The Carsonified job

Posted on 8 January 2008 Productivity

I have been following Ryan Carson and his “small” UK based company, Carsonified, for quite some time, and it amazes me how he has turned his company into a place people would die to go and work for.

Carsonified

Just like 37signals, I don’t think Ryan and Gillian want to grow Carsonified into a behemoth of a company having to manage hundreds of staff, but rather they want to focus on what they want to do and build an awesome place for them and their handful of employees to work. And boy, I don’t think there are any web developers / designers who wouldn’t want to work for them. Not only are there some really cool perks, but some really awesome products to work on.

So when I read their latest post on giving all their employee’s iPhones as a surprise present I just had to blog about my admiration for how they run things. Not only do they furnish you with a Macbook and 23inch display, but you get a fully-paid-for iPhone aswell! Perks aren’t everything you know, so why not have a 4 day working week thrown in as well. A 4 day working week is absolutely genius and if I ever start a company one day, this is something I will work towards right from the beginning.

Then just a few weeks ago, Carsonified downed tools for a week (now called the Carsonified Idea Week) and let their creative fantasies come alive with Hug My Mac. How awesome is that? Stop work, take a mini-break from whatever you are doing, and pour all your energy into something completely different and inspiring.

I read an interesting article once (can’t remember where) where people rated what the most important thing was about their jobs. Money came in somewhere around 6 or 7 if I recall. Just shows you that money is important, but not as important as employers think. Job satisfaction and happiness come way before things like money and bonuses.

Carsonified perks in South Africa

So, I want to hear some of the really cool perks your company has. At Travelogic, we have a really awesome coffee machine that makes the meanest espresso’s. We also have proper flexi-time, so we can come and go as we please, as long as the work gets done. There are a couple of other perks that we will be employing in the coming year, but let’s leave those off the list for now.

What are some of your office perks?

http://www.carsonified.com Ryan Carson

Jason!

Thanks for the awesome words. I’m glad that we’re encouraging people to make their companies better places to work. As you know, we really believe in having fun as well as working hard.

Really appreciate the blog post – thanks again.

All the best,
Ryan
http://www.strategyonline.co.za/blog Gary James

Hi Jason.

I’ve been a fan of the 4-day-week for a while. The 3-day-week is an even better idea . But seriously, the sooner software companies figure out that imposing structure on unstructured, creative employees is a bad idea, the better.

I read an article about MS once, where Gates said that in the early days of MS he would review each staff member’s work at the end of each month. As long as each guy was sufficiently productive, he didn’t care what hours they worked. That makes a lot of sense to me. If seen way too many programmers killing time waiting for 5pm. It’s a cancer.

Keep in touch..

Gary.
http://www.lesleydean.com Lesley Dean

Great post Jason! You’re absolutely right. Carsonified sounds cool! :)

Here at Acceleration employees get a laptop, home adsl, cell phone allowance, catered lunch, real coffee machine, and flexi-time (although we do have support, and timezone commitments). It’s more than just that too.. it’s about people genuinely working together in team.. having a respect for all your colleagues whether they are above or below you in hierarchy. Ok, we dont have 4 day working weeks, but maybe I’ll suggest it! :)

By the way, Jason, if you don’t mind, I will take this opportunity to mention that we are hiring! :) So if there are any hot .NET developers reading this, give me a shout!

Another friend of mine just started a new job here in Cape Town where 4 days of the week is normal work, but the 5th day is used to persue your own business and ideas.. where you get 50% stake… that sounds like a cool idea too.

LJD.
http://www.retrosaint.co.za retrosaint

This was a good little read.. :)

Wow Lesley, you got some awesome benefits!

Golf membership is one of the perks i got… now i get up early on Saturday mornings to stalk this little white ball. It’s fun, i promise!

Chris
Fox

Sjo … I’m incredibly jealous …

We have perks too … we get paid lunch on Fridays …. and … errmmm … thats it really.
http://www.jasonbagley.com Jason

@Ryan, its an honour to have you drop by. Keep up the inspiration over at Carsonified!

@Gary, 3 days a week?! That is bordering on swapping the weekend and work week around! Hehe. 4 days I think is optimal.

@Lesley, spam away your job openings… Maybe I should start a job board on my site?

@Retrosaint, golf membership!? Really? That’s a pretty weird but cool perk!

@Fox, paid lunches rock. I think I need to suggest that at our office!
http://www.synthasite.com Lisa Retief

Here at SynthaSite we get MacBook Pro 15″/17″ (your choice) as well as 22″ displays and wireless peripherals of our choice. Flexi-time, super-casual environment (you get fired for wearing a suit).

At the start of a 2-week iteration everyone updates the wiki with what they want for lunch for the coming 2 weeks, and then it gets delivered daily.

Breakfast is also supplied in the form or cereal, rusks, whatever. Sexy Sprada coffee machine. If you happen to be around for supper that gets covered as well.

Flat-screen DSTV in the common room with an XBox. This is currently undergoing an upgrade – we have the new XBox and decoder, TV arriving soon.

Pool table.

The Wiki also has a shopping list that you can add any consumables (biscuits, fruit, stationery, sweets, drinks) to and they will be stocked.

The Wiki is also where you add books to the booklist, and periodic Amazon orders get placed.

At the end of the two-week iteration everyone goes out for a ‘retrospective’ lunch/afternoon and that is how the iteration ends.

And then of course stock options.

Most importantly, the tech is great and compelling and you get to input significantly in what you spend your time working on.
http://www.jasonbagley.com Jason

@Lisa, Wow, those are some really amazing perks! I guess a number of web-startups like yourself offer similar perks… Where do I sign up? ;-)

Mmm, you have given me a great idea for a blog post…. Watch this space.
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