We often say that culture is not free food or ping pong tables, but something that employees experience every day they work with your company. Since the proliferation of startup culture, perks have been perpetuated as a way for companies to attract talent. Free food, ping pong tables, and arcade machines are just some of the most popular ones. If you ever watched an episode of Silicon Valley on HBO, you’d see the comedic side of perks in full force. Perks are not just ping pong, free snacks, and happy hours. In this episode, we called BS on Company Perks and are joined by Karen Weeks, VP of Ordergroove. Karen has a contrarian viewpoint on perks and believes that perks should represent your specific culture and values and ultimately should support and motivate your organization. We dive deeper into how your company can think differently about the perks you offer your team. Bio Karen D. Weeks is a strategic partner whose drive is to help companies build and scale their culture to meet their business goals and help people find their career passions. Her passion is around talent development, organizational effectiveness, individual career development, and helping teams through change. Currently, Karen is the VP of People at Ordergroove and was named one of the 2020 Notable Women in Talent by Crain’s New York Business. Karen is also a career coach, a speaker, the published author of “Setting the Stage: A Guide to Preparing for Any Feedback Conversation” and the host of the new podcast “Getting off the Hamster Wheel”. Karen’s academic credentials include an MS from Villanova University and a BA from Elon University. She lives in NYC with her husband and furry babies.