Vietnamese Team and “Tiền Quỹ” / “Money Pot”

Vietnamese work environment is very vibrant and there are great positive energy within each team. The workforce in general are usually very socially active with each other and have regular social events. Happy hour several times a week is a very common social event. Larger events such as birthdays and team building trips are also common and could possibly occur monthly. The events can get quite costly and paying for it could be challenging. Luckily, the Vietnamese team culture has a commonly used “money pot” or “tiền quỹ” in place to finance these events.

In the western culture, it is less likely that there are regular team events. The likelihood of regular social events weekly is even rarer. However, the Vietnamese working culture is very different. Team socializing is very common and the team builds a bond with each other that sometimes are closer nit than the bond they have with their own families. Leaders are absolutely expected to be part of this bonding experience and this is something I’ve written about in my blog Leadership Strategies for Vietnam Team. Having these events can be quite costly, especially when there are so many events happening regularly. To fund these events, the teams usually has a cash “money pot” or “tiền quỹ” in Vietnamese. This is a communal pot where everyone in the team contributes to. In general, each member of the team contributes evenly. However, as the leader, it is customary for the leader to contribute more than the team members.

As westerners, we may not be familiar with this tradition, and may be even uncomfortable with it. It is something that we don’t do in the US office, and may even be restricted from engaging in by HR, due to legal restrictions. However, it is very common and acceptable in the Vietnamese culture. Here are 5 tips on how you should approach this team money pot tradition as a leader.

1. Leaders must participate in contributing to the money pot.
2. You must be willing to contribute more than the team.
3. The contribution is made monthly, and usually right after payday. Be prompt and contribute on time.
4. Make all possible attempts to join in the team events. But even if you can’t participate, never ask to deduct your contribution due to your absence.
5. Never complain about the contribution amount as it can have negative perception of you as a leader.

The exact contribution amounts varies depending on industry, working class, and willingness to spend. And each organization may have different contribution cultures and expectations. Just remember that as leaders, we cannot excuse ourselves from participating in the money pot contribution. Regardless of how often we participate in the social events, although leaders should always be in attendance, we contribute more than the team and always on time. So don’t be shocked when this topic comes up in your team. Regardless of invitation to join the contribution, sometimes you may not be asked because of the cultural or level difference, but always be willing and volunteer to participate in contribution to the money pot.

Photo by: Cindy Malette