Todd Olson, CEO of software firm Pendo in Raleigh, is done with cubicles.
"Rip them down,” Olson said Tuesday while speaking at the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce’s Launch 2022 event. Olson is taking his own advice to keep his product adoption technology firm competitive when it comes to hiring talented employees. Its new headquarters in the 301 Hillsborough tower in downtown Raleigh will have everything from a pizza oven to an in-office barista when the doors open.
But what about the "old way of working?"
“That obviously isn’t working,” he said.
Olson was one of several speakers who talked about what Ted Abernathy, managing partner of Economic Leadership, said is the region’s biggest challenge – attracting workforce talent.
”The biggest hurdle is talent … if we do not get it, we are not going to keep moving,” he said of the Raleigh area.
That’s doubly true for the individual companies working to fill open positions. Competition is high. And companies – even buzzy ones with pizza ovens – have to get creative to stand out, particularly as the region keeps attracting big name employers.
“We have to compete with Google and Apple locally,” Olson said, noting that with the rise of remote work, the competition is coming from everywhere. “The reality is you can work from anywhere … the reality is you have to think globally.”
Add in what’s being called the “Great Resignation,” where employees are leaving companies in droves, and the pressure is on.
Olson said CEOs need to remember that people aren’t leaving jobs because they are 'lazy.'”
“They’re quitting because there’s opportunity,” he said. And if you want your company to be one of those opportunities, you have to fight.
At Pendo, that means increased compensation. Olson said his team is looking at compensation every six months. Pay is no longer differentiated between regions. And everyone in the firm gets stock options. Pendo has expanded its parental leave – and getting creative with in-office perks. The reality? Mandating “some place for people to go to work … obviously isn’t working.”
But that doesn’t mean letting the competition dictate what you do. Olson recalls employees asking about four-day work weeks, saying it’s a perk other firms are offering. Olson said compete with culture and compensation – but not at the expense of the bottom line. It’s a take Cindy Eckert, founder of Sprout Pharmaceuticals and the The Pink Ceiling, doubled down on.
“Create a culture of owners and they will understand as a leader why you can’t have a four-day work week,” she said during the chamber event.