaves those who can’t or won’t.

Hang on for the redundancy payment? Sensibly no. If the place can’t run to coffee…
Posted by: Peter ,60, more-or-less retired acountant | November 1st, 2008 at 12:16 pm | Report this comment
Free coffee should have been one of the last things to go. Its definitely a morale booster and a social lubricant. Was there no “third way”! How about free coffee on Fridays or better still Mondays when people will really appreciate a caffeine fix in the morning.

Satinder, 44, M. Senior lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Primary Care
Posted by: Satinder Kumar | November 1st, 2008 at 1:10 pm | Report this comment
Weekly bonding sessions ? Is this really what they are called and their only function ? Sounds to me as though you and your team have non jobs, probably in a public sector environment and you should probably all be fired !

Presuming that you do all do something useful, set an objective for evey meeting to come up with one cost saving or revenue generating idea per meeting. Pehaps get the staff to elect one different spokes person for each successive meeting who can be the recipient of ideas from the group and lead the discussion.

Giving the group a real purpose and getting them all to participate will create a far greater “bond” thana pointless talk shop.

Oh and take a packet of biscuits from home yourself for the next meeting and get the group to decide whether you should take it in turns to bring biscuits or have a whip round.

PS my old firm HBOS abolished free biscuits some while ago , it clearly saved them !
Posted by: graham | November 1st, 2008 at 2:30 pm | Report this comment
Solution: Engaging employees from the start!

I think managers should organise brainstorming session where employees come up with their ideas of effective ways of cutting overheads. Having come up with the ideas, they are likely to embrace them.

Classic example which has been in the press recently - Senior management of company have taken pay cuts to avoid redundancies.

Perhaps its not to late. You could be frank to employees about the cost savings that need to be achieved to survive as a business and ask them about ideas.
Posted by: SGoenka | November 1st, 2008 at 3:16 pm | Report this comment
At the next meeting start by saying that the coffee and biscuits will be reinstated if each person can come up with a cost saving initiative at teh next meeting which can be implemented forthwith. Make each person submit their suggestions to the meeting publicly at the following meeting. This will help them understand the difficulties involved in cost cutting. With luck, you will be able to reinstate the coffe and biscuits, save even more money and still retain authority.
C Chapman retired manager 62
Posted by: carole | November 1st, 2008 at 3:26 pm | Report this comment
Removing tea and coffee from the staff fixure is ‘un-21 century.’

I can never understand how and why someone would want staff to go without tea and coffee the whole day.

Please reinstate the tea and coffee
Posted by: Mutimba | November 1st, 2008 at 9:05 pm | Report this comment
If someone axed the coffee and teas at my firm I would be pleased as it ghasty stuff out of a machine. Needless to say, I wasn’t surprised to learn it is the cheapest supplier in the market.

Putting my Accountant’s hat on, by cutting the tangibles, coffee and biscuits, you’ve lost the intangibles, people’s goodwill, so best to reinstate.

If the cut is across the firm, I would think you will be breaking Health & Safety regs. somewhere along the line. There is probably an obligation to provide refreshments so they don’t dehydrate, collapse from exhaustion and are hospitalized!
Posted by: Tight Accountant | November 2nd, 2008 at 12:03 am | Report this comment
If you cheese off(love these provincial expressions) the staff too much, you may suffer the Bernie Ebbers effect. Ebbers cut the coffee service at Worldcom, and refilled the office water bottles with tap water. His staff knew all about the buried bodies, and voila, several years in prison.
So, did you consider that you really aren’t all that honest in the first place and that the small office bribes keep the rank in file loyal?
Posted by: Richard, M, 55, Enterprise Architect | November 2nd, 2008 at 12:55 am | Report this comment
Not sure if this was your bright idea to show your bosses how ‘prudent’ you were in a grim environment. But hey, I agree with some soul here who said that you’d be losing the team’s goodwill if you were to axe simple things in life such as tea and biscuits. If this wasnt your idea, tell your bosses that they should think of something better.
Posted by: ftworm | November 2nd, 2008 at 4:30 am | Report this comment
It is a shame you, with one click on send, dissipated all the built up good will gained by those weekly bonding sessions with free biscuits and coffee.

It would certainly have been better to make this a group problem. There are only two ways forward: sell more and pay less for what you buy. You need all eyes on the ball.

It is amazing that so many contributors automatically associate cost saving with firing people. Unless you live in a particularly feudal part of the world then firing people actually costs more than it saves in the short term.

The other knee jerk reaction of bad managers is to stop people travelling - a curious move when you need to sell more and pay less, assuming as it does that large amounts of travel are completely unnecessary in normal times.

In one of the companies I advise we just “saved” sufficient cash to keep several engineers employed by postponing the next chip generation. Bad luck on our suppliers in Taiwan and Korea, but good news for our customers - they don’t want to spend “unnecessary” cash to qualify new products at the moment.

My advice: get your team back together with some free biscuits (can it be that easy?) and concentrate minds on spending less and selling more.

doeis not
Posted by: Chris J | November 2nd, 2008 at 3:09 pm | Report this comment
Ah that old one - cut the tea and biscuits.

I have fond memories of an ex KPMG accountant who bragged about doing exactly this in one of her previous consulatancies.

Its strange how she discovered the usefulness of tea and biscuits when she needed to get 10 people from different departments to participate in a process review.

Could I suggest you find something more meaningfull to cut.
Posted by: Bob Freelancer | November 2nd, 2008 at 6:27 pm | Report this comment
Your employees are pathetic - they can buy their own snacks or coffee if they really want to. And there are these things called lunch breaks where people can feast and drink to their heart’s content.

There’s a recession on, no sane employee is going to quit their job because they can’t get fat munching biscuits or develop a caffeine addiction. They are just whining because they have become used to the snacks & drinks and now view it as an entitlement. Stand firm and tell them to grow up instead of whining like spoiled children.
Posted by: R.Sole | November 3rd, 2008 at 9:14 am | Report this comment
You obviously have no flair for advanced management accounting.

If you can’t find a nifty way to capitalise something as minor as coffee and biscuits you will find it impossible to maintain even the most tenuous mirage of positive performance in the months to come.
Posted by: Steven, 34, Male, Analyst | November 3rd, 2008 at 12:27 pm | Report this comment
I had no idea that people could get so animated over the subject - I take it that you haven’t banned them from the proper pursuit of a coffee and a club biscuit.

I think that you’ve inadvertantly stopped their informal meeting / discussion process at a crucial time. It seems to be a false economy. Break out the hobnobs and the gold blend and start discussing how you can follow your instructions from above. They may not be good decisions you have to make but they will be better taken if they get some courtesy and a good cuppa.
Posted by: Lorne | November 3rd, 2008 at 12:37 pm | Report this comment
I once worked for an organisation that provided free sandwiches and soft drinks for up to £3 per employee per day, to be delivered from the friendly sandwich shop across the road. Given the absence of a canteen (or any place at all where one could sit down for even a drink), I felt that was a fair solution.
One day the free sandwiches got the axe. I believe the savings would have been around £1K per week. Significant enough you might argue, but how would you explain new office furniture for the CEO the same week, costing a five figure amount?
My experience supports the view that the detrimental impact on staff morale far outweighs the cost cutting benefit. And it heightens staff sensitivity to other questionable expenses - be very aware!
Posted by: Manager, male, 43 | November 3rd, 2008 at 12:58 pm | Report this comment
Your first mistake was hiding behind a memo when you communicated the message. You should have used it as part of a general cost cutting message at your next meeting.
It could have worked really well if you had used the “let us make a small gesture and show people we are prepared to make a saving ourselves” Following the announcement, you could have asked for comments and if everyone was committed.
My suggestion would be less writing ….. more listening (80%) and talking (20%)!
Posted by: Kevin, 54, Male, Managing Director - Manufacturing | November 3rd, 2008 at 1:35 pm | Report this comment
I have been on both sides of this in my career; the first time when I was 23 and could not understand management cutting the fruits/snacks in the pantry. 13 years on, I have had to make a similar decision myself for the staff and I decided that there were better ways to cut costs without damaging already damaged morale any further. Advice given here after the fact is always 20/20 in hindsight but I had gone through this personally and knew the damaging effects of taking away little things in teh office which help employees keep a sane mind. Productivity will always suffer as a result of unhappy workers.
Posted by: James, 36, male, Investment director | November 3rd, 2008 at 2:12 pm | Report this comment
if i am the boss.
cutting cost by saiving a few penny, the manager might just do not fit the job !!!!!
then by firing the manager would easily save a few thousand dollars every month, agree ?
Posted by: kp lee | November 3rd, 2008 at 2:38 pm | Report this comment
Even the NHS provides rich tea biscuits, Maxwell House powdered instant coffee and teabags (made in a sawmill), in the operating department’s staff room! Close your account at Fortnum and Mason and offer your staff NHS-style beverages. They will soon start to bring their own and leave you alone.
Posted by: Gareth doctor, 52 | November 3rd, 2008 at 3:43 pm | Report this comment
Encourage people to work from home - problem solved!
Posted by: Simon, Small Manufacturing Business Owner, 56 | November 3rd, 2008 at 4:20 pm | Report this comment
1. Fire those complaining about the lack of biscuits.

2. Ask people to contribute. A jar saying “We take your pennies”

3. Cut on overtime.

4. Ask people to sign a petition and present this to your superiors in case they ask questions.

5. Buy biscuits people are not very tasty.

6. Ask a local shop to make regular rounds during breaks with sandwiches, tea, coffee, sweets and cakes. Employees will buy what they need.

7. Rent a local shop space on the ground floor where they could sell sandwiches, tea, coffee, sweets and cakes. (will only work with big companies)

8. Allow employees to bring in whatever they wish to eat and share with others. Make a list where people can tick off things they could bring in so you wont have too many of the same.
Posted by: alan | November 3rd, 2008 at 5:08 pm | Report this comment
I can’t believe you even considered this. You gain virtually nothing in cost savings and probably lost 100 times that in staff productivity. Their desire to get in to work early, perhaps sacrifice that preplanned evevning with family to finish an urgent project for tomorrow will have just evaporated.

Cut back on something that clearly hurts management just as much (if not more) as the rank and file staff.
Posted by: Austin | November 3rd, 2008 at 8:55 pm | Report this comment
In reply to this chap cutting his coffee and biscuits bill - I’ve never seen so many responses posted on a single topic, as this one…

What people have recognised is the pointlessness of the action and it’s ineffectual implementation. Never before has a topic elicited such united opposition to the person!

There is a lot of very good management thinking in these replies - and I for one am proud to be a member of this forum - I hope the manager in question sieves out the gems here and contemplates long & hard about whether this business is for him.

www.merciar.com
Posted by: Damian Merciar, 39, male, MD | November 4th, 2008 at 1:28 am | Report this comment
Starting from a different place yields a different response. Sit with your team, explain the context and then work with them - ask tehir suggestions. You might need to set an artifical goal (we need 5%) to inspire a discussion. Most of the pushback was presenting a fait accompli.
Posted by: John Samuel | November 4th, 2008 at 8:35 am | Report this comment
If you honestly believe that axing coffee will help a company survive the crunch then I am amazed you are a manager, maybe you should recommend to your superior that they should axe you, and make a much bigger saving on money and morale. It always amazes me how companies expect employees to give loyalty and hard work, only to be rewarded with petty kicks in the gut.
Posted by: Tom | November 4th, 2008 at 9:05 am | Report this comment
buy the biscuits out of your own pocket - show them you care
Posted by: C.M. | November 4th, 2008 at 9:22 am | Report this comment
Relax. It doesn’t really matter what you do now. When companies resort to this kind of clueless cost-cutting, it’s a clear sign that it’s already over. You might not know it yet, but your smart employees will have picked up on it, and will be on their way out. You’ll probably be pleased to lose them: clever and talented people are such a drag on the payroll. I bet you keep your coins in a purse.
Posted by: Brian | November 4th, 2008 at 9:48 am | Report this comment
Relax. It doesn’t really matter what you do now. When companies resort to this kind of clueless cost-cutting, it’s a clear sign that it’s already over. You might not know it yet, but your smart employees will have picked up on it, and will be on their way out. You’ll probably be pleased to lose them: clever and talented people are such a drag on the payroll. I bet you keep your coins in a purse.

Director, 39
Posted by: Brian | November 4th, 2008 at 9:50 am | Report this comment
Problem, like with most managers, you have made a decison in a vacuum and dictated the answer. The position you are in is one of leadership and leaders lead people. In a situation where things are tough and tough actions need to be made you need your team to come along with you to achieve the success you all desire an deserve. It would have been better to explain the costs cutting problem to your team and involve them in the decision making. What could we cut and how can we do it? There may well have been more important areas where your team were willing to cut costs and achieve your objective while at the same time having the team as part of the solution and supporting your actions. You would have brought the team together and created a lot more good will and treated them like responsible working adults who can contribute to the bottom line. In my experience managers do not have all the answers - the team usually do.
Posted by: Sanjay Lamba, Executive General Manager , Automotive | November 4th, 2008 at 10:40 am | Report this comment
It probably wasn’t your smartest management move but you definitely should not reverse your decision. You may have lost their love, but don’t lose their respect too ! Perhaps you could offer a “quid pro quo” to show staff that management is also cutting costs. Travel economy instead of business, downgrade to cheaper company cars or cut back on other perks that might make staff hackles rise. Yes, your staff are being incredibly childish but don’t descend to their level - show them why you are the boss.
Posted by: Lydia, 38, Fund Management | November 4th, 2008 at 2:49 pm | Report this comment
Suggest more effort is spent growing the top line.

Cutting costs is not the way to a good business.

I also have a problem with a manger who thinks about biscuits.
Posted by: Michael Reid | November 4th, 2008 at 5:48 pm | Report this comment
Re. Michael Reid’s comment above - I hope this is not a Freudian slip - and he did mean a biscuit problem with a manager rather than man’s best friend in a manger !
Posted by: Out of the box | November 5th, 2008 at 9:50 am | Report this comment
You should be extremely angry with yourself for lacking touch with staff. If you had spent time with them during those weekly bonding sessions you would not have decided to axe such vital activities to save petty cash.
Posted by: Huyen, 26, Female, Banking Analyst | November 5th, 2008 at 3:24 pm | Report this comment
This comment is made by a retired bank employee. I once read an amusing example of a bonding session, in a book by Professor Cyril Northcote Parkinson, famous for his economic theories in teh 50’s. Item # 9 of the agenda; the construction of a nuclear rector, value 100 million dollars. Four of the eleven board members do not have an idea of what a reactor is, three of them do not know what a reactor is used for, another two directors do know it but ignore its cost. Since no one is willing to admit his ignorance, the president obtains unanimity. Time spent: 2 1/2 minutes. - Item 10: extension of the parking lot for the staff, budget 3,500 dollars. The subject is understandable to everybody, and all express their opinions on wages, prices and qualities of materials. After 45 minutes of discussion, all lean back in their chairs, satisfied with the result: a saving of 500 dollars. - Item 11: coffee and biscuits at the weekly sessions of the new Commitee On Social Activities. The budget of 240 dollars a year generates an animated debate, because many suggestions are made, mostly regarding nearer and cheaper selling points and brands of coffee, sugar, cookies. After 1 1/4 hour, time runs out and the secretary postpones the decision to the following meeting…
Posted by: Federico | November 5th, 2008 at 4:17 pm | Report this comment
Cutting out the tea and coffee is a serious mistake; Lucy Kellaway has devoted endless column inches to the benefits to be had by staff hanging round the coffee machine or water cooler; just where have you been? Reverse that decision straight away.
Now the business of the biscuits is a tricky one and much more of a problem worthy of your talents. There are truly difficult choices to be made. You can go for real austerity by cutting them, or just be mean by sourcing some low quality stuff from a discount supermarket but that is a bit weak and may appear indecisive. My suggestion is that you show real confidence that things are going to get better by providing luxury chocolate biscuits; this will look like a bold and imaginative step and demonstrate your determination to rise above the present travails. However you must decide; just weigh the choices carefully to pick the one that fits the ongoing success of your team. Get it wrong and you could be in deep water.
Your biggest risk is that your boss may observe that tea and biscuits are probably less than one twentieth of one percent of the total cost of hiring people and that the biggest savings come from firing more senior people, especially those who can’t see the big picture.
David; a retired former Treasurer. Age 65
Posted by: David Westby | November 5th, 2008 at 4:52 pm | Report this comment
2 years ago my company told us that the supply of paper towels in the kitchenette was being reduced and that they would only switch the office lights on after 8:00 a.m to cut costs. The response was immediate. The administrator and here manager were called everything synonymous with the word idiot, other expenses that weren’t affected were publicly questioned and the issue was even brought up at the annual company meeting as a morale dampener. People expect certain things when they work. Your builder expects at least a hose for water, your postal worker expects you to restrain your dog and office workers expect a cup of coffee or some refreshment at meetings. Would you rather they spent their time going out to get these treats. 5 Minutes at the kiosk for Allan, 15 minutes for Paul or 25 Minutes for Brian because he went to his car to get his snacks? Its a necessary expense of doing business. Save it and kill the fish tank, the pant watering service and ask the cleaners to vacuum 2 or 3 times per week only and not to wipe the desks. there’s your tea and biscuit money!!
Allan, 40, Manager
Posted by: Allan Howell | November 5th, 2008 at 9:12 pm | Report this comment
Almost everywhere I worked in the UK, the coffee was horrible.

If I were you, I would set a target (for cost cutting, revenues, or whatever makes sense) and promise your team a decent Espresso machine when it’s reached.

This will cost more in the long run, but at least it will be money well spent, instead of throwing it away on bland, light brown, boiled water.
Posted by: Ian, 35, Male, Director | November 5th, 2008 at 10:48 pm | Report this comment
To Ian. Coffee isn’t meant to be enjoyed, it is merely an alternative to injecting the caffeine intravenously.

To Allan. You’re right, but you have a super typing error. How much does that service cost?
Posted by: Samec, 30 | November 6th, 2008 at 8:07 am | Report this comment
First, admit to yourself that you made a mistake, and stop being angry at your subordinates. In their eyes, you represent the company, and that is a far mightier organisation than they feel they are. If it is petty for them to worry about biscuits, than what is the company’s (i.e. your) economy to be supposed for them.
Second, consider whether the bonding sessions mean the same for you as for them. If you are the only one who wants them and for them coffee is the only thing that keeps them awake during these sessions, discuss some suitable alternatives with them, and cancel the bonding sessions. That will automatically take care of the coffee and cake issue.
However, if you really want the sessions to be what they were before, apologize, and return the coffee and cake.

Alexander, 47, male, manager
Posted by: Alexander | November 6th, 2008 at 7:52 pm | Report this comment
Let’s see. These people all have access to coffe and tea at their desks, don’t they? They either bring it in from the shop down the street, or make in, or take it from, the office urn. So
why the furor over the lack of same in a meeting. Bring it in yourself from your desks, chaps. No reason to raise the hoohah Same thing with biscuits. You keep a few in your desk for occasional snacking, don’t you. Take them in with your coffee or tea. Now if your boss will not permit you to have a cuppa or a crunch at your desk, that is the mark of a man or woman who must be made to walk the plank into the Thames or other body of water without delay.
Posted by: Wes Pedersen, Washington, DC | November 6th, 2008 at 10:20 pm | Report this comment
If the same employees that complained put as much fervor and passion into their work as they do into complaining about something as minor as free coffee and biscuits, perhaps the company might not need to cut back. I think these employees need a refresher on picking their battles and prioritizing.
Posted by: Kasey, Senior Project Manager, Female, 38 | November 7th, 2008 at 2:51 am | Report this comment
Grant, thank you for assisting me to illustrate a problem I believe is reaching epic proportion in our workplaces: what I will call “age discrimination”. Race and gender discrimination are being countered on a case by case basis with an arguable degree of success, but lack of popular awareness of age discrimination has meant that it has not yet begun to be tackled.

Age discrimination, I believe, poses a significant hinderance to the progress of society, as it leads us to discount the potential of our younger members to make valuable contributions to society. Instead, our low expectations cause us to treat the young as simply “labour”, a modern day equivalent of front-line troops.

Which brings me to comment on the situation at hand, our manager who has cut the tea and biscuits. In my experience, people’s actions and attitudes are heavily influenced by the actions and attitudes that are directed towards them by their seniors. Treating employees as though they are the office equivalent of shelf-stackers results in two outcomes: 1) they will respond by becoming increasingly concerned with increasingly unimportant things, and 2) they will zealously guard their (albeit small) circle of control.

If, then, one is to take away the few elements of working life that allow employees to feel like human beings, one should not be surprised by any resultant backlash.

The truth is, the employees’ response here tells us a great deal about the manager’s “management style”.

Manager sir, may I kindly suggest you stop viewing yourself as a “leader of followers” at once (if indeed you view yourself as a leader of any kind), and start viewing yourself as a leader of leaders. You will be surprised at the results. Very shortly, your employees will not care one iota about their tea and biscuits, and will instead be spending their energy on looking for ways they can improve not just your organisation’s cost efficiency, but the top line too. Various of the suggestions above (such as asking employees for suggestions regarding cost-cutting initiatives) are simply different ways to implement this change in perspective.

This same perspective shift, I believe, is necessary in the way we view our young people.

As a matter of fact, “Benjamin, 25, male, Investment Banker” is a pseudonym that I often use these days - it’s interesting to observe the differences of opinion the use of such a name/age/gender/occupation can evoke.
Posted by: Claire, 42, MD | November 7th, 2008 at 3:59 am | Report this comment
Clare/Benjamin, totally agree. It is interesting how few people really understand that the truth or otherwise of an idea depends not on who happens to be expressing it at the time, but on arguments which are or could be advanced in it’s support or against it.
Posted by: Samec, 30 | November 7th, 2008 at 7:43 am | Report this comment
By some delicious irony, you may no longer need the ‘Bonding Sessions’, as you have unified your ‘team’ against you.

You have made a petty mistake, so find an honourable way to back down.

I’m not buying into the ‘never back down’, ‘never apologise’ scenario proposed by others, as this sets a position, which any negotiator will tell you is not healthy. Once you set a position you introduce a winner & a loser, and neither ‘camp’ will want to lose. You’re on the same side for God’s sake.

You may do better for your team-building aspirations if you admit you were wrong on this choice of cut-back, and reinstate. I assume other cut-back measures have gone unchallenged, so have you truly failed? I think not. The other positive outcome is the fact your colleagues are now acutely aware costs are in focus, and as rebuilding damage done needs to be undertaken, you need to ask them for their input regards necessary savings. Suddenly put into your shoes, you may find they are willing to sacrifice things you never considered options, especially if the alternative is to lose a colleague.

If no further savings are deemed possible, and you cannot push the Finance bods into allowing coffee either by readjusting the budget, or taking it from another budget (training?), then perhaps offering your managers the opportunity to reduce your own salary by the value of this cost? This sends a clear message to your managers that you have already cut to the bone, and that some things are just too important to sacrifice. If they receive the message, it may sway their decision making on the severity of future cuts on your department. If your managers actually consider accepting your offer of the pay c

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People have been complaining after I axed free coffee to cut cost

October 30, 2008

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