Lessons for Start-Ups from "100 Best Companies to Work For"

Fortune's annual "100 Best Companies to Work For" issue (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2010/) has been out for a few weeks. I want to emphasize that if you are contemplating starting a business or are involved in any stage of "start-up" right now, this issue should be central to your thinking as you develop human resources policies.

The best time to decide what kind of an employer your new company is going to be is before you hire your first employee, even if that employee is a relative. Make it your goal to be on Fortune's Top 100 list. Set the tone from day one. Decide that whether or not you are able to make your employees the highest paid in their category, they can at least be the most appreciated, respected, and affirmed.

If your employees know you value them as people and for the gifts, experience and expertise they invest in your company, you will maintain a productive, loyal, and positive workforce no matter how few or how many they may be. While the mood and attitude of employees can't ensure business success, it can greatly enhance the outlook of an otherwise well-conceived business plan, and the lack of which can spell failure, especially for a start-up.

As an employer in general, but especially as an entrepreneur, you want to be sure your employees see their relationship with your venture as more than just a job. You want them to believe in your mission and see themselves as an integral part of it. This can be accomplished by establishing a culture of participatory management (more below).

At the same time, you don't want the job or the company to be out of balance in their lives. You want them to know that their personal success and happiness matters to you as much as their professional success, that you value the quality of their life outside of work as much as the quality of work they bring to your business, and that your personnel policies and compensation package is a key ingredient in their personal quality of life. This can be accomplished by offering generous lifestyle benefits (more below).

That's right. If you want to ensure that your employees do their best for you, then do all you can to ensure that they have a life outside of work, that they don't see their employer or their job as a barrier to happiness or fulfillment. The best way to show reward them for giving you 110 percent when they're working is to help them reinforce and protect their personal life, when they're not.

As tempting as it is to think you want your employees to live to work, to eat, sleep and breathe your business, you really don't want that, because that is a fast-track to burnout. You can sustain a high level of performance and commitment from your employees by helping them set boundaries between life and work, and supporting them on the life-side.

This can be accomplished by offering as much flexibility in work schedule and location as their job descrption and organizational needs will allow. Give them the ability to coordinate personal and professional schedules, balance personal and professional needs, adjust to family emergencies. Encourage them to pursue activities and involvements that nurture the spirit and be willing to work with them to ensure that their job will not conflict with their avocations.

Fortune's Top 100 issue offers specific examples of the types of policies that put these companies on the "best to work for" list. The common themes fall into categories of participatory management-- things that make work more meaningful, and lifestyle benefits-- things that make the work/life balance more manageable and, while reducing stress on and off the job, and enahncing the joy of life on and off the job.

In the first category, some of the common themes are employee empowerment, and stock options.

Employee empowerment means that employees from the bottom of the organizational chart on up are given an opportunity to have a meaningful influence on company policies, work process, quality assurance, and problem solving. They are given unlimited access to management, significant autonomy (encouragment to problem-solve and make decisions on their own) and significant opportunity for peer collaboration (encouragement to work with peers to make decisions and solve problems). Policy and Procedures are minimal and flexible. No unnecessary rule is tolerated.

Lifestyle benefits typically include creative options for health care and retirement planning, on-site self-improvement and stress management opportunities, on-site child care, help with elder care, unlimited sick days, telecommuting options, flexible scheduling, community service on company time, and matching gifts to tax-deductible charities.

The best companies often have medical care on-site, as well as other amenities such as dry cleaners, hair salons, convenience stores, concierge services (booking travel, personal shopping, handling auto maintenance, etc). While such benefits are more typically offered by large employers, even startups with a handful of employees can provide many or all of these services onsite.

There is a growing trend of such service providers making rounds with regularly scheduled stops at various client sites. Even if the employee has to pay for part of all of the service, the convenience of making it available at the worksite, and the value of a group discount that often accompanies such programs is good enough.

Both on the personal and professional side, many of the best on the list contribute funds and work time for continuing education in everything from self-improvement courses to professinoal certification programs and advanced degrees. Again, while startups may be unable to kick in more cash, they can certainly dedicate a reasonable percentage of work time for education.

Regardless of what specific policies and benefits an employer provides, the key is to find out what employees want and tailor compensation, benefits, and personnel policies around what is best for the employee and what is best for the company. Both must be considered in balance, and if they are, employees will be happy to sacrifice for the company when necessary because they will know the company has also sacrificed for them. ***

nxtARROW, dedicated to making Buffalo the next Silicon Valley, bringing business to Buffalo one at a time...
It is the mission and purpose of nxtARROW Business Development Corporation to help establish Buffalo as a world-class center of new business development.
www.nxtarrow.com