Sure, unlimited PTO and a fully stocked kitchen are great perks for right now, but what about your future? As you begin to think about the next phase of life, perks like a generous parental leave program and a 401(k) company match might look more appealing. The following seven NYC tech companies are focused on providing their employees with benefits that last.
Online tech community DigitalOcean is dedicated to setting its employees up for long-term success. Program Manager of People Operations Yoojin Levelle explained some of the company’s offerings.
What are some benefits or programs your company offers to set you up for success in the future?
We want our employees to be their best selves at work and outside of work. One way that we support them is through high quality benefits. We offer several robust healthcare options at affordable premiums and offer a 401(k) match program. We also offset the cost of getting to work through commuter subsidies for in-office employees, or through internet and co-working space reimbursements for our remote employees.
How does your company make sure you understand how to take advantage of these forward-focused benefits?
At DigitalOcean, community and well-being are high priorities. We try to reflect this in the resources we provide our employees to understand their benefits. We offer free resources to help navigate the confusing ins and outs of healthcare. We also offer free 401(k) one-on-one advisor sessions with our broker a couple times each year when our employees can speak to a certified fiduciary and grow their financial knowledge. Our company serves innovative software developers, so we take this culture to heart internally. We aim to iterate early and often, and provide value to our employees beyond the norm.
HR tech platform Justworks is in the business of connecting individuals with valuable perks and benefits, and that’s reflected in what they offer employees. People Operations Advisor Danielle Docheff walked us through some of the future-focused benefits employees can enjoy.
What are some benefits or programs your company offers to set you up for success in the future?
Justworks offers monthly workshops like feedback skills and time management to support both personal and professional development. We also host casual lunch and learns called “Poppin' Sessions” led by fellow employees, which educate employees about different teams at a deeper level so they can explore different roles and positions. We believe in promoting from within and giving employees opportunities to take on new challenges that match their career goals.
Additionally, we offer wellness-focused offerings like meditation and yoga, free access to Citibike, Talkspace and supplemented gym memberships and ClassPass.
How does your company make sure you understand how to take advantage of these forward-focused benefits?
Having accessible channels of communication with robust resources is a priority for us as a people operations team. Whether it's through monthly newsletter emails, L&D sessions, or Slack, we want to make sure that we communicate early, often, and clearly. At a company level, our weekly all-hands meetings are a core part of the culture. Having all 450 employees come together is an amazing opportunity to connect and learn as a collective, whether it's through a fireside chat with a customer or hearing about company updates and plans for the future.
As a new dad, Principal Data Scientist Matt Bass can especially speak to the future-focused benefits at White Ops. The company, which helps prevent cyber crimes, has a generous parental leave policy. He explained the details.
What are some benefits or programs your company offers to set you up for success in the future?
White Ops has a generous, 16-week parental leave plan that I am currently taking advantage of. Integrating a new member of the family on its own is challenging, and adding on a work-life balance to that mix will take some time to figure out. Giving new parents the time to adjust to their new lives is really important to maintaining a healthy work environment and employee engagement.
How does your company make sure you understand how to take advantage of these forward-focused benefits?
The people ops team proactively reached out to me to discuss parental leave. We had a one-on-one session where everything was explained and all the details of how the company and the benefits programs will cover a new family member were discussed. The enthusiastic support I have received from the company in general, but people ops in particular, has been outstanding. Beyond parental leave, there have been many training sessions offered to cover benefits. White Ops is proactive in educating employees about available benefits, opportunities for growth, and maintaining work-life balance.
AI solutions company Hyperscience pulls out all the stops for employees: six weeks of PTO, daily catered lunch and a free gym membership. But even more importantly are the number of future-focused benefits they offer employees. Director of Solutions Engineering Erik Bohman walked us through some of his favorite perks focused on the long-term.
What are some benefits or programs your company offers to set you up for success in the future?
Our benefits for parents are outstanding. Actually, they are beyond outstanding. Six months of paid leave — transferable to a stay-at-home partner — and a stipend to spend on healthcare or education. Nursing mothers get some extra perks as well. Employees can also take advantage of the company’s 401(k) matching program.
How does your company make sure you understand how to take advantage of these forward-focused benefits?
Peter, our CEO, recently spoke in our biweekly company all-hands about what he calls “work-life symbiosis,” which I really like. It's not strictly about achieving a balance between competing forces. It's about how one helps the other and how neither of them are possible without the other. If you don't have a stable personal life, how could you possibly perform your best at work?
As part of onboarding, there were sessions to explain the benefits and check-ins to make sure we understood the options. There's also some professional advisors available through the benefits platform, but I haven't needed them yet.
At security company Trail of Bits, employees are constantly updating their benefits according to their team’s needs. Head of Strategy and Operations Lauren Pearl went over the details of the company’s offerings.
What are some benefits or programs your company offers to set you up for success in the future?
At Trail of Bits, we offer a flexible schedule. Assuming you’re generally available when your team needs you, you can work whatever hours make you most productive. I love the sense of agency and freedom this flexibility provides. It’s easier to bring my best results to the table by working when my best ideas happen.
How does your company make sure you understand how to take advantage of these forward-focused benefits?
Our benefits are constantly evolving both to match the needs of our team and to take advantage of new opportunities. Some examples: Subway construction was making life harder for some of our office employees so we added a free CitiBike membership to our package. More employees were requesting standing desks so we scheduled professional ergonomic assessments for the office and remote employees and purchased whatever custom equipment was recommended. Additionally, some remote employees weren’t getting gym benefits because Justworks’s partnership gyms weren’t close by, so we created a deal with ClassPass so more people could get the benefit. Every time we make an update, we inform employees through an announcement and update our benefit documentation.
Fintech company Abacus offers professional development opportunities and a 401(k) match to help set up employees for success. Office and Employee Experience Coordinator Hillary Bedeian explained the offerings in more detail.
What are some benefits or programs your company offers to set you up for success in the future?
Abacus offers a number of benefits, including a 401(k) matching program, and an external education program for continuing professional development. As employees, we're eligible to receive reimbursement for courses or conferences we choose to attend outside of work that contribute to our continuous learning, and help us to become experts in our fields.
How does your company make sure you understand how to take advantage of these forward-focused benefits?
For our 401(k) plan, we partner with a financial planning firm that offers free retirement planning and personal finance consultations, as well as group seminars. Our employee success team informs all new hires of these resources as part of our employee onboarding plan.
Fintech company N26 offers employees a number of perks that contribute to their long-term happiness and well-being. Talent Sourcing Specialist Francisco Alegria went over some of the best ones, including learning stipends and meditation classes.
What are some benefits or programs your company offers to set you up for success in the future?
Each employee receives a personal development budget, which we can use for professional development in our fields or in another N26 work field. Whether it’s a marketing conference in LA or a local class on coding, it’s a perk N26 gives us that can help us grow and become a stronger, more productive employee.
How does your company make sure you understand how to take advantage of these forward-focused benefits?
Outside of our personal development budget, we’re also given tools to improve our wellbeing in the long-term. For example, N26 held a meditation and stretch session, as well as a group outing to a Soul Cycle class. We know that an active body helps an active mind. As we develop our culture more and more, we learn we are not a sit-at-your-desk-for-8-hours group. We are hikers, basketball players and lifters, and we need activity in our daily lives.
