What perks do you look for?

[beley]

We're hiring, and we're trying to find out what perks people look for in this industry. What would compel you to work for a company?

Choose all that apply. if you don't see something on the list, post in the thread and I'll try to add it.

Please comment also, I'd love your opinions.

[cascadingstylez]

Im not looking for work at the moment, still in full time study, when i graduate though i will be looking and i will be looking for:

- A decent salary, i see Java developer positions for 22k a year, to me thats underpaid.
- A sweet working environment (Fast machine, large monitors, executive chair, Working Air Conn)
- A reputable company
- Flexible Dress Code
- Paid moving expenses ( i will be looking to work in austrailia after grad.)
- A great team

Thats all i think ....

[Hartmann]

Salary, of course is a base for any job. People want to make sure that their job's salary will meet their standard of living.

For me though, most important is the job itself, it has to be challenging and there has to be some sense of contribution for me. That leads to the people I work with. If I am working with good people who make me feel like I am part of the team, then I am much more motivated to do good work and have a good attitude.

[Ted S]

Well I think I selected just about every checkbox you had... the chair I can deal without.

In all seriousness, I won't consider a job that doesn't have a salary at or above my current base (and far above if I'm leaving a good job rather than trying to find something after a lay-off), standard health benefits and a variety of challenging, fun work.

However, to really feel motivated and to accept an offer I'm going to look for is: the environment, friendly, open to change (i.e. understanding the experts you hire are there for a reason), serious about getting the job done; vacation time, I work hard and like to play; and the fringe perks, business-casual dress code, nice office, computer that was made this decade, travel budget that is realistic and hopefully a location that's near places I can get decent food. Having a matching 401k is also nice, although with enough of a bonus I can ignore that.

Depending on the average age of your employees some benefits are going to be less important. Younger employees care a lot less about health care costs and contributions than someone in their 50s with a family and much higher premiums. On the other hand, today's youth want lots of time off and they like wearing t-shirts, my father's generation isn't fond of their suits but they don't seem to care much about wearing a collared shirt or polo.

p.s. Great Question!

[beley]

Thanks for taking the poll... we're hiring right now so naturally we're trying to find out what people are looking for so we can offer some perks that will entice people to take a look at us

[TheRedDevil]

You have not mentioned what kind of position your looking to hire someone for, so Ive taken the liberty to look on this from a programmers view.

If I were looking for a job, this is what I would have found most important.

-Health Insurance.
That a company offer its employeers addtional health insurance is normal here, even if we have "free" health care. I assume the demand for the companies to offer this is even greather in US, at least I would not have considered applying for someone not offering it.

-Office.
Ergonomic work place. I.e. chair, desk, keyboard etc.
A workstation beeing able to handle proper multitasking with at least a dual monitor setup. (Keep in mind that both the ergonomic work place and a proper computer setup will make the programmer more productive.)

-Work environment.
That there is a friendly atmostphere at the office.
Challenging projects, its not fun to get the same task over and over again for months.

Salory is also important, but to be honest I would rather earn less and love my job, compared to dreading going to work each day but earning a lot. Of course this is within limits as well, food need to be put on the table.

I guess vecation/sick time might be a good point in US as well, from what I heard your system is not too great. We got a great state enforced system, so its usally not discussed during an interview here.

[The New Guy]

Thanks for taking the poll... we're hiring right now so naturally we're trying to find out what people are looking for so we can offer some perks that will entice people to take a look at us

Most new HR research would suggest tailoring rewards to the individual, rather looking for some all encompassing reward. Though, HR is a bunch of BS to begin with...

Check, your paper. I'm sure there is some fluffy article on what some poser writer envisions as the modern job...

Anyway. Good luck.

[jantheman]

In my position of having a young family with all the associated commitments I would also be looking for flexible hours - being able to adjust start/finish times and even days so that I can work around my family life. With Web Development there is a lot of scope for working outside normal working hours or from my home office.

I love what I do but I don't apply for 9-5 jobs at the moment because I know I won't be able to commit to set hours.

Hope this helps and good luck with your recruitment drive.

[Dan Schulz]

Given the costs of healthcare these days, a lot of people are going to be looking for health/dental benefits, especially if they have mouths to feed other than their own (pets don't count). Helping out with relocation may be critical to some, especially if they don't have the means to move themselves (or don't know anyone in the area/can't find a place to stay right away). Obviously saddling a new hire with a 4 bedroom house and a mortgage would be a bad idea, but there wouldn't be anything wrong with a three month rental lease (especially since that gives the employer ample time to review the employee as well as giving the employee enough time to hopefully find a place to live on their own).

[ses5909]

I'm going to go with jantheman - Flexible hours are very important to me. As someone who has worked from home for the last 3 years, it would be very hard to go to a 9-5 job. My last "out of the office" job was great because it didn't really matter when I worked as along as I could work from 9-12 every day. I usually went in at 5:30 or 6 am and was off by 2 or so. That was great for me as it allowed me to spend plenty of time with my kids.

The opportunity to work from home a day or two a week is great to. I would give up certain benefits, a higher paying job, etc. for flexible hours.

[kooshin.com]

Salary/bonus structure
Health insurance and benefits
Vacation/sick time
Paid moving expenses


those four will be the best thing in any company

[Dan Schulz]

Not any company. Certain benefits and options are better fits for some companies than for others.

[jimbo_dk]

Also, I've seen that making the employees feel valued will bring out the best in them.

[Kailash Badu]

good pay, challenging assignments, and amazing job fit.

[XLCowBoy]

Since there are tons of monitoring software available, I would have to say the option to work at home and decent projects. Nobody wants to do "grunt" work (make a 1004x100 banner for my plumber friend for his template for example).

[dadofgage]

I must say that the option to work from home with flexible hours was the selling point for me and the company that I currently work for.

I usually spend about 2 -3 days in the physical office each week and coupled with the 2-3 days at home and having flexible hours provided me exactly what I was looking for in my professional life - flexibility.

It is great for spending time with my kids and wife and also allows my wife to have a job that required me to be very flexible.

Good luck!

[markbrown4]

Salary, of course matters, though the most attractive thing about work is it's environment.
I've just got a job in a a young and fun company with challenging and interesting work, the environment is the most attractive thing about the position and it's something that you can't fake

[Bleys]

Probably health insurance/benefits tops my list. But I would add to that the ability to work from home at least some of the time would be a major factor in making me want to work for a company. I've worked from home for my last three jobs and I've grown used to it.

As long as the work gets done... who cares where you do it, eh?

[Azam.net]

I personally would hesitate to work for a company where the staff looked like they'd just come out of a pub. A professional dress code makes me take a company more seriously.

[ECS Dave]

I personally would hesitate to work for a company where the staff looked like they'd just come out of a pub. A professional dress code makes me take a company more seriously.

I agree, somewhat, with the statement above. I think that a neat, well-groomed appearance does wonders both from a customer's stand point, and from the employees'. If an employee takes pride in their appearance (though I don't mean fashion-plate), then it stands to reason that they will take pride in the work that they do...

ECS Dave

[SamiUK]

hmm...where is the option "All of the above"

[doraima29]

I would say salary base -- so I can work for a living -- it is important how much are my works and myself worth.
health benefits, 401 K and transportation packages, etc..
fun work environment
great and exciting projects to work on- in order to get more work experience and challenge yourself to be the best designer/ developer I can be.

[Kailash Badu]

hmm...where is the option "All of the above"

For that you'll have to put in a little bit more effort. Select all checkboxes.

[swatij]

My First priority will will be good challenging project,
Than of course the salary,
and flexy time. and the most important thing is the good team.

I have recently joined in my company and they are very nice and providing very good environment for working.

[Wolf_22]

Salary, of course is a base for any job. People want to make sure that their job's salary will meet their standard of living.

For me though, most important is the job itself, it has to be challenging and there has to be some sense of contribution for me. That leads to the people I work with. If I am working with good people who make me feel like I am part of the team, then I am much more motivated to do good work and have a good attitude.

...Completely agree. This is number 1 for me (second would be med insurance / dental; that sort of thing).