illustration: tonia cowan; (isElEct) YvonnE Qumi octoBEr 2016 BCBusiness 21
T
here probably aren't
many business people
out there who haven't
rolled their eyes at least once
reading about tech industry
employee perks. It seemed
there for a while that no startup
could dream of attracting talent
without a mechanical bull or an
indoor tree house. Maybe the
clearest indication that there
was a bubble forming was when
nap pods were declared among
the 10 most essential employee
perks by esteemed tech industry
insider Teen Vogue.
Of course, it may be just
dumb obvious that a bubble built
on chocolate fountains and table
tennis tournaments had to burst.
And in the tech sector there's
evidence of that coming. Money
is going to be tighter, judging
from a recent canvassing of
venture capitalists by Business
Insider. Down rounds are up,
in which companies raise
money at lower valuations
than in previous rounds. Over
at Dropbox, perks were indeed
cut earlier this year—no more
free •ym-gear-washing service,
sorry—although they did
keep the infamous $100,000
chrome sculpture of their
panda mascot.
T H E M O N T H LY I N F O R M E R
tmı
"There's no undoing it—
you either get the keys
from the criminal, or
your les are gone" –p.23
o c t o b e r 2 0 1 6
Of Ball Pits and Nap Pods
the era of over-the-top company perks might be coming to an
end, but perks, if properly designed, may still the best way to
attract and retain employees
INSIDE
Big sugar ... Real estate highs ... Files taken hostage ... Architect of affordability ... Fitting in ... + more
THE EXPLAINER
by Timothy Taylor
having a ball
iSelect's Melbourne office
one-ups Google's play-
ground vibe, adding a ball pit
to the slide experience
