My lovely wife worked for a while as a web designer for MathWorks, a developer of mathematical computing software based in Massachusetts. The people were nice, the work was fun, but there were a few things that really stood out.
First, everyone had an office. Even the intern. I’m not talking about large spacious offices with sofas and a fridge; on the contrary you couldn’t fit more than two people inside. It was enough space for a desk, a couple chairs, and a filing cabinet. When you wanted privacy or had an important phone call you could close the door (all glass so people can see you looking busy) and if you wanted to mingle or exchange ideas you would walk out to one of the common areas with chairs, sofas, whiteboards that stood in the middle of each floor. Managers had the same type of offices, by the way.
But there was something even better than having an office. Friday Cookies.
Every Friday someone would bring a cart full of fresh baked cookies and make the rounds, giving them away. It would start at the top floor of the building and make its way down. Emails would start flying with subject lines indicating where the cookie cart was at the moment so that people could get ready to grab their cookies as soon as the elevator doors opened.
When you think about a company you worked for or that you have visited, what do you remember most? What are the good and bad things that leave a lasting impression?
Its funny how sometimes little things like a cookie cart can leave people with a positive attitude and pride in having worked at a company that certainly wants the best for its employees.
Culture of All Shapes and Sizes
It doesn’t matter if you are a 6-months old startup or a $5 billion company with 12 thousand employees worldwide like Yahoo - company culture is everywhere. Case in point, Marissa Mayer seems to be doing some good things that although mostly symbolic, can have a profound impact on its employees and, consequently, in its revenue numbers. Some of the changes, as pointed out in VentureBeat, include removing the company’s stock price from the intranet’s home page, making meals free, and introducing weekly meetings with leadership.
Another example that comes to mind is YouSendIt, a pioneer in cloud storage and collaboration. I was at their Campbell, CA office during the week of the Olympics and saw that in the middle of the office they had hung a flat screen TV that was always on and showing the games. It was on mute, but you don’t really need sound to know what’s happening. At some companies the management team may frown upon such a thing. It will distract employees; people will watch TV all day long and not work, etc. But you know what? Yes, people looked at the TV for a few minutes, sometimes they would cheer together but they would go right back to work without needing a supervisor to tell them “get back to your desk!”. It worked and everyone was happy.
It is not about having free lunches, not charging people for coffee, or putting a big TV in the room. It is about what you and your company stand for and what kind of culture you wish to build.
When Company Culture Stalls
Examples of what not to do are countless.
A PC maker I won't name was infamous for discouraging employees from working after 6 PM so the company could shutter the offices and turn off power to save money.
I personally worked for a software company that charged employees for coffee. Yup, you read this right - they priced the very source of productivity for most of their employees. They had a Keurig coffee maker with coffee pods, but employees were asked to contribute 25 cents every time you wanted to drink some coffee. We had to pour it into our own cups, sweeten it with our own sugar, and lighten it with our own cream.
Oh, but it gets better. At one point, the company decided to have a monthly ‘movie day’ where everyone would meet at the conference room and watch a movie together. The caveat was that it had to be during lunch time and you could only watch it for one hour, then you would have to go back to work. If you wanted to watch the rest of the movie you had to do it after hours. Seriously.
Compare that with YouSendIt’s huge TV on the wall during the Olympics.
I’ve also heard stories of companies that went through a rough patch and had to lay off workers and the very next week the CEO shows up driving a new Mercedes. Priorities, right?
Shaping Your Culture
It is not about having free lunches, not charging people for coffee, or putting a big TV in the room. It is about what you and your company stand for and what kind of culture you wish to build. Because the people you hire will either hate or love the company not just based on what you do but why you do things. If you want the right kind of people, then you have to think about what message you are sending when you decide to offer or take away a perk.
Do you know other stories of great perks and incredible jerks? Let me know in the comments.