Fresh food! Free smartphones! Foosball!
These are just a few of the perks that come with working for a high-profile tech company, companies that revel in the sense that they have somehow cracked the code on creating creative work spaces designed to inspire innovation.
But human resource management takes much more than SmartWater and Starbucks, as Yahoo! just learned this week when its CEO Marissa Mayer banned its work-from-home policies across the board, igniting a firestorm of anger across the workplace universe.
I've only got to imagine that the Mayer's fellow CEOs at IBM, Intel, CA Technologies, Cisco, HP, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments -- just to name a few -- are shaking their heads. That's because these companies offer a wide array of flexible work arrangements, including flextime, telecommuting, compressed workweeks and job sharing to their employees.
How do I know this? I know because each of these companies have completed the annual Working Mother 100 Best Companies application, which for 27 years has judged companies on their commitment to supporting not only working mothers, but all employees. Our application is tough and highly competitive -- and is based solely on how your company's benefits and policies stack up against your fellow employers. Last year, we scored 500-plus questions on access and usage of childcare, women's advancement programs and, of course, flexibility, along with female representation and corporate culture.
The result is an annual group of 100 Best Companies that remain committed to not only supporting their workforce, but thriving as successful companies as well. Yahoo, I honestly believe that your company can find this balance as well, but you'll never know how you compare until you compete in this arena.
Digital companies have changed the world and its culture around them. We hope that in order to attract and retain female talent and promote them through the pipeline, these same companies will lead the way in supporting policies and benefits that support working families.