employee perks

5 Innovative and Inspiring Workplaces

Kentin Waits — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:45:17 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/5-innovative-and-inspiring-workplaces-1

It’s no secret that engaging, creative, and flexible work environments can increase employee loyalty and productivity. During the dot com boom when the job market was flush with opportunities, but short on qualified candidates, companies began to concentrate on their work environments and perks to keep existing employees happy – and to win new ones.

Fast forward 15 years and that torch has dimmed a bit, but is still being carried by some innovative companies that continue to focus on flexible work arrangements, fun and creative atmospheres, and benefits that bring out the best in their employees.

In today’s slightly more sober work world, it’s still possible to find companies that are hitting all the right notes with work/life balance and creating innovative environments that help employees thrive. Let’s explore five of the best.

1. Google

This search and technology company is renowned for its long laundry list of perks. Free food at any of its 11 on-site gourmet cafeterias, free laundry, on-site oil changes and car-washes make this company’s Mountain View, California campus truly full-service.

But beyond the creature comforts, Google’s innovation also puts money in your pocket. Referring a friend that gets hired by Google scores you $2000.Associates can also award each other “spot bonuses” of $175 each. In 2010, more than two-thirds of them did so. But that’s just the start. Come up with a truly game-changing idea for a new Google service or technology and become eligible for a founder’s award that can sometimes be in the seven figures.

2. Dreamworks Animation SKG

The creative minds behind Kung Fu Panda thrive on Dreamworks’ culture of collaboration and creativity. Employees are treated to free breakfast and lunch, on-site movie screenings, plus yoga and art classes. What’s more, any employee – from janitor to VP – can pitch a movie idea to the executive team. Employees enroll in the company’s “Life’s A Pitch” workshop to learn how.

3. Pixar Animation Studios

Free film screenings and a cereal bar featuring more than 20 choices are just the beginning of what sets our next animation studio apart from other employers.

By popular consensus, Pixar may have the coolest work environment on earth. The Emeryville, California campus features a lap pool, offices with mood lighting, and small cabanas or huts where employees can sequester themselves for dynamic meetings or quiet inspiration.

4. Nike

The sportswear giant’s 177 acre headquarters near Beaverton, Oregon features an Olympic-sized swimming pool, two gymnasiums, indoor and outdoor tracks, a soccer field, and walking trails. Nike has partnered with the local transit authority to provide subsidized passes that cost commuters only $25 annually, as compared to the regular rate of $600. Add that to other benefits like on-site dry cleaning, a full-service hair and nail salon, floral shops and gifts shops, and Nike seems to have thought of everything.

5. Zappos

Even though online shoe retailer Zappos is now owned by Amazon.com, Zappos still retains its quirky, happy culture. Among the perks are free lunches, no-charge vending machines, and access to full-time life coaches. Zappos’ creative approach to work is driven by guiding principles that include such gems as:

Create fun and a little weirdness;
Build a positive team and family spirit;
Pursue growth and learning.

Perhaps the oddest benefit to existing employees is Zappos’ approach to the newly-hired. After their initial training, new employees are offered $2000 to quit. This counter-intuitive method ensures that those who stay truly want to be there and are committed to the company’s continued success.

Employers that foster innovative, engaging, and rewarding work environments understand the intrinsic value of retaining a well-trained workforce familiar with company culture and loyal to its mission. Regardless of the vagaries of the job market, innovation will always attract the best minds and challenge average employees to become great. Lap pools and day spas may not be in the budget for many small businesses, but plenty of other innovative ideas certainly are.

This article is from Kentin Waits of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Flexible Work, Works – Even for Hourly Employees

Tom Harnish — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 00:16:15 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/managing/article/flexible-work-works-ev...

Not so long ago vWorker.com was called Rent-a-Coder. The name change created a bit of a hubbub. It seems some of the pros who offer their skills through the service don't like being called "workers." But not one of them, I'll wager, is offended when they’re referred to as a "human resource."

Fortunately, although many companies still have HR departments, business owners and managers are waking up to the fact that people aren't consumable or disposable resources.

Smart companies are finding ways to help their people create a better work-life fit. Company directors aren’t doing this out of the goodness of their pinstriped hearts. Study after study has shown that happy employees are more engaged and more productive, and that translates into more satisfied customers and a healthier bottom line.

Workplace flexibility – changing how, when, and where work is done – is one way to help make people happier. But it has long been considered a perk and only for the upper echelons. What about hourly workers? Their needs are no different than those of senior managers. Wouldn’t flexibility for them create the same beneficial outcomes?

A recent study looked at the flexibility options offered by companies such as Marriott International, Inc., Proctor and Gamble, Bright Horizons and PNC Financial. The research showed that flexibility for low-wage hourly and non-exempt people is effective in a variety of business environments – from hospitality to financial services, and from child care to consumer products.

Two Reasons Flexibility is Good for Business

1. Flexibility is an effective way to recruit and retain talent.

There is a shortage of qualified early childhood teachers. But flexible work options, used as a talent management strategy, allowed Bright Horizons Family Solutions to recruit and retain people who are committed to what they do. And by offering a broad choice of work schedules, they’re able to tap into a wider labor pool.

Flexible schedules and innovative time-off policies allowed PNC Financial to become an employer of choice in a competitive labor market among millennial workers.

Customer service and sales jobs typically suffer high turnover. But Marriott found flexibility was an effective way to hold on to their high-performing employees. Flexibility helped the company respond to the realities of the their employee’s lives – raising a family, going back to school, recovering from illness, or having to provide family care.

Businesses, such as Proctor and Gamble, need to operate 24/7. The part-time positions, flextime, and compressed work schedules they offer allow them to successfully match their operational needs with the needs of their people.

2. Flexibility helps control costs and boost productivity.

I listened recently to the owner of Zazie, a San Francisco restaurant, talk about how she lets her staff schedule themselves – heresy in the hospitality world. She also said she offers a full suite of benefits for her part-time staff, an equally radical practice. But while that puts her labor costs at 48% of revenue, her bottom line was higher than her peers'. What’s more, she said she hadn't hired new kitchen staff in more than seven years.

For other businesses, flexibility allows them to control personnel costs, especially overtime costs – a win-win for company and workers.

But best of all, many companies have documented productivity gains, especially by offering telework as a flexibility strategy. Best Buy, British Telecom, and Dow Chemical have documented that their teleworkers are 35-40% more productive. JDEdwards teleworkers are 20-25% more productive than their office counterparts. American Express teleworkers produced 43% more than their office-based counterparts. Compaq increased productivity 15%-45% when they initiated a telework program.

How to Implement a Flexible Work Strategy for Hourly Employees

1. Use a team-based approach.

You have to establish clear guidelines and performance expectations, but then you can build flexibility into staffing models and cross-train team members, so they can help each other. Almost everyone responds to the opportunity for self-determination, and most respond to shared responsibility.

2. Involve work teams in the design of the flexibility program.

When people have an opportunity to solve their own problems, they become committed to business goals and take ownership of a process and results.

3. Give people choice and control over their hours.

Giving people control over their work hours has the highest impact of any flexible option. If you can find ways to allow workers to manage shift trades, make up time in the same pay period, or take vacation and sick time off in small chunks, you’ll reap the reward. Don't know how? Ask them! (See #2)

4. Offer several flexible options.

The more options you offer and the easier they are to use, the more engaged, productive, and loyal your people will be. And because a sense of self-determination lowers stress, absenteeism will go down, too. 78% of employees who call in sick aren't – they're dealing with family issues, personal needs, and taking "mental health" breaks to fight stress.

5. Recognize there's no "one size fits all" solution.

Flexibility "fit" is important. If you can offer a variety of options (see #4, above) and create a culture of support for the unique needs of individuals and their jobs, you'll find your flexibility programs fit better.

6. Managers are key to your success and communication is pivotal.

Managers are your communications path to employees about the options available, and managers approve flexibility arrangements. If they haven't been trained to understand the benefits, and if you don't make them accountable for the success of your flexibility program, it won't work. Implementation of a flexibility strategy is no different than implementation of any other business strategy .

7. You need clear policies and consistent application.

Fair and consistent application of flexibility policies is crucial to success. Transparent evaluation of flexibility requests and clear performance expectations provide the framework that managers and others need to make flexibility work.

8. Technology is your friend.

Flexible work, in many ways, is possible only because technology makes it so. Email, instant messaging, online schedules and calendars, and other modern tools of can make flexible work work. Availability, schedules, and changing requirements can all be communicated to keep work groups connected regardless of the time or day.

Alpine Access, a call center with more than 2000 home-based employees offers scheduling in 20 minute increments. That gives their people incredible flexibility, but it also means that in an emergency – created by business or nature – their entire workforce can, and do, respond in minutes.

9. Flexibility applies to careers too.

Our research shows that companies could stop the brain drain created as baby-boomers retire by giving them the flexibility to work on their schedule or from home. More than 80% of boomers say they'd continue to work if they could do it on their terms. Using flexibility to recruit, develop, and retain top performers can give you an edge over less visionary competitors.

What This Means for You

As an employer, flexibility offers a powerful tool for business success. A flexible work culture‚ particularly one that offers a variety of formal flexibility programs, leads to better recruitment and retention of talent, increased engagement and productivity, lower levels of stress and burnout and better customer service – all of which produce better financial results.

This article is from Tom Harnish of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: