The *business* of software
What makes a great office environment for software companies?
We've all heard about the Aeron chairs and big screens, but a lot of people don't find Aeron chairs comfortable, and big screens are pretty common these days. For those of us who can't afford Google levels of luxury - and food - what sort of things do you provide in your offices to make it a better, cooler and more productive place for people to work?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Anna-Jayne Metcalfe on -
I'd start with crash/chill space (a sofa or suchlike) to give people somewhere to recharge when they burn out (which they will sooner or later - the concept of "standard working hours" is pretty artificial).
Add to that the ability to individually customise working area (including choosing desk layout, height etc.). Don't forget aur conditioning and heating too - there's nothing worse than being in a large open office where half the staff like it cold and the other half like it hot.
Re productivity - multiple large monitors are a must, but I'd also give developers and testers more than one system if I thought they might benefit from it (I typically use several systems at once in parallel, and I'm certain it helps my productivity).
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Permalink Reply by Ellen Craw on -
Let people pick out their own chairs. And desks/tables/monitors if possible, but definitely chairs. People sit - and work - differently, no one but me knows what I'll be comfortable in.
Cookies every Friday, and any other time there's something to celebrate.
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Permalink Reply by Corey Reid on -
Space to express themselves. There used to be a blank wall behind me, until I stuck up a picture of a snowman (it's a long story). Other people started adding other snowman pictures, and now there's a whole snowman wall. New people come into the office and are perplexed, and watching that is a bonding experience for the team.
There was no plan to create the snowman wall, nobody ever consulted anyone on it -- it is a purely spontaneous expression of the team's. Any space that is meant to encourage creativity needs large expanses of blank slate in order that creativity can emerge.
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Permalink Reply by Andrew Butel on -
You've got to keep the buzz. It doesn't matter what chairs you have or how much space you have or what cool stuff you provide, if the people don't have a buzz/excitement about working together then who cares? On the flip side - you can get a team together with a real buzz and have a better environment without having any stuff or any space.
I think it backfires when you try to manufacture a creative space for people to express themselves, but you don't allow people to creatively express themselves in their work.
So - my opinion is to focus on the culture, on valuing people, on seeing the potential in people then letting them go for it, etc and you could be in a cramped office with no aircon and the 'stuff' will work itself out. People will find solutions to office problems, instead of just complaining and they'll bring cookies on Friday because they enjoy hanging out together. Corey's snowman wall is a perfect example of how this just happens when there's a great culture.
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Permalink Reply by Jerry Jalenak on -
For us it's about personal space. With only one or two exceptions, everyone has a private office with a door and windows. As I walk around doing my management thing, I'm always surprised by the number of people who have pushed their door closed to block out the extraneous noise, etc.
We also provide the small things - coffee, sodas, donuts on Friday morning, catered lunch Friday afternoon. We have a common area where people can just hang out if they want to, catch up with each other, or talk over a problem with another engineer.
And I agree with Anna-Jayne - the more screen real estate there is, productivity seems to go up. Everyone has at least 2 20" monitors; some of my engineers have 3 or 4 (often connected to multiple desktop systems).
Finally, we schedule at least two all-office events a year so everyone can get together with their significant others in a more social setting. All together, it seems to work well for us.
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Permalink Reply by Matt Richards on -
I agree with Jerry about personal space, but I would generalize that to control. I think developers need to be able to control their space, which includes turning off the ringer on the phone, making sure the temperature is comfortable, being able to open a window, being able to listen to music, being able to close the door, etc. You also need different types of space as others have mentioned, so there is somewhere to go when you want to shoot the breeze.
Along with proper space, cultural norms are also helpful. For example, door completely open means "I'm available to talk about work or last night's game", door partially open means "I'm on a tight deadline", and door closed means "interrupt for fires only".
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Permalink Reply by Tomas Kohl on -
Private offices, yes, but also a space where great interactions can happen. It can be a pool table or a rec area with an Italian espresso machine. Developers, creatives need to converge at times to bounce ideas off each other.
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Permalink Reply by Jamie Grove on -
Come and go when you want. The Office and 30 Rock parties at lunch. Make fun of Marketing as much as possible. Do amazing things.
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Permalink Reply by Dawn Green on -
After eight years running a small web application business, I am still trying to learn what makes a great office environment. We provide lots of soda and snacks, frequent lunches, breakfast for Monday morning stand-ups, team Tae Kwon Do, and a casual environment and dress code.
In contrast to other members, our developers have always enjoyed and preferred an open collaborative space.
On many Fridays after productive weeks, we shut down early and I take the group out to the local watering holes. We encourage and pay for developer conferences, books, and meetings. I strongly encourage new learning such as our recent implementation of Rails and Agile.
Yet for all I try to provide, I get the feeling from staff that these are expected comforts in our industry. So, what I'd love to hear is what the actual developers feel is important. What makes your job special?
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Permalink Reply by Prakash on -
You can give only what you have..
When there is less money.... you can give more time to understand your employees with real love and care...
A place will be better, where there is real love and understanding of a common belief and ideology.
A place will be better, where there is less rules and regulations.... but people do not harm others and still respect each other....
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Permalink Reply by Prakash on
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Dawn Green said:After eight years running a small web application business, I am still trying to learn what makes a great office environment. We provide lots of soda and snacks, frequent lunches, breakfast for Monday morning stand-ups, team Tae Kwon Do, and a casual environment and dress code.
In contrast to other members, our developers have always enjoyed and preferred an open collaborative space.
On many Fridays after productive weeks, we shut down early and I take the group out to the local watering holes. We encourage and pay for developer conferences, books, and meetings. I strongly encourage new learning such as our recent implementation of Rails and Agile.
Yet for all I try to provide, I get the feeling from staff that these are expected comforts in our industry. So, what I'd love to hear is what the actual developers feel is important. What makes your job special?
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Permalink Reply by Prakash on
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Don't give what you have.....
Give what your employees want.....
Prakash said:Dawn Green said:After eight years running a small web application business, I am still trying to learn what makes a great office environment. We provide lots of soda and snacks, frequent lunches, breakfast for Monday morning stand-ups, team Tae Kwon Do, and a casual environment and dress code.
In contrast to other members, our developers have always enjoyed and preferred an open collaborative space.
On many Fridays after productive weeks, we shut down early and I take the group out to the local watering holes. We encourage and pay for developer conferences, books, and meetings. I strongly encourage new learning such as our recent implementation of Rails and Agile.
Yet for all I try to provide, I get the feeling from staff that these are expected comforts in our industry. So, what I'd love to hear is what the actual developers feel is important. What makes your job special?
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