Our People are VentureWeb
I thought I would share with you how we see the ‘people side’ of our business. At VentureWeb, we are really clear that our people are everything. They are what bring amazing websites to life, solve challenging coding dilemmas, develop the best web marketing strategies for our clients and ensure projects are delivered on time and on budget. From our very first hire (Olly Walker) to our most recent (Gillian Bexton), we have sought out people who are passionate about contributing their talent to our growing company, are good at what they do, and like to have fun.
Our success is built on what our employees contribute to VentureWeb and, in part, needs to be attributed to what we give back to our employees. At VentureWeb we continually strive to motivate our employees by providing a work environment second-to-none, including:
1.Great location. None of our employees commute more than 10 minutes to work, and their ‘playground’ is immediately out the front door. No matter what time of year you walk into the Studio you can find a bike ready for a lunchtime or after-work ride. Marry employees that love to get out and play in an outdoor recreation mecca like Squamish, with a job that is interesting and inspiring, and you’ve got a committed employee.
2. Flexible schedules. Being able to get out and play is a large part of our philosophy at VentureWeb, so we ensure our employees know they have flexibility with their work hours. Whether it be time off to volunteer for the 2010 Games, leaving early on a Friday to go climbing, or coming in after dropping the kids at school, we know our employees are committed to their work and appreciate the leeway we provide them to balance it with their lifestyle.
3. Fair pay. We do our utmost to ensure wages match the industry standard for the given position and recognize the talent of the individual employee - not always an easy feat when you are a small company with talented employees.
4. Staff celebrations. Whatever the occasion, we’re excited to recognize it. Friday’s always good reason for a pint. Putting a website live? Time to ring the gong. Three websites live in one week? Certainly worthy of some after-work celebrating at the Watershed Grill on the Squamish River. Cake on your birthday…you get the picture!
5. Employee recognition. Recognition has taken many forms at VentureWeb and continually changes. Possibly one of the funniest programs was the Employee of the Month program when there were only three people working for VentureWeb, which at one point included talk of awarding the Printer the illustrious designation! Employee recognition at VentureWeb is about saying thank you to employees that really go above and beyond for our clients and, ultimately, VentureWeb. In future I’ll be using the VW blog to recognize our employees’ many successes.
Engaged employees is what makes VentureWeb tick. This requires flexibility on the part of the employee and the employer and, above all, requires open, honest communication. As we continue to grow at VentureWeb, our hiring philosophy will remain the same, knowing that it is our people that make us great!
