Friday, Oct. 30, 2009 | 6 a.m.
At Raster Media, company leadership likes to pay employees for not doing their jobs. It may sound strange, but employees are more productive as a result, said Geoffrey Radcliffe, Raster’s director of business development.
Started in 2003, Raster builds Web sites, e-mail marketing campaigns, cell phone software applications or “basically anything that requires Web-based technology,” Radcliffe explained. Raster has grown revenues an average of 27 to 30 percent annually.
How the firm gets impressive results is unconventional, to say the least. Employees are required to spend 20 percent of their workweek on nonclient-related work. Some employees play on Facebook all day, while others may blog; still others may engage in other personal pursuits.
“We’re a big fan of the work to live not the live to work mentality,” Radcliffe added.
Raster employees also take an afternoon off each month to catch a matinee film. Employees and owners get together to help a fellow employee work on personal pursuits as well. Radcliffe gives one example of a colleague who has a unique frozen yogurt concept. Raster employees and owners are helping the employee develop a business plan. Additionally, the company’s clients are more friends than business associates.
“We don’t need an occasion to have a good time. That’s kind of the company culture,” Radcliffe added. “We have clients come in and hang out all day. They like us … and we’re able to close deals this way.”
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