The corporate culture of IT companies is legendary. Google, Twitter, Spotify, and other leaders in the Western market are famous for their care for employees and for creating ideal working conditions. Free courses, gyms, tennis tables, PSPs, company-sponsored medical care, and regular parties.
Why do IT companies try to retain specialists and do employees really need all these bonuses? We asked employers and employees about this.
Why do IT companies spend money on corporate culture?
Traditional labor relations, which were built on hierarchy, constancy, regulations, and involvement, are no longer relevant. The portrait of a modern job seeker is changing, and now the bulk of potential employees are from the millennial generation. And millennials, according to statistics, are quite twice as often as other age groups. The trend makes employers worry: how to avoid employee turnover?
The issue is especially relevant for the IT sector: technologies are developing. And every company wants an advanced technical team to join its staff. Therefore, the demand for specialists is always higher than the supply – now the number of vacancies in the IT market has increased by about 25%, creating a shortage of resumes.
The problem is exacerbated by specialist hunting, which is popular in the IT field. For example, in 2019, for every 10 offers made, an IT specialist received one counteroffer, i.e. an offer from a current employer that competes with an offer from a future employer. By the end of 2020, almost every third offer is successfully outbid by a counteroffer.
What is special about IT company bonuses?
In the fight for the best employees, IT companies try to make the corporate and personal life of employees as comfortable and convenient as possible. A variety of bonuses are used – from gym memberships and free medical care to tennis tables and personal couriers. How else do companies take care of the team? You can even learn about the current practices of IT giants by attending the CIO Summit and other conferences.
Freedom from the limits of the dress code and rigid schedule
The trend towards loose clothing. It is a flexible start to the work day, and free cookies in the office began with IT companies. Now, this is already a standard set of options that you will not surprise anyone with. However, among other companies, such “goodies” are often still considered the privileges of IT people.
Office as an ecosystem
Many companies, trying to simplify the daily routine of employees, organize a number of services on the territory of the office. For example, Google’s main office has its own dry cleaners, hairdresser, gym, and swimming pool. Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park has its own restaurant chain, and Spotify offers free food delivery. This approach allows you to reduce the time for everyday routine, freeing it for productive work.
Health care
It is also a commonly free or partially paid health care . The company bears the cost of treatment or reimburses part of the amount for it. And also provides services in its own medical centers, which are often located right in the office.
In addition to standard health insurance benefits. Also, Steelcase offers health center services to employees. There you can make an appointment with a massage therapist or a nurse, as well as buy healthy food in cafeterias or healthy products for the home.
Corporate culture through the eyes of an employee: is it necessary?
We looked at how employers and HR professionals relate to corporate culture in IT companies. What meanings they put into it and what tasks they solve with its help. Now let’s look at how employees themselves relate to corporate bonuses. For example, the results of an anonymous survey in one of the corporate blogs. It show that about half of the respondents are more interested in material rewards than in “goodies” from the company.
