Ask HN: Actually good perks

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2264256

by joshu • 15 years ago

13 33 15 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

So, I'm running a small startup and I'm trying to figure out things that would actually make people happier.

So far we've got:

- good chairs

- you can get whatever monitor you want

- you can get good headphones

- you can subscribe to music services

What other perks have you really enjoyed at your job? Or otherwise made life good.

jefe78• 15 years ago

Free snacks/drinks are always nice. Having lunch delivered also keeps people at their desk, working longer.

Edit - I used to work for a company that offered a daily lunch budget, on the condition that it be delivered. You were free to eat anywhere you wanted, but realistically, you stayed in/around the building.

In the event that you had to stay after-hours, you were alloted a dinner budget to order in with everyone that had to stay.

Also, we had fresh fruit delivered as needed and Monday/Wednesday/Friday, fresh bagels and pastries were delivered.

We worked our butts off, knowing we didn't have to go home and make dinner/do groceries.

This was over in Denmark...I've only worked for one company in North America with as awesome a setup.

Implementing any of the above would probably go a long way.

ibejoeb• 15 years ago

Yes, definitely keep the drink supply replenished. It's cheap to buy from bulk retailers. Check the yellowpages for beverage supply in your area.

joshu7• 15 years ago

Yeah, definitely.

Actually, I worked at a team that refused to stock anything but water. My boss felt that the walk to a coffee place was more valuable to your creativity than staying at your desk.

I agree, but sometimes you are just thirsty. So we've got an office where stuff is walkable as well as stocked beverages.

joshu7• 15 years ago

I like this. Except in California, there are no good bagels. :(

notacylon• 15 years ago

http://www.izzysbrooklynbagels.com/ :)

bartonfink2• 15 years ago

If you're going to go with free drinks, make it easy for people to give some input as to what they want.

I avoid high-fructose corn syrup, for example, but I still like soda. At the two places I've worked at that supplied free drinks, when I brought this up I was "politely" told "well, something is better than nothing, isn't it?" No, it isn't.

arfrank2• 15 years ago

A monthly book stipend

joshu7• 15 years ago

This is a good idea.

arfrank2• 15 years ago

Stole it from twilio to be honest.

Also depending on who works there Legos or some other childhood toys to allow for creative times away from the computer.

nixme• 15 years ago

This is better: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1639193

"every Matasano employee has an Amazon account for which they can buy any book they want ever"

bartonfink2• 15 years ago

I once worked for a place that gave its developers Safari memberships, and I thought that was an excellent perk. In fact, I still do because they haven't cancelled mine even though I quit early last year.

spooneybarger2• 15 years ago

no set number of sick days, vacation etc.

you do your job, you get to take time off as you need/want.

joshu7• 15 years ago

That's what we're currently doing, and I'm waiting to see if anyone abuses it. Work from home as necessary, too...

spooneybarger2• 15 years ago

if they abuse it, let them go. don't punish others because someone you hire will eventually abuse it.

hansef• 15 years ago

yep. we've been doing this for five years, as we've grown from 3 people to 20. haven't had an issue yet. work with people you like and trust - everything else will follow smoothly.

ajdecon2• 15 years ago

Combined with flex-time, this is amazing. Results-based evaluations ftw.

edw519• 15 years ago

Interesting work.

I know that this isn't exactly what you were asking for, but when the work is interesting, it's amazing how little else you notice. And when the work is boring, nothing else seems to help.

OK, OK, let me add a few perks I care about:

  - windows
  - good light
  - fresh air, proper venilation / heat / ac
  - enough personal space
  - peace and quiet
  - decent break area
  - decent snacks/coffee available
  - donuts Friday morning
  - beer after work Friday
  - flex time
  - nice dinner once/month or quarter
  - foosball (conflicts with peace and quiet, but...)

Most of all, you do these things because you really care (I believe you do) and not because you're supposed to. Any worker can smell a phoney giving cheap perks a mile away.

joshu7• 15 years ago

I'm pretty sure the work is interesting (we're a newly funded startup, exciting times!)

For the other things, we hit almost ALL of those. Nice, spacious space in Mountain View, near lots of restaurants. Our office manager bakes cookies for us, gets snacks, and drinks are provided (everybody had to sign up for the beverages they specifically liked) etc.

us• 15 years ago

That's not always true. Most of the startups I've seen get funded are not always that interesting to me. Interest is in the eye of the beholder and for people looking to work at a startup whether as a career choice or for experience before launching their idea, they may or may not always be working on an idea or work that is considered interesting to them personally.

icco• 15 years ago

I've heard that Twilio gives all of their employees Kindles and a ebook stipend. That seems nice. We have a company "library" which any employee can borrow or add to, which is nice.

But in all honesty, a good chair, a nice monitor/mouse/keyboard combo, a good set of headphones and a window are all I need to code.

cfinke• 15 years ago

The biggest perks that have mattered to me have been abstract:

1. Transparency. When you're open with every member of the company about what's really going on, it decreases gossip and improves morale.

2. If your company has direct interaction with customers, a company culture that gives every employee the authority to make whatever decisions are necessary to make the customer happy is invaluable - no "You'll need to talk to a supervisor." (I read an article about a largish company that operates this way, but I can't recall which one it was. I want to say Zappos.)

Also, free soda.

joshu7• 15 years ago

We're too small for things not to be transparent, honestly. I'd say morale is super high now.

I like the idea of direct interaction but it's too early for us (no product yet.)

minalecs2• 15 years ago

If you have some gamers , lan parties during work hours is always fun, maybe combining it with the beer fridays. We would bring in Xbox's sometimes as well and play multiplayer on there. Plus its a team building exercise.

Do it once in awhile during office hours helps a lot. As much as I love my co workers, somedays I hated spending time with them all day, and then sort of feeling forced to hang out with them after work or else feel like not being part of the team.

maxbrown• 15 years ago

Is this really worth doing? Seems like a large productivity sink... Did it make you happier enough at work to be able to rationalize it?

minalecs2• 15 years ago

If you expect to only do things for your employees that get them to sit at there desk longer to work more, then its probably not right for you. Yeah perks are good, but good fun and camaraderie in a startup is invaluable.

haploid• 15 years ago

A few kegs of beer on tap and a decent single malt scotch collection.

rdouble• 15 years ago

- One of those stand/sit desks

- Quiet.

- No funny looks if I want to work from 5am - 3pm

Prefer table tennis to foosball. Would rather have a "music room" instead of either, but that's a bit much to ask for.

abstractbill• 15 years ago

I consider choice of chair/laptop/monitor/headphones/etc a bare necessity, so it's good you have those ;)

If you want to make me really happy as an employee, just assume that I'll probably be leaving one day to do my own startup, and give me a helping hand along the way. Good examples might be public recognition of really good work (e.g. in company blog posts), introducing me to people, and giving me the opportunity to learn about things I'm not already an expert at.

mkinnan• 15 years ago

FOOD - I eat stuff all day long and it is the one thing I find to be the best as far as perks. Above all, keep it all free or have some kind of 'honor code' pay container where you have a bunch of snacks, drinks, etc and employees could give 50 cents for a soda, juice drink, or whatever. There are other things like bringing fruit or vegetable platters for afternoon snacks when it might be a longer day than most.

PERSONAL PARKING SPACE - I know this is really not doable in most circumstances, but I HATE coming to work a few minutes late and not having any place to park.

FLEX TIME - Some companies have flex time where you can work lots of extra hours this week and next so that you could take a few days of next month.

Whatever you do for perks, I think it is vital to make your employees feel appreciated. Sometimes just telling them 'great job' on stuff can go a long way.

Just another thought, how about asking your employees what perks (within reason) they would like. Ask what would make them excited to come to work and not want to leave.

marklabedz• 15 years ago

The two big ones me are interesting work and trust/flexibility to allow me to complete a goal in the way I see fit.

Beyond those two, I've really come to appreciate a comfortable working environment. In my case, that means having an office that is up to date, relatively few stains on the carpet, working infrastructure in conference rooms (I'm always shocked how many people have to deal with broken plugs, barely function Polycoms, etc).

ajdecon2• 15 years ago

As a startup employee, the biggest quality of life boost for me is that our company actually has an office manager/general gofer, and treats him well. It's amazingly important to have someone around whose job it is to handle tasks not related to the core business, but which are not easily outsourced.

Obvious? Maybe. But I've worked for, and observed, too many small companies in which either a co-founder founder ends up doing office-manager crap or it gets offloaded onto the first tech employee who's convenient. It should not be the tech staff's job to restock the fridge, replace office supplies, handle invoicing, pay the rent, ...

kongqiu• 15 years ago

Try to encourage people to feel like it's not "slacking" if they take some time out to get some exercise. It really does wonders for productivity...

Ask HN: Actually good perks

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