Free lunches, beer o’clock Fridays, and bringing your dog to work might be fun perks at the office. But taken alone, they can’t build a great company culture.
One company that does seem to have it figured it out is OpenDNS Inc., a security company extending the Domain Name System (DNS) by protecting against phishing, providing content filtering, and so on. It employs 167 people at its main office, with another 33 employees worldwide.
OpenDNS ranked sixth out of a list of 127 U.S. tech employers. To land its spot, 110 of its randomly chosen employees responded to an anonymous survey run by Great Rated!, a company that provides reviews of businesses’ workplaces and hiring practices.
According to Great Rated!’s survey, 94 per cent of the OpenDNS employees polled said their company provides the accoutrements of a good workplace – fair promotions, and work that challenges them personally. In terms of everyday work, another 95 per cent said they felt they could get down to it without being micromanaged.
Ninety-one per cent said they also received the training and development they needed to do their jobs well, with OpenDNS reporting its gives its full-time, salaried employees 40 hours of training every year. Aside from those training sessions, the company also provides extra workshops, allowing its employees to pick up different skills like public speaking, negotiations, financial planning, and so on.
But what may be most compelling is that 97 per cent said they feel their work is more than just a job. As the company focuses on Internet security, they said they enjoyed working at a place that protects end users.
Ultimately, OpenDNS landed an average rating of 100 per cent pride among its employees, 98 per cent for the challenges it presents to its employees, and 99 per cent for its atmosphere. It also garnered an average rating of 98 per cent for its rewards, 99 per cent for communication, and 99 per cent for its bosses.