Benefits and perks are crucial in helping companies attract and retain employees. After all, great perks and benefits are signs that an employer is invested in the development and wellbeing of employees as individuals.
From wage incentives, comfortable workspaces, workplace flexibility, and medical benefits to free food, all of these enhance their employees’ work experience in one way or another.
IT outsourcing company Cloud Employee has been taking perks and benefits to the next level this year, especially after bringing some of their developers and IT workers to different parts of the world—all through all-expenses-paid trips.
Jace Maniquis, a .net developer who has been with the company for more than three years, didn’t expect he would experience his first-ever trip abroad thanks to his work.
To reward Jace for his loyalty to the company and his steadily excellent performance, Cloud Employee chief executive Nick Hargreaves gave him a well-deserved trip to Vietnam in June.
The moment he heard the news, Jace couldn’t contain his excitement. “I felt excited because it will be my first time out of the country. [I’m] looking forward to seeing new things and what I may see and realize outside my country.”
Jace is only one among the developers and IT professionals at Cloud Employee who was able to travel abroad, explore different cultures, and meet other tech talents from different countries thanks to their work.
In May, a three-member team was able to tour around the UK in a two-week trip and climb Wales’ highest point. Recently, two developers went on a trip to Sweden, trying out all things Swedish from a meal at Heaven 23 to the thrilling rides at Liseberg amusement park.
Aside from these one-of-a-kind experiences, the IT company also offers fun perks and company activities. As a UK-managed IT outsourcing company, Cloud Employee breaks the stereotype of boring IT offices: from foosball to darts to an Xbox and more, the office space offers areas where the developers and the staff can take a break and de-stress.
There are also monthly tournaments where employees team up and compete with each other in various sports. Activities like these aim to build camaraderie and teamwork among employees as well as to cultivate a happy working environment, which the company believes is an important key to success.
The company also holds themed foodie Fridays and social Fridays to let the employees enjoy the coming weekend. From the simplest perks such as free sandwiches and hot dogs to the grandest such as overseas trips, Cloud Employee has committed to help its tech talents be globally recognized as well as happy and engaged in their work.
As for Jace, the experience was more than just a free trip abroad. While most people regard overseas trips as vacation, for Jace it was a trip full of “learnings and realizations”.
“I like Cloud Employee not only because [they] offer great career opportunities, but also because the environment and the people also help [me[ grow [as a person]. Also, I believe in [the company’s] vision [of] delivering the best [services] it could give to the world and how it promotes how skillful Filipinos are.
