Finding the right talent is hard, but keeping star employees, that’s even harder. It’s why so many startups and tech companies go out of their way to make a great work environment, one that inspires employees and gets them excited about coming to the office.
We reached out to a few local companies that are known for making their employees happy to learn from their approaches. Turns out, employee retention is not just about perks (though those are important too). From fun games in the office, the ability to work from home and continual learning, recognizing achievements and treating employees like real people (!), we’ve gathered the top six approaches.
1. Have an Open Door Policy
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The ifbyphone team
While a flat management structure isn’t ideal for all companies, knowing you can go to your boss at anytime, about any problem makes employees feel valued. It can also cut down on wasted time. “We strive constantly to maintain a true open door policy for our employees where they feel respected and heard and treated as the professionals they are,” said Amy Ducote, HR manager of ifbyphone, a SaaS voice-based marketing automation company.
Open doors are also about how employees are treated. “At Emmi, no employee is too small to have an idea that shapes our actions. And no executive is too big to join in a foosball game or weekly yoga,” said Sharon Ray, vice president of human resources at Emmi Solutions, a healthcare communications company.
At Cars.com, an online platform providing information on buying cars, they have a “completely open office environment. This supports our open door policy and allows easy access to senior leadership,” said Susannah Graf, senior recruiters for Cars.com.
2. Allow Employees to Keep Learning
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The Channel IQ Hackathon
Learning doesn’t stop once you leave the classroom and many of the companies we talked to emphasized ongoing learning for their staff. Emmi Solutions believes learning can happen on the job, and just because you are in accounting now doesn’t mean you couldn’t be the next star marketer. “We have a program for people to shadow other employees to explore other positions they may be interested in and make changes internally if it works out,” said Ray of Emmi Solutions.
If that doesn’t work, Centro, a media management software company, offers paid sabbaticals for employees in their fifth year at the company. “We have 80 employees who can take this in 2015!” said John Boyce, SVP of talent and development at Centro. They also offer more standard learning perks like tuition reimbursements.
3. Recognize that Employees are Real People Too
For lots of tech companies, work might entail sitting at a desk for 8+ hours a day. But just because you are staring at a computer screen doesn’t mean you don’t need to exercise your body and creativity. Channel IQ, provider of online retail intelligence solutions, put it best when they said “Understanding that employees are human beings and not robots, and that everyone is entitled to an off day, is key,” said Adina Wolf, HR director of Channel IQ.
Flexible work environments were a major theme with this cohort. “We offer a very flexible work environment so if an employee wants to work from home or take some time off for personal reasons, we allow it,” said Ray of Emmi Solutions. But beyond time off, “Creativity is encouraged and welcomed, we think that helps people feel comfortable being themselves and positive about the culture,” said Ray of Emmi Solutions.
The best Chicago companies want to make sure their employees flex their muscles along with their brains. Emmi Solutions has a company kickball and volleyball team, while Centro offers yoga classes three times a week. “We take care of our employees’ emotional and physiological needs (e.g. great healthcare, free fruit and snacks, professional coaching, fitness stipends, donation matching and more) so that they can work hard and be creative without the common worries of everyday life,” said Boyce of Centro.
Channel IQ offers gym reimbursements and a comprehensive benefits package. They also have a “no-jerk policy” to ensure that all employees are happy and getting along.
“We try to foster an environment where our employees can not only grow their careers but one in which they have fun doing it…. Our work environment is very casual, there are lots of games and fun activities to do in the office but our employees also understand this is a place to expand your knowledge and grow as much as possible through hard work, collaboration and pushing the boundaries every day,” said Ducote of ifbyphone.
4. Give them a Break
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Cars.com Employees Having Fun in the Office
Giving employees a break ranges from paid time off, working from home and allowing employees to play at the office. These are all essential approaches to reinvigorate employees and keep them enthused about the project at hand. “We offer a plethora of paid time off spanning vacation time, flex days, holidays and more. We have maternity and paternity leave, and baby-sitting services for parents,” said Boyce of Centro.
“We offer unlimited vacation to all of our employees as a way to say thank you — thank you for your hard work when you're here, thank you for your dedication to the future of ifbyphone and thank you for being a pleasant person to work with. And in return for all of that, we want to reward our employees by giving them unlimited time off of work,” said Ducote of ifbyphone. Plus, the company has Wii-U and Mario Kart in their break room.
Beyond the typical two weeks off, employees also want to give their brain a break during the workday. “We make sure to have ample opportunities for employees to connect on a social level. This is just as important as company meetings. Pictionary and other games get pretty rough around here, but healthy competition and bragging rights bring out the best in people. A happy, connected group is a cohesive group,” said Wolf of Channel IQ.
5. Work Should Have a Mission Instead of Just Being a Task
If the job is just a 9-5 without a broader purpose, all the perks in the world won’t keep employees happy and engaged forever. "Our positive mission of improving healthcare unites us all behind a common goal,” said Ray of Emmi Solutions.
For others, employees find their work meaningful and are “empowered to have an impact to those ends,” said Boyce of Centro.
Cars.com offers another way to keep employees feeling like they are making a difference by giving them “a paid day off for all employees to volunteer or get involved with a local charity,” said Graf of Cars.com.
6. Recognize and Reward Their Efforts
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Centro accepting the Moxie Award for Best Company Culture
Recognition can be as simple as having a great meal together or a cash bonus. At Channel IQ, they take a unique approach to this. “We came up with quarterly breakfasts, but instead of having it catered, we create it ourselves. Our social committee stocks up on items at the grocery store, preps the night before, and arrives at 7 a.m. to prepare and serve breakfast to our 120 employees. The personalization of the meal, good music that we play, and upbeat energy in what would usually be a quiet morning, goes a long way,” said Wolf of Channel IQ.
Some are more typical – Centro offers bonuses on a quarterly and yearly basis.
Recognition can also be tailored for maximum impact. “Know your individual employees — and your different teams — so you can tailor your rewards to produce the greatest impact for each individual. Rewards are only rewards if your employees feel rewarded,” said Ray of Emmi Solutions.
Others can be fun and competitive. “We like to recognize employees who go “above and beyond” and encourage innovation through hackathons and recognizing/rewarding employees who contribute to innovation,” said Graf of Cars.com.
Recognition isn’t just about praising employees – it’s about valuing their input too. “We also started using an anonymous feedback tool recently that allows our employees to submit suggestions about whatever they see or hear in our workplace that they wish would change or be acknowledged and our CEO personally responds to these companywide so that everyone can see what these issues are and that we are taking them very seriously,” said Ducote of ifbyphone.
