LinkedIn published their list of the top 50 companies that people want to work at. And there's a few things that most of them have in common.
- They're almost all technology companies (Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, etc)
- They are aggressive finding the best employees. They have very competitive wages, they have perks like Amazon's Leave Share program for spousal paternity/maternity leave, and they usually have a bit of fun at work.
What They're Missing
The one thing I didn't see were any remote companies (meaning no offices). And this really surprised me because working remotely changed my life.
If I were offered the same job at two different companies. One a remote company and the other within biking distance I'd need a huge pay increase to seriously consider the job with the office. Huge. Like 5 digits.
In addition to obvious benefits in areas like work-life balance the most important benefit for me is productivity. When I moved from a company with an office to working remotely my productivity doubled.
Most days I was able to get up early and get my work done by 11am or noon. Then the rest of the day I spent learning new skills. There's no point forcing someone to keep their butts in their seat for 8 hours a day. If they can work harder and faster than someone else they should be able to leave early. And there's a weird assumption in our culture that if you aren't in the office you aren't really working. Maybe you're doing email. But not “real work”.
The first one of these top 50 companies that cracks the code managing tens of thousands of employees all working remotely is going to be an amazing place to work.
Not in the Top 50?
If you're not in the top 50 list one of the things you can offer is remote work. Not 1 or 2 days a week. But full time. Ditch the office. Your employees will love it, they'll be productive, and with good employees you'll do less looking over the shoulder and you can do more real work.
Small businesses don't often have the funds to pay six figures to engineers. But you might be able to attract that rare talent from around the world by letting people work when & where they want.
You don't have to scour the planet looking for the perfect snowflake (you wont find them that way). Work with freelancers & potential partners on one off projects. Once you find one that works with you, one that can self manage, and one that does stellar work then offer them a full time gig. It might not happen right away but it's one of the best ways to see if you can work together.