The list is quite revealing - it gives away some of the "command and control" tendencies in some (US?) businesses. Some of the suggestions are astonishing (I w

The list is quite revealing - it gives away some of the "command and control" tendencies in some (US?) businesses. Some of the suggestions are astonishing (I work in Europe and can't conceive of a non-customer facing/low security role where personal phones are, or even should, be banned). Others are appallingly cheesy, friending your employees on Facebook, really? What about the ones that I personally really appreciate: 1. Personal recognition from management for work well done And I don't mean "employee of the month" plaques - more a senior stakeholder that pops by with the mission to shake my hand and mention why the work was important for our shared business goals. 2. Acknowledgement of serious commitment to shared goals Even better is the PA to the CEO who wanders through the building after the early shutdown time on Christmas Eve or other local equivalent to find out who's still working, and comes back with a small gift hamper full of little items like gourmet jam, already wrapped with easy-remove numbered stickers and a master list of the contents, to take the stress out of last-minute shopping. Honestly, I would have taken a 20% paycut from them after that with a smile. 3. Flexibility flexibility flexibility Most of my work experience has been in organisations that ask for flexibility from staff - illegal (only in parts of the EU!) numbers of hours to be worked during crunches, "temporary" incomplete or unfit-for-purpose work process changes, spontaneous and badly thought through changes of focus and priority to keep the financial markets happy etc. I really appreciate the flexibility right back: a parent suffering terminal illness on the other side of the world demands significant blocks of time away from project activities. I was extremely gratified that my direct HR line manager and program leads let me know that they'd move heaven and earth to make it possible. I worked while I was away to keep things on track and committed to stay on board for significantly longer than I'd planned. 4. Fair pay for hard work Enough said. 5. A little thought about impacts of business decisions Sometimes there are problems. You need to fly out at short notice and it may be that you'll be on the road for a month or two. This isn't part of your job description. What really worked for me was when my boss asked about the impact on my home life. And when HR asked me whether to send flowers every Friday on my behalf to my spouse. And our local logistics people offered their help if we needed someone to be at home for things like visits from the gas company. These things cost very little, are genuine and not cheesy and are not sensible removals of dumb authoritarianism. This is how you show your employees that you value them and their commitment to your shared goals.