Avoiding office collections

By Tara Weiss
October 08, 2007 09:16am

TIRED of handing over your hard-earned cash for another colleague's farewell present, birthday, charity walk or newborn? There are ways around it.

As that over-sized envelope lands on your desk once more you smile, but you feel like screaming, "Leave me alone! Do you know how little I get paid?"

It's a classic office etiquette dilemma - to chip in or not to chip in. On the one hand you don't want to seem cheap. But on the other, you really don't want giving at the office to make you go broke.

"What I find from companies I work with is employees are becoming very frustrated," says Jacqueline Whitmore, author of Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work.

"No one should feel like they have to give in every single situation."

Give in other ways

Before you start a savings account specifically for workplace celebrations, remember the most important thing is to make your co-worker feel special. And that doesn't necessarily require a lot of money.

It might sound corny, but making something is a good option, says Robyn Freedman Spizman, author of The Giftionary: An A-Z Reference Guide for Solving Your Gift-Giving Dilemmas Forever.

Baking brownies or some other tasty treat will be much appreciated by the person you're celebrating, and everyone else in the office.

If you're willing to take the concept a step further, design coupons for things you could do for the person, such as babysitting their child for the night, preparing a homemade lunch or watching their pet while he or she goes on vacation.

For someone who's getting married, ask everyone in the office to contribute their favorite recipe and place them all in a decorative binder or picture album. Remember to have participants sign their name on their page.

Money should not be mandatory

If you're going to organise a collection for a gift or a party, Ms Whitmore recommends being clear that it's optional. And make sure the process is anonymous.

She suggests listing everyone's name on the outside of the collection envelope. As colleagues receive the envelope, have them check their names off to ensure everyone knows it's going around. That way, nobody knows how much you've donated, or if you've decided not to give.

It's also important to specify, in an attached note, exactly what the money will be used for.

If a colleague approaches you in person and you're not contributing, Ms Spizman suggests saying something like, "I've already gotten something special, I hope you don't mind."

It's important to remember that while a gift is nice, words go a long way. A card with a personal note will be around a lot longer than cash.

Employee equality

If you're a manager, the best thing to do is take control of celebrations and make them equal for all employees. No one wants to feel like another colleague was celebrated more than they were.

One example of such a system comes from World at Work, a global human resources association. The higher-ups took the stress out of celebrating by using the company's intranet to post items about employee milestones.

Those announcements - births, deaths, anniversaries and birthdays - are placed under the personals section.

Another way they keep celebrations equal is by gathering monthly for a potluck lunch to celebrate all the milestones and happenings of several weeks at once.

The company O.C. Tanner, which makes plaques and other employee recognition products, recently commissioned a survey that examined the relationship between employee recognition and a company's profitability.

The survey found companies that make employee recognition a priority have three times the return on equity compared to those who don't, says Adrian Gostick, O.C. Tanner's marketing director.

"We thought maybe there would be a 10 per cent difference in profitability," he says. "It was quite startling."

Perhaps that's why O.C. Tanner cuts its own employees a cheque for $100 on their birthdays.

The best part is that cash is a lot less fattening than donuts and cheese cake.

News Limited

My personal perception is let them knock at your door.
Then show them why they are wrong

then belt them.....

ROFL!