LOS ANGELES -- In the cutthroat technology industry where companies go to great lengths to attract and retain talent, employers have offered workers high salaries, company stock and unlimited vacation time. They've done free breakfasts, free lunches, free dinners and free booze. There's kombucha on tap, pingpong and pool, nap rooms, yoga rooms and on-site gyms.
Once considered lavish perks, they have now become the norm. Which is why tech companies eager to keep their employees engaged are turning to Loqules (pronounced "locals"), a Los Angeles startup with $200,000 in angel funding, to offer what a growing number of young employees crave: ways to have fun and do good.
"Millennials make up around 45 percent of the workforce, and they'd rather spend their money doing something cool and having an experience than buying or having material things," said Jai Al-Attas, the 33-year-old founder of Loqules. "They're a lot more socially aware, and they want to be part of companies or groups that give back to the community in some way."
Some of the perks offered by Loqules' five-person team are just that, perks, such as a cooking class with noted chef Louis Tikaram; a day of surfing with pro surfer Taylor Knox; a master class in mural making with street artist KidWiseman.
Loqules charges anywhere from $80 per person for basic experiences, such as a night out with a local musician, to $10,000 for a small team to have an intimate recording tutorial with music producer John Feldmann, who has produced for the likes of Avicii, Good Charlotte and Ashlee Simpson. The median cost of an experience is $200 to $500 per person, and options span categories such as art, music, surfing, skating, food, fitness and fashion. A portion of the fee goes to the person offering the experience; Loqules keeps the rest.
But companies also have the option of sharing the experience with people in need by partnering with a nonprofit such as Safe Place for Youth, a homeless-youth organization; A New Way of Life, which works with formerly incarcerated women; or the Salvation Army.
Through these partnerships, companies often foot the bill so those in need can participate in workshops and experiences alongside employees.
Of the dozen or so experiences Loqules has done with companies such as Salesforce, Uber, AdColony, Citibank and Facebook, nearly every company has chosen to partner with a nonprofit, and most have used Loqules more than once.
This comes as little surprise to researchers and human-resource experts, who in recent years have noticed a shift in how employees want to be engaged and rewarded at work.
Research from the Brookings Institution estimates that by 2025, millennials -- those born in 1982 to 2003 -- will make up 75 percent of the workforce. And it says that as this demographic of workers continues to grow, "millennial values," which Brookings describes as an emphasis on corporate social responsibility, a higher worth placed on experiences over material things, and community building, will come to shape the workplace.
"Years ago you never had a 25-year-old kid making $150,000," said Karen Ross, chief executive of tech firm Sharp Decisions, who has seen her own employees increasingly express interest in doing more for the communities in which they operate. "Now they're making good money. Nobody cares about free food or free beer. They're more interested in making a difference."
Companies are responding in kind. In 2014, Airbnb started offering employees four hours of paid time off every month to volunteer for local causes. Last year, it introduced a dedicated volunteering week to allow employees to devote a larger chunk of time to local projects.
Dropbox offers employees 32 paid hours a year to volunteer at nonprofits of their choosing, and it regularly hosts company-sponsored events where employees can serve meals at charities. NetApp, a data-management company in Silicon Valley, offers employees paid time off to volunteer, and it also works with nonprofit Rise Against Hunger to package meals.
"The response from employees has been extraordinarily positive," said Matt Fawcett, general counsel at NetApp. "We sent a note to my team in Sunnyvale asking who wanted to get involved, and within 60 seconds there was a flood of replies."
For a segment of the workforce who have the means to buy anything they want, an experiential perk gives them something money can't necessarily buy, according to corporate culture experts.
"When you give someone an award, it's a short-term thing -- you have it, you enjoy it at the time, but there's no memory beyond that," said Tina Figueroa, the vice president of human resources at AdColony, which has used Loqules twice to reward high performers and plans to offer its experiences as a perk every quarter. "An experience is emotional. You can relive it over and over again. It's really good for retention because people feel good when they tell those stories. It adds stickiness and it bonds people."
SundayMonday Business on 06/12/2017