What fun and low-cost fringe benefits/perks would you offer to employees?
answers.onstartups.com
What fun and low-cost fringe benefits/perks would you offer to employees?
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Re: What fun and low-cost fringe benefits/perks would you offer to employees?
#2Treats. Free donuts, coffee, pizza, beers, etc. That kind of thing is low-cost and highly appreciated.
Plus there's the communal, social factor of all eating/drinking together as a team.
Re: What fun and low-cost fringe benefits/perks would you offer to employees?
#31. be neutral about where work gets done
2. be neutral about when work gets done
3. be neutral about how work gets done
Re: What fun and low-cost fringe benefits/perks would you offer to employees?
#41. Respect
2. Autonomy
3. Control
None of those cost money yet so few workplaces value them since disrespect, micromanagement, and industrial era style division of labor are addictions of the corporate management crowd. It's gospel to Ivy League educated and Old Money.
As a separate issue, "As startups, we can't really offer top-dollar salaries to our employees." is complete nonsense. First of all, "we don't pay top dollar" is doublespeak for "We pay below market rate." Nothing says "We don't respect you." as much as that does. If you can't at the absolute minimum pay market rate for the level of talent you require you shouldn't be in business. End of story.
Re: What fun and low-cost fringe benefits/perks would you offer to employees?
#51. be neutral about where work gets done 2. be neutral about when work gets done 3. be neutral about how work gets done
Recognizing everyone has their own patterns and giving them the autonomy to maximize work given their own patterns is certainly important. Of course step 0 of this prescription is hiring someone who is trustworthy and self-aware.
Re: What fun and low-cost fringe benefits/perks would you offer to employees?
#6Depending on your business and your employees? Equipment.
I recently worked at a TV station and regularly asked my boss if I could do things like borrow a camera on a weekend, or installed a single game for some of us to play after hours when no one was working.
The answer was always "no". That was unfortunate. The camera I kinda get; it could break. But using my computer at work, when no one else is? Seemed relatively harmless.
Re: What fun and low-cost fringe benefits/perks would you offer to employees?
#71. Respect 2. Autonomy 3. Control None of those cost money yet so few workplaces value them since disrespect, micromanagement, and industrial era style division of labor are addictions of the corporate management crowd. It's gospel to Ivy League educated and Old Money. As a separate issue, "As startups, we can't really offer top-dollar salaries to our employees." is complete nonsense. First of all, "we don't pay top…
"If you can't at the absolute minimum pay market rate for the level of talent you require you shouldn't be in business. End of story."
One of the key pillars of the startup ecosystem is that you can offer someone equity in exchange for significantly "below market rate" wages. In some or even many cases, this will be below the "the absolute minimum pay market rate for the level of talent ... require[d]."
If you view that as a sign of disrespect, then you should probably only ever work for 1)bootstrapped businesses that are pretty far along the bootstrap curve or 2) venture-funded businesses that have significant funding. That's a totally viable approach to working for a startup, and I respect you for refusing to work under less than a given rate.
But I don't think it's fair for you to impose your minimum wage upon others. Some people are willing to work for more nascent businesses in exchange for more upside. That should be their right too.
Re: What fun and low-cost fringe benefits/perks would you offer to employees?
#8Let people choose what tools they use to get the job done. It really sucks to be forced to use inferior tools/software/hardware/etc at work than what you have become accustomed to using in more progressive environments.
Re: What fun and low-cost fringe benefits/perks would you offer to employees?
#91. Respect 2. Autonomy 3. Control None of those cost money yet so few workplaces value them since disrespect, micromanagement, and industrial era style division of labor are addictions of the corporate management crowd. It's gospel to Ivy League educated and Old Money. As a separate issue, "As startups, we can't really offer top-dollar salaries to our employees." is complete nonsense. First of all, "we don't pay top…
This is not a helpful comment. It only sounds like one. In fact: since nobody on HN would sponsor a "respect-free" or "autonomy-free" or "control-free" work environment, it actually doesn't say anything at all.
This is frustrating because there are probably a million things we could do for (e.g.) Matasano team members without having to restructure the business, and I'd love some more ideas.
Re: What fun and low-cost fringe benefits/perks would you offer to employees?
#10The scotch library is pretty silly.
1/2 day on Halloween is a great idea.
I am not a fan of company-sponsored lunch; it sends a message that you're expected to be working constantly. Many of the big finance companies do it, and the employees are clear about why.
Books are so cheap relative to FTE cost, I don't know why you'd even come up with a "training policy" for them. We just give everyone an Amazon account and say "go to town". You buy a book, it's yours; the only rule is, don't buy books for your friends on our dime. :)