Dean Guida, CEO of Infragistics has spent $10,000 on care packages for remote staff. The package includes coasters, blankets, and socks.
Before going remote, Infragistics used to spend around $50,000 a year on candy for its offices. The staff enjoyed snacks while they worked.
Now most of Infragistics’ 250 employees are working remotely.
Infragistics builds software for professional developers and already had work-from-home policies in place for staff in its six offices: US, the UK, Japan, Uruguay, Bulgaria, and India.
The company stopped spending on candy in 2018 as it was unhealthy and switched to fruits and drinks.
After the pandemic hit and remote work became the norm, Guida wanted to make sure Infragistics still had a sense of culture and belonging, so he decided to offer other perks.
“In the tech space pre-COVID, there was a lot of poaching going on. Post-COVID, it got even worse. The intensity of headhunters is just been crazy.”Dean Guida, CEO, Infragistics
The company spent around $10,000 on care packages for its staff and also bought a software called Precitate to recreate office parties online.
“It’s like an online experience where you’re like this bubble floating around in a room, and when you get close to somebody, you can hear them talk. So it kind of stimulates a party atmosphere.”Dean Guida, CEO, Infragistics
Many teams had personal check-ins where colleagues could discuss personal topics like family and holiday plans.
“It’s created this great connection, which actually helps business. It helps the whole team just trust everyone more and just feel more connected to each other.”Dean Guida, CEO, Infragistics
These new perks aren’t a replacement for catered meals and snacks for 250 people, five days a week according to Guida. However, it is a “major investment”. The company has the Infragistics Innovation Fund and Lab, that gives employees an opportunity to develop their own business ideas.
Infragistics offices in Uruguay and Bulgaria are open and only a third of the staff are going in for collaborative work for just one or two days a week.
Infragistics had planned to reopen its US office in Cranberry, New Jersey, in September, but has postponed this due to the rise in COVID cases. The reopening is set for early October.
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