december 2015 BCBusiness 31 bcbusiness.ca
their buddies. Building a culture of
trust, where employees feel accountable
to each other, is one way to avoid the
wandering eye and minimize attrition.
That's been the stratey at Vancouver
startup Unbounce, which makes land-
ing web pages for businesses and other
groups. As the "people and culture"
manager, Leslie Collin strives to keep a
loose grip on her growing workforce of
over 110 employees (up from 40 just two
years ago). There are no set work hours
at Unbounce, and employees are encour-
aged to work how, where and when they
can be most e†ective. They can arrange
schedules with their team leads and
won't be chastised for taking half-days
or a long lunch. The only rule is that they
need to work in the o‡ce at least some
of the time.
With sti† competition for tech work-
ers in Vancouver, standing out as an
employer of choice comes down to creat-
ing an environment where people want
to come to work, says Collin. That goes
beyond giving people autonomy. In a
buyer's market, employees are looking
for opportunities to gain skills at work,
and they want to know they are making
meaningful contributions that shape
the company. To meet that demand,
Unbounce has leadership development
and mentorship programs that allow
employees to broaden their horizons;
Collin herself recently paired up with a
developer at the company to learn how
to code. In addition, an open-door policy
means anyone can pitch an idea to the
top brass. "You can book a meeting with
a
CEO or one of the founders. Nothing is
really o† the table, discussion-wise or
learning-wise."
While Collin says intense competition
for talent has forced the tech industry to
trailblaze this value-added approach to
HR, she anticipates it won't be long until
other sectors follow suit. "It's no longer
enough to just o†er fair and adequate
compensation and a medical bene•ts
package," she says. "It's about the whole
experience you're getting at work. That's
something we embrace here, and that's
de•nitely where HR needs to go."
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