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Flexibility is the greatest perk
Assuming you’re already paying well, how can you keep your staff?
Where we are
Given that technology talent is in significant demand, and given that salaries can only go so high before they fail to become a meaningful differentiator, companies need to find new ways to attract and retain staff.
As a manager of engineers, aside from making sure that I am paying market rate, I’ve found that the most impactful workplace perk that I can give staff is flexibility over the time and location of their work.
Typically this means:
- The ability for my staff to work from home (or elsewhere) when they need, either for productivity reasons or for any other life reason.
- No strict start and end of the day, since we’re not a factory.
This perk costs you pretty much nothing, but the effect on employee happiness can be something quite special.
It can give someone the ability to do all of their children’s school runs. It can save thousands on peak time public transport costs. It can allow someone to care better for a dependent in need. It can take the pressure off of a partner working full-time with no flexibility of their own. It can allow someone to visit their family for two weeks whilst also getting their work done remotely and not using any vacation time.
Doubling your salary will not allow you to buy these freedoms.
We’ve come a long way from free Coke
Ten years ago, a Google-esque perks list that included foosball, free snacks and drinks and a quirky office on top of interesting work will have been unique enough to attract staff away from duller corporate environments.
However, I would argue that these benefits have become a hygiene factor for most technology companies. My cynical side could point out that companies that try to make their office “cool”, whilst still being in the cultural and technological dark ages, have a lot to fix before worrying about where to optimally place their Kegerator.
A positive shift happening in our industry is a move towards increased trust and flexibility in the full-time…
