Gimmicks can attract attention, but tech workers like cool technology, smart co-workers.
Mindy Albers is finding that the promise of BMW leases is luring engineers to Interwoven, a business software developer based in Sunnyvale.
Starting in the winter adjoining '99 and '00, Interwoven began offering two-year leases on BMW Z3s, or a choice of some less-flashy cars, to engineers who signed an employment agreement. As of late February, the company had attracted a handful of hires with that perk. Interwoven began thinking about broadening the program, says Albers, director of human resources there.
In the ultra-competitive game of hiring techies, the BMW offer has helped Interwoven stand out, says Albers, and the lease price isn't much different than the cost of hiring a recruiter.
"The standard ways of recruiting are becoming tough for everybody," Albers says. "We're getting a lot of traffic, and we've made a few hires with this."
Good managers, good stock options
Other managers say the kinds of perks that attract, retain, and motivate technology professionals are more intangible than a fast car.
Shirish Patel, president and CEO of Rapid5 Networks, says the techies he's hired are attracted to a company with a solid business plan, good managers, strong financial support, and cool technology.
The Sunnyvale-based Rapid5 Networks, a provider of telecom infrastructure, hired over 60 people in the winter of '99-'00 without what Patel calls "gimmicks." Instead, the company has offered a business filled with smart people with a shared value system based on professionalism and hard work.
"We're just building an A-plus team," he says. "It's very important for [techies] to think they'll be working on a challenging environment with people they'll learn from.
"If you hire an A-plus manager, they'll hire A-plus people," he adds. "It's kind of a spontaneous combustion effect. Once you get the pump firing, it keeps firing every cycle."
Rob Laseak, recruiting manager at Rapid5 Networks, says techies see working with smart people as a way to advance their careers. "An average day in their lives here is not sitting in the corner cranking out code," Laseak says. "It's doing research and talking to other engineers."
Rapid5 Networks also offers ski trips, a game room, and food to workers who stay after hours, Patel says, and Interwoven provides activities such as river rafting and art exchanges. But while those perks give workers the warm fuzzies, that kind of stuff doesn't get them in the door.
On the other hand, Patel recognises that the promise of stock options can lure 'em in. "You have to show them why their stock options will be worth something," he says. "We tell them, 'You will get good professional training here, and if everyone works together, you should take home a lot of money in stock options.' "
Cutting-edge technology
Laseal adds that Rapid5's employees are attracted to the technology they're working with. "They're building something that hasn't been done before," he says. "This is a high-octane kind of startup that's really focused on technology."
Interwoven's Albers agrees that cutting-edge technology attracts good tech workers. "To me, one of the best perks we can provide is letting them get their hands on the coolest new technologies," she says. "Being in on the R and D of something really new is important."
