What Paper Towels Tell Your Employees

I recently walked into the break room at U.S. Dataworks and noticed someone had bought replacement paper towels. Based on my status of not having anything to do on my off time, along with my Sam’s Club membership, I had assumed responsibility for provision of our kitchen items. However, I had been out of town for an extended period and having run out of paper towels, someone took it upon themselves to get some. Kudos for the initiative! I take my responsibility of keeping our kitchen appropriately stocked to keep our staff fully allotted with snacks, drinks, and most importantly, coffee.

I believe in having great coffee—I order coffee for the office from The Beanery (www.thebeanery.com) and they make sure we have the finest coffee at reasonable prices, as  quality coffee is something employees notice. This brings me back to the paper towels. The particular paper towels I found in the break room were the inexpensive type you might find at a low end store. I am not sure how they manufacture the paper, but it seems impervious to soaking up liquid—one of the key reasons one would avail themselves of a paper towel. Moreover, these low-end paper towels never tear off cleanly. It’s as if the manufacturer, in order to save an additional fraction of a penny, leaves off the perforation at the bottom of the towel. This leaves you with only a portion of the paper towel you need, and an unsightly triangle of unused paper angrily thrust out at a 90 degree angle.

I noticed the inferior paper towels when I tried to tear off a piece and it tore improperly through two pieces. The next day, I replaced all the towels in stock with high-end Bounty.

Amazing. Paper towels that absorb, tear correctly and perform their job properly.

Why am I going on about paper towels—what difference does it make? I believe employees evaluate a company based on the small things. When we try to cut corners and save a couple of bucks on something employees regularly interact with, it is noticed. They may not articulate they notice, but they do. In the weeks since I replaced the paper towels, not a single employee has commented on the quality of the former paper towels, but anyone who used one certainly noticed.

I know of a large, well-known fintech company I’ve regularly provided services for. They go out of their way to provide excellent activities and workspaces for their employees. But, they regularly purchase the cheapest paper towels they can find. I am sure the CEO was unaware of this, as he didn’t spend much time in the employee break room. But I heard employees making negative comments about how ineffective those  paper towels were. I pointed this out to the operations manager who oversaw purchasing for their office and they flat out told me, “paper towel quality does not matter.” They couldn’t be more wrong.

The thing is, when we skimp on the small things, it gets noticed. It sends a signal to employees that we are willing to cut corners to benefit the workplace where they provide the infrastructure of what drives our business. Go check out your paper towels, and if you find you have a bargain brand that will not absorb or properly tear, then correct it. Don’t announce it as if you accomplished something; just quietly take care of it, and look for similar areas where you are being penny wise and dollar foolish.