Back before the turn of the century, before the widespread use of direct deposit, we used to print paychecks every two weeks. It was a big production, loading up the laser printer with blank checks, printing off envelopes and then stuffing the checks and paystubs. Everyone wanted those checks in their hands as soon as possible. Likewise, my parents loved to connect with the employees, catch up on their lives and hear how things were going with their assignment. Thus, the tradition of hand-delivering the checks to employees was born.
One of my first Murphy & Associates missions involved delivering paychecks, when, for one week in 1990, I was the only Murphy Family Member in Seattle. At the ripe age of 19, I was designated the interim paycheck delivery guy. It was actually a lot of fun; back then you could freely wander through office buildings and cubicles, so I got my first taste of office life. What really made it fun, however, was the fact that all my delivery targets were happy to see me. I was giving them a check, after all.
With Direct Deposit, the need to hand deliver checks evaporated. Direct Deposit is certainly a huge convenience, but we felt that there was also a loss of connection. With that in mind, we updated the tradition by transforming it to the "monthly check-in".
Even though nearly thirty years have passed since my first foray into check-ins, I find that I still really enjoy the opportunity to visit and connect with people at work. I am always so impressed by the caliber of people that are in our network, their wide range of skillsets, and their friendly openness. Over the course of an afternoon, I get the chance to learn about projects that touch anything from airplane performance to regulatory compliance to hardware testing. Invariably, I walk away from these conversations with a better understanding of our clients, and on occasion, I get a better sense of the challenges that our consultants face.
Ultimately, the check-in tradition is simply a means for us to stay connected with people in our network and make sure that we are doing all that we can to support our employees. That said, we know that people have busy schedules, so the monthly check-in is entirely optional. If you are too busy to meet, there won’t be any repercussions for taking a pass… it’s not like we are going to withhold your check or anything…