If you’re looking to attract and retain employees in the next decade you might want to consider an old school employee benefit – the car space. But make sure it has access to an electric vehicle charging port.
In the ‘olden days’, organisations would allocate parking spaces to senior managers normally starting with the Managing Director’s spot closest the to the door. You only need to visit a golf club to see how the tradition is still in place for many institutions. The Club President, Secretary and Directors all get allocated spots (normally indicated by a very nice sign) while the members fight it out for parking on busy competition days.
One organisations I worked at moved offices from a building with lots of parking to one with limited spaces and parking meters on the streets. It created massive internal disruption as staff found out who would be getting a parking space and who would miss out. Arguments were made on seniority, length of service, access to public transport and role mobility.
I was in the position of General Manager which guaranteed me a parking space. At some point during the allocation of spots I ended up with one furthest from the lift. I remember having a sit down with the MD as they apologised and reasoned why it was a good thing. It didn’t bother me because I enjoyed the extra few steps each day. But my colleagues saw it as a sign that my time was limited in the role.
Times have changed in the workplace and the scarcity of land meant parking spots became a real luxury. They are still allocated to executives and advertised as a benefit by organisations in the outer industrial estates, though most companies have abandoned the golf club style signs.
In the next decade, access to free electric vehicle charging at work will become the must have employee benefit. It’s the equivalent of free fuel so you can see the attraction. While electricity is cheaper than petrol or diesel today, prices will rise as demand increases making the benefit as good as a pay rise to attract and retain talent.
