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Let's face it. As startups, we can't really offer top-dollar salaries to our employees. But we can offer some fun benefits that the big companies can't/won't. Here are a few that we have that seem to be pretty popular:

Super flexiblity - there's no "can I use four hours of my Personal Time Off to go renew my licence" crap - just do what you gotta do, and make sure you get what you need to get done
Random Range Time - when the time seems right, we grab the clubs and head to the driving range; or, on other days, grab the guns and head to the firing range
The Scotch Library - over 50 single malts, perfect for the 6 o'clock Scotch
The Snack Budget - it's not much, but a few hundred bucks can buy a whoooole lot of soda and munchies

I was also thinking of buying one of those Arcade Legends machines and possibly a pool table. Not that we want to make it too fun, though...

So, what would you do? What fun benefits/perks do you have/give/love?

asked Oct 15 at 2:50

Alex Papadimoulis

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+1 for "Super flexibility". I still do not understand why most companies think the work has to be done between 8AM - 5PM and M-F. To me, as long as it gets done on time is fine. – Ricardo Oct 16 at 2:56

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Hanno Fietz · Answer 1 · 2009-10-15 09:03:32Z UTC

I keep a list of those for when I eventually get to employ people at my current startup (soon, hopefully). Among the things not mentioned already is one of my favourites:

Self-managed budget / "Company pocket money": On your job, you're regularly going to want stuff like books, a new monitor, a USB-controlled nerf-rocket launcher, whatever. Get a company credit card for everybody and let them buy what they want. (I think I got that from 37signals)

I think this is great for various reasons: it shows your trust in people, it lets everybody help make the workplace great, it shows people you care about what they want, and my guess would be that it costs a lot less than the amount you'd have to add to the salary to get a similarly rewarding effect. I. e., my bet would be that it's a lot more fun to buy books for $50 on your company's credit card than having that $50 extra on your salary.

I would reckon that mutual trust and general decency put a sufficient bound on the amount people spend, so it would not have to be bounded explicitly.

dlynton · Answer 2 · 2009-10-15 06:42:26Z UTC

In no particular order, here are some of my favorites. They vary in cost, and some may not be as feasible for startups, based on their size & budget

-super flexibility

-give them the option to telecommute either part- or full-time

-snacks

-lunches - whether in or out, daily or not, they really do appreciate it

-excellent coffee/tea

-tickets to a concert, game, or movie

-a team building retreat or team building exercises of some kind--they can be made fun and if it takes time out of the work day it will be seen as a perk

-go to a happy hour or networking event (okay maybe not a perk, but it can be fun depending on the nature of the event)

-gun range, fishing, sailing, golfing, canoeing, or any other outdoor activity in your area

-ice cream bar sounds like a good idea from webclimber

-beer cooler (ala hubspot), or some other kind of happy hour like friday afternoon wine or margaritas

Giving them flexibility on their time is probably the most valued perk and will make the person glad they work for a small company.

webclimber · Answer 3 · 2009-10-15 03:55:45Z UTC

I really enjoyed on a previous startup a visit from a chiropractor to the office, it was to check the working station, good posture and such, plus (this is the nice part) a massage.

Flexible time is always good.

"Ice cream bar" from time to time brings everyone together at the kitchen for an ad-hoc all hands

Jason · Answer 4 · 2009-10-15 03:32:44Z UTC

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More than snacks, lunch. It's not as expensive as it sounds (people don't expect sushi), you can leave Friday out of it (Fridays everyone goes to lunch out), and bringing lunch in actually cuts a lot of wasted time out of the day without anyone feeling like they're working more.

answered Oct 15 at 3:32

Jason♦♦

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Do you mean provide catered lunch? I thought I saw that the folks @ Fog Creek do this ("we always eat together"), but it always seemed a bit... hate to say it... cultish. Almost like, you can't leave for lunch and you will eat with us when we say it's time ;-). But I don't know, closest I've come to this is a place in the middle of nowhere that had a cafeteria with set hours (11A-1P). Have you heard good reactions from this? – Alex Papadimoulis Oct 15 at 3:54

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We just say that the company buys lunch if you're in the office, but of course you're free to leave! It's just usually easier to stay. Also for a lot of people it's the only time they really talk. – Jason♦ Oct 15 at 6:49

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We do lunch 3 days a week and no one feels it's event the slightest cultish. – pbreit Jan 1 at 1:13

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What fun and low-cost fringe benefits/perks would you offer to employees?

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