In recent years, so-called “New Economy” companies have rolled out a slew of quirky recruitment techniques to lure hard-to-find technology workers. Bring-your-dog-to-work days and billiards tables in the lounge haven’t been uncommon.
Now, with the job market cooling off in the midst of a tech-sector slump, one might assume that companies are reining in these recruitment ploys.
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But that’s not necessarily the case, according to WorldatWork (formerly the American Compensation Association), a national, not-for-profit organization of more than 26,000 compensation-and-benefits managers and human-resource professionals.
Instead, what might have looked like desperate measures by tech companies to attract employees in an exceptionally tight job market may actually be the most glaring examples of an emerging trend: a renewed focus on the importance of corporate culture.
“The New Economy companies have been doing more right than wrong when it comes to recruiting employees,” said Amy Jantz, head of research at WorldatWork. “They’re looking beyond compensation and benefits to what we call a ‘whole-rewards’ philosophy, whereby the work experience and a company’s culture are becoming most important.”
Jantz points to a survey conducted last year by California-based Office Team, an administrative staffing firm. According to the report, the No. 1 career concern for workers in 2005 will be balancing work and family. This is likely to spawn more innovative employee benefits, such as on-site child-care, the report says.
“Compensation obviously is still important, but it’s really not the most important thing anymore,” Jantz said.
While this focus on enhancing the work experience is being driven by changing worker demands, companies are capitalizing on the trend.
“The workplace experience is where companies can really stand out from their competition,” Jantz said. “Compensation packages can be replicated very easily. If you’re paying $14 an hour and your competitor pays $15, just bump it up a dollar and you’re competing. But the work-experience element is the proprietary component for companies.”
That message is not lost on Dana Paul, chief executive officer of Shazamm, a Providence-based Web design firm. Paul said his company has worked hard to foster an open, creative environment where employees can freely give input and share ideas.
“I really think it goes beyond the dollar amount here,” Paul said. “If the pay was the most important thing for our people, they’d go up to Boston and make a lot more. But they want to be part of something special.”
An emphasis on corporate culture might even be more important for tech firms now than it has been in recent years, Jantz said, because it’s tougher to lure workers with the stock options.
“Many companies are certainly finding it more difficult to entice people with stock options,” Jantz said. “People have become more realistic with their expectations.”
Still, that doesn’t mean tech employees are no longer interested in stock plans. High-tech workers generally value stock options and the chance for an initial public offering more than workers in traditional industries, Jantz said.
“New Economy employees are looking for something different — they’re willing to take a chance on a new idea,” Jantz said. “There’s still a lot of people that are looking for that one company to take them to the top.”
