ARE YOUR EMPLOYEES GRATEFUL?
I
f you have met any member of our team, you know our favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. The simplicity of stepping back to reflect on one’s blessings can be so powerful. It is far too easy to get caught up in the stress of deadlines and the daily grind and to forget about the many privileges we have. Thank goodness we have a national holiday that directs us to take time to reflect with family and friends.
Before we get too nostalgic, ask yourself if your employees feel grateful for their work environment, pay and benefits. How do you show them that they are appreciated? If your company’s retirement plan does not have contemporary features — or worse yet, if you don’t have a retirement plan for your employees — you may find yourself in a difficult spot. A TICKING TIME BOMB? My college buddies traditionally reunite each fall at a former housemate’s lake home in northern Wisconsin. This year, the group was larger than usual, which only meant that the stories and recollections were even more abundant. I found one new attendee’s life story post-graduation especially poignant, as it relates to the subject of this article. Let’s call him “Mike” to protect his identity. Mike is now 58 years old and splits time between his homes in Florida and Minnesota. He has been semi-retired for 15 years thanks to the success of a company that he and two partners started when he was younger and which has done phenomenally well. We’ll call this company “Widget Distributor B.” What really caught my attention was why the company ever started in the first place. It turns out that Mike was a salesman for “Widget Distributor A.” Mike, another salesman and their manager were hardworking and one day approached the owner to request that a 401(k) plan be established so that they could save for their retirement. When the owner learned that it would cost him $2,000 to establish the plan for his employees, he quickly discarded the request and instructed them to get back to work. This turned out to be a bad decision.
22 KENDALL COUNTY MAGAZINE
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BUSINESS & CIVIC
| WINTER 2021 |
11/3/21 12:29 PM
