Company Atmosphere and How it Relates to your Turnover Rate

Posted on February 13, 2014 by

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There is this great feeling when you are happy to be at work because of your team and commitment to a company that somehow overrides the daily headaches and objectives before you. Those who have experienced this feeling of belonging to an organization can tell you how hard it is to leave a company to which they owe great friends, memories, experiences and lessons from. It all comes back to company culture and it’s incredible spill over benefits when things are right. You have seen it in the news and articles how big companies like Google, Zappos, Facebook, Mind Valley in Asia and several others have created incredible office spaces built to be true work paradises with an easygoing relaxed atmosphere. Companies strive to achieve this because they know it allows employees to be creative with great imaginative new measures and feeling comfortable at work has proven benefits. Recruiting talent is much easier in companies that offer more perks than just a benefits package.

Besides just having a great working environment, creating a community of close colleagues has incredible effects on the staff moral and job satisfaction. People have been proven to tolerate jobs they don’t enjoy simply because of the people they work with. In fact in a study done on “WorkForce Retention” by American Psychological Association, more than 56% percent of participants stated their connectivity to their organization and co workers as a reason for staying at their current job. With over 67% stating that the reason as their job fits in well with their life, you cannot ignore the importance of creating a great company atmosphere to engage and retain human talent. Here at PayrollHero we like to do activities together such as golf ranges, mountain biking, traveling and group meals on top of offering a ROWE (Results Only Work Environment) to attract great employees.

We designed our software to encourage a positive workforce and help brighten the moods of staff members from what used to be a mundane process to a fun and engaging way to be welcomed to work. Let us help change the environment at your business, feel free to contact us.

What We Are Reading At PayrollHero

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Stephen Jagger

One of our core values at PayrollHero is incremental improvement (Kaizen) and part of that means constantly learning new things. I asked some of our team what they are reading at this moment, here is what they said:

Stephen Jagger – Predictable Revenue by Aaron Ross

Brandon Strong – Ultimate Guide to Google Adwords” by Perry Marshall and Bryan Todd

Tin Sanchez – Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Dane Natoli – The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay

Mylene Seyeux – The Devil Wears Prada’ by Lauren Weisberger (french version)

Bram Whillock – Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

What are you reading?

Employees Value Workplace Freedom

Posted on December 30, 2013 by

At PayrollHero we proudly acknowledge the changing work place environment that is known as ROWE. ROWE stands for Results Only Work Environment which embodies the idea that employees are given the freedom to eliminate daily tasks that eat into their time so they can focus on doing what they were hired to do. Employees are evaluated solely on what they accomplish not on filling 8 hours. This allows some of our staff to take their morning to go skiing or relax and work in the afternoon if they so choose as long as there is no team related obligations. It takes the stress out of situations where you may be stuck in traffic or have obligations such as medical appointments or you simply want to see a concert on a certain night. This level of freedom allows our staff to be comfortable, happy, and most importantly productive. For a company like ours and likely yours, results are the only thing you measure at the end of the day so why use an outdated employee structure that contradicts your goal. Understandably ROWE does not implement for all types of businesses but keeping the central concept alive is still very applicable. Doing so can unlock a lot of potential for companies that are able to trust their dedicated staff and give space to invoke creativity.

Welcome Bram Whillock!

Posted on December 6, 2013 by

PayrollHero is proud to announce the addition of Bram to our team who hails from San Francisco as one of our new talented engineers. We are very excited for our team to keep growing, welcome Bram to our Whistler office!

“Hi, I’m Bram but a lot of people call me Bramski. I can best be described as a rugged adventurer. I’m often to be found skiing steep snow on jagged mountains or climbing even steeper cliff faces. I spent 2 years of my life traveling the world west to east and my adventure resume not only includes some of the coolest mountains on the planet but also some of the more remote peoples and cultures.

I’m 30 years old and have been developing software for the web for the last 15 years both as an entrepreneur at small companies and a professional at bigger ventures. I studied Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon where I focused in new ideas and research in computer and network security where I have some published work.

For me working for PayrollHero and living in Whistler is a dream realized. Cutting edge technology, a great team, and an amazing place to be and live everyday. You can find me living the dream either here at my desk or out in the wonderful mountains of BC.”

Welcome Brandon Strong

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Stephen Jagger

Another new team member has joined PayrollHero. Meet Brandon, he hails from the US and has joined our Whistler office. Welcome Brandon!

“Hi, I’m Brandon and I am 22 years young. I hail from Vancouver but I have also lived in San Francisco, Delaware, Washington, Kelowna B.C. all before moving to one of my favorite cities in the world Whistler B.C.

When I’m not in an office you will find me in the mountains with a snowboard in hand during winter and a downhill mountain bike in the summer. I am the definition of speed junkie and enjoy anything that has a motor and wheels or puts me airborne.

Besides traveling North America and finishing school in Canada, I have been involved in both business strategy and financial markets all while keeping an eye on up and coming entrepreneurial ventures.

My diverse background and abilities have led to the opportunity to work for PayrollHero as a Growth Hacker/Customer Success Hero and I could not be more excited. To find a company with so much potential and be based in Whistler has put all my passions in one place for which I am extremely grateful for.

I am looking forward to working with such a talented team and continuing to build a truly unique company.”

New PayrollHero Team Members – Welcome Sean and Mylene!

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Stephen Jagger

PayrollHero continues to grow. We have added 2 new team members to our Whistler team, Mylene from France and Sean from Australia. Here is a quick introduction about each of them:

Sean:
I’m Sean. I’m a 23 year old bloke from Australia. I am what some call a dabbler but I prefer Jack of all Trades. I’m the school chess captain, come obsessed surfer, fitness freak, and amateur snowboarder.

I grew up in a family of bankers but have an IT background; I have been pulling everything apart (Including PCs, Engines, and Houses) since before I can remember. I care heaps about my health, I am at the gym every other day and (whenever I can be bothered training) I run marathons.

I studied Accountancy at University of Wollongong where I build upon the knowledge passed down through my family and had the opportunity to practice these skills with my mothers bookkeeping business.

I now work in Customer Support for PayrollHero. I’m loving the opportunity to offer my financial and technical skills to an amazing startup and to the early adopter customers that they service.

Working with awesome people in an awesome startup in an awesome town is an unbelievable dream come true.

I can’t wait to help.

Mylene:
I’m Mylene, I’m 24 years old. I come from the north west of France. I arrived in Canada in February 2013 in Montreal and I did a road trip through Canada and I arrived in Whistler in October.

I like to travel, dance, cook, windsurf… I’m more at ease on the sea than on the snow so I must improve my snowboarding. I am the same level in snowboarding as I am in English… 🙂

I’m a graphic designer and I work as the UI/UX designer for PayrollHero. I’m really glad I could join the team. You can see my previous work: 1000n.fr

#AdventureEngineer Ronald Maravilla Packs For Whistler

Posted on September 28, 2013 by Stephen Jagger

Ronald Maravilla, a native of the Philippines has been working with Mike Stephenson and myself since 2009. When Ron joined us it was for Ubertor, our real estate software company. When PayrollHero got off the ground a year and a half ago, Ron moved over to PayrollHero and joined as the second engineer building out the first stages of the platform.

Today is a big day!

Ron has been accepted into Canada under the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program and will be moving to our Whistler office as part of his #AdventureEngineering dream.

What is an #AdventureEngineer you ask? It is a term we coined as part of our offering to attract smart, hard working, talented enginners who wanted to work hard and play hard. This video sums it up:

Part of what PayrollHero offers to new team members is help with immigration into Canada. Interested in a job, you can see our available roles here – (Ruby) (iOS)

Join us!

Whistler’s Vast, Untapped, Potential is…You

Posted on May 17, 2013 by

In this blog post we’re going to meet Vicky, who flocked to Whistler looking for a better work-life-balance and is now working with us here at PayrollHero. We’re going to share with you some of her tips and advice on moving to Canada and the truth about finding a career in a resort town – and hopefully inspire you to get in touch and make the move too.

* In a future post, coming soon, we’ll be chatting with local immigration lawyers to provide you with practical guide to the process of moving to British Columbia.

Meet Victoria, Curator of Digital Communities and Happiness

Name: Victoria Farrand

Age: 27

Home: Huddersfield, England

Previous Industry Job: Digital Content Manager and Creative Strategy at Brass Agency, UK

Reason for moving to Canada: I came for a career-break and never left, Whistler just pulled me in and I knew this was where I had to put my roots

How do people choose Whistler?

Ask most long-term locals how they ended up living in Whistler, and you’ll probably get the same answer over and over: “I came for a holiday and never left”. And like the thousands before her, Vicky didn’t plan on living in Whistler permanently either, it just happened.

“My partner, Tom, and I were setting off for a round-the-world trip… three years later, we never left Whistler and now we almost have permanent residency.” – Vicky

For every person who does stay, there are unfortunately many who don’t. Many who think that making a permanent life in a resort town is just too tough. So at PayrollHero we asked ‘what can we do to help more people realise their dream of living in Whistler?’

PayrollHero has a local immigration expert on our side

We have a great relationship with a local immigration lawyer here in Whistler. If we decide that you are the right blend of adventurous, dedicated and talented, and we offer you a position with us, they will guide you through the visa process for foreign workers.

We can help you live permanently in Canada

As well as finding talent from overseas, we also especially like to employ locals; and in a resort town ‘local’ can be someone who has been here 6 months or 6 years. We’re looking for the locals who are starting to think that they might have to move to Vancouver to get the job and they pay they want. Well don’t move, we want you! And if you’re not from Canada, Rudy will help you stay.

“We originally came to Canada on a working holiday visa, but a year later we decided we wanted to be permanent residents. Having lawyer took away all the stresses of this big life-decision. They helped us get Provincial Nomination with the BC Government, walked us through the implied status process and helped us get new working visas until or residency came through. This was very important to us because we were at the limit of how many visas we could get being from the UK. Now we’ve had our medicals and we’re just waiting for confirmation.” – Vicky

Move to Whistler for a career break…at first

As Vicky mentioned, you can come to Canada on working holiday visa. We recommend looking into it for your respective Country of origin, as each has different age restrictions and limits on the number of visas you can have.

Once you have been approved for a working holiday visa you can move to Whistler, British Columbia or anywhere else in Canada (but why would you want to go anywhere else).

“I moved from the UK to get away from the lifestyle associated with working for a big a marketing and advertising agency, I needed to escape the constant feeling that I was working working for the weekend and re-evaluate what It actually was that I loved about my job. As a result I’ve had many jobs in Whistler, I’ve been a snowboard instructor, a ski technician, a bootfitter and a zip-line guide to name a few, but doing these jobs has brought me full circle to realise that this is what I want to do, I just want to do it for the right company” – Vicky

Not everyone who comes to Whistler on a working holiday visa wants to only stay 6 months. A lot of people use it as a career break, a good way to escape the daily grind, and others use it as a way to bridge the gap while they apply for residency. But however you end up in Whistler one thing is sure, it’s hard to leave.

If you’ve ever been to ‘Super, Natural British Columbia you’ll understand why this west coast province continually attracts like-minded, creative people. Like like bees to honey, creatives flock from all over the world to find the right work-play balance. Each one bringing with them their culture, knowledge and skills; and here at PayrollHero we are very happy to welcome Whistler’s vast, mostly-untapped, potential – you.

Whistler sounding good to you? Drop us and email right here at support[at]payrollhero.com.

Mini Web Design Conference & Meetup Recap

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Stephen Jagger

Last night we hosted the Mini Web Design Conference and Meetup at the PayrollHero offices in the Philippines. We had over 50 attendees come to learn and network with other designers in the area.

MiniFFC is short for Mini Form Function & Class. It is the smaller, more informal version of our annual web design conference where folks from the industry can gather, share experiences, and mingle with fellow colleagues. These meetups are held every 3rd Wednesday of the month and are organized by the Philippine Web Designers Organization (PWDO). (details)

PayrollHero’s Tin Sanchez was asked to be one of the speakers. Tin spoke about PayrollHero’s Philippine payroll platform, the interface and some hints at to what was coming next. Also speaking was Christian Besler of Kickstart and a couple others.

If you have an event in Manila or Whistler and are looking for a location, be sure to reach out and see if it is a fit for our offices. We love having guests!

Move to Whistler For A Career In Software Engineering With PayrollHero

Posted on May 7, 2013 by

If you were to ask most people in town why they moved to Whistler, British Columbia they would reel off answers like skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking and summer nights by the lake; the rest would say they were on a gap-year and most on a career break, but very few (if any) would say they moved for the perfect job.

With such a transient community Whistler has a bit of bad reputation for employment, but it’s PayrollHero’s goal to change that…one well-paid happy, adventurous employee at a time.

Just in case you still have doubts, later on we’ll introduce you to our most recent success story – Florent Lamoureux, all the way from historic Bordeaux, France.

Keep on reading this post for why more and more career-focused people are moving to Whistler and how, together, we could make it happen for you.

Work to live and live to play

CEB uncovered that one of the top 5 reasons an employee would quit his/her job in 2012 would be to pursue a better ‘work-life balance’. So if you’re already feeling underwhelmed with your current work-life situation, the only way is up when you move to somewhere as recreation-focussed as Whistler, British Columbia.

Swap your stressful highway commute for a walk or a bike ride through acres of lush green coastal temperate rainforest; and on the way home you could even stop for a game of beach volleyball or an evening BBQ at one of four lake-side beaches.

* Does this look like the life you’d like? You should get in touch and tell us a little about yourself. Maybe we could work together.

But isn’t moving stressful?

Psychiatrists Holmes and Rahe listed changing working conditions and moving house in their top 43 most stressful life events for adults. We know moving is never going to be easy, but there are a few things PayrollHero can do to help ease the ‘typical’ stresses of relocation.

#1 Stress: Finding a house

PayrollHero has staff housing for our new-into-town employees. On arrival Florent and his girlfriend moved into their own apartment right in Whistler village to help them get orientated as quickly as possible.

#2 Stress: That awkward gap between pay checks

In our PayrollHero staff housing, Florent received his first month rent free, second month at 70% off and third month at 50% off! We also have an office meals program to help keep everyone happy and healthy. Our commitment to happy employees doesn’t just stop there, our aim to also to have the highest average wage in Whistler. All added up, that should give you a few months of financial ease to help you settle in.

#3 Stress: Settling in and making friends

Making friends is easy in Whistler because everyone is here for the same reason – to have fun in the outdoors while striking a sustainable work-life balance in the mountains. Our employees enjoy regular activities paid for by PayrollHero, annual staff retreats and access to some of the world’s best biking and hiking trails right outside of our office.

My Move to Whistler: Florent Lamoureux

Name: Florent Lamoureux,

Social: @Flrent, Florent on LinkedIn, GitHub

Age: 22

Home: Bordeaux, France

Education: Masters Degree in Computer Sciences

School: SUPINFO International University

Reason for moving to Canada: To spend more time in the great outdoors and perfect his English.

What Florent thinks about his move to Whistler and PayrollHero:

“The slogan of Payroll Hero is ‘optimizing work with happiness’ and that’s something I felt with the company and Mike, right away. They made my move (with my girlfriend) very easy – they even came to pick us up from the airport. Since then I have enjoyed a great work environment, free food at the office and company activities in the summer. From the point of view of my work, I can use my JavaScript, web and mobile knowledge, while learning new skills like Ruby, and attending educational conferences with my co- workers, too.”

Do you feel the pull of the mountains, too? Are you our next PayrollHero Adventure Engineer? We’re always open to meeting new happy creatives from all over the world.

What to do now? Drop us and email right here at support[at]payrollhero.com. Be sure to include all the best bits about yourself and why you think you’d be a good fit at PayrollHero.

Post by Payroll Hero.