The Girl Scout cookie dilemma

Not everyone wants Girl Scout cookies. Even a first-grade Brownie can tell you that.

But be honest with the girls. A simple “thanks, but not this year” comes across as sincere. A recent post by Luke Roney at USNews.com takes a different approach to fundraising in the office. Read Roney’s advice and see if you agree with his suggestion of outright fibbing. To me, it solves nothing. 

If cookie sales are a problem in your workplace, it’s time to look at why. As a parent of a Girl Scout, I see two common issues:

1. Girls are supposed to sell the cookies. But in many workplaces, the parents are walking from cube to cube with an order form. That’s just awkward.

2. If 100 employees have daughters in Girl Scouts, workers are getting bombarded with cookie solicitations. How do you say yes to one without buying from all?

HR can smooth the road for both employees and Scouts by establishing a policy regarding onsite selling.

Here are a few ideas:

• Allow employees’ daughters to work as a group to set up a one-hour cookie sale in a conference room. This way, people who want cookies can get them. Others can simply ignore the sale, without offending anyone.

• Invite Girl Scouts to sign up for individual selling days outside your office building. Put a table by the door and let them sell cookies to people as they leave for the day.

• Let employees know that selling cookies onsite is prohibited, but that your organization will make a donation to each girl’s troop.

How is your organization handling Girl Scout cookies this year?

Read the full post here.

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