Newsroom
So why is Erudine 2008's best place to work in IT?
Erudine was named one of the best places to work in the UK by Computer Weekly magazine. So what is it about the Erudine workplace that makes it so great?
Creativity at its heart
A principal tenet of our work ethic is that software developers are less like engineers and more akin to artists. Erudine programmers visualise and create, and they need the time, space and surroundings to allow them to work through their ideas.
To help people readily visualise their thoughts, there are three metres of whiteboard for every person at Erudine, covering virtually every wall in the office. Walk around and you'll see almost every bit of whiteboard is covered in diagrams, lists, notes and all kinds of scrawled ideas - even some of the tables bear the scars of particularly inventive meetings. These are the outpourings of creative minds in action.
But all that creativity would be in vain if people aren’t in the mood for distractions. There's nothing worse than being rudely awoken from your meditation by a loud and unscheduled meeting taking place at the next desk.
Our office is a mix of spaces designed to prevent this kind of thing happening and allow people to work in an environment that suits their mood. We have a proportion of spaces that’s reckoned to be effective for ‘knowledge’ workers: 65% is open plan, 25% is for small teamworking, and 10% is for quiet private working.
“The layout and structure of the office is great for fostering our agile working environment, it makes communication much easier and certainly makes people feel that they work for a ‘team’ rather than for themselves,” considers Toby Sucharov, a senior developer.
“It’s also nice not to be facing a wall, or stuck in a cubicle. Our open plan office has created an atmosphere where the whole company is also a team, everyone is friends and everyone is included.”
That sense of comradeship helps smooth the creative process – new ideas are readily welcomed, failures are learned from and, when the going gets tough, the team ethos ensures everyone rolls up their sleeves and mucks in.
If people do want to close themselves off from the rest of the team, the space dedicated to private working enables them to do so with minimal fuss and ensures they are still close enough to the action should they be needed.
Individual wellbeing
We appreciate the importance of encouraging everyone to be fit and healthy - mentally and physically. This isn't just because of sick days (although it helps if people are well enough to work) or because staying fit and eating healthily is linked to being content and productive at work, but because we honestly feel the people here are valuable enough to be looked after properly.
Stress is often underappreciated as a major factor in employee health. Sometimes it’s the little things, like those days when, no matter how hard you sit and think, you just can't find a solution to the problem that's been holding you up for most of the morning and afternoon.
It's at times like this that you want to get away from your desk and devote your mind and body to something else. This is why Erudine has a games room; it's a place of respite and camaraderie, where people can cool down for a few minutes over a game of pool, table tennis, air hockey, table football, or a quick jam on Guitar Hero III. And it's amazing how quickly that solution will appear with a reinvigorated mind.
Also, the fresh fruit delivered daily to Erudine is good for the body and the mind - and it's free. By the end of every day, each fruit bowl is empty. Who says programmers sit around all day eating party-sized packets of crisps and drinking cola? And everyone at Erudine gets a huge discount on membership to the downstairs gym. For just £12 a month, they get access to the latest exercise equipment, swimming pool, a variety of classes, and changing facilities. And all just five minutes walk from the office, so they can nip out for swim at lunchtime and come back feeling refreshed for the afternoon ahead.
Alison Simpson, Staff Writer, believes the freedom to mix work and play makes everyone more relaxed and consequently more productive. “Erudine offers so much by way of R & R. The gym’s a great facility and because it’s so close I can grab a workout in the morning or during my lunch break.”
Work/life balance
'Work to live, don't live to work'; certainly a cliché, and probably against our nation’s Anglo-Saxon attitude to employment, but true nonetheless. The people at Erudine are not replaceable units, they are highly skilled, intellectual professionals with varied social lives, and we want them to be both happy and creative.
Where possible, people have the chance to work at home, particularly if they have a long commute to the office. To ensure telecommuters aren't left out of the loop while they're away, every member of staff has a mobile phone and we provide remote access software so they can connect to the company servers.
We also place a huge emphasis on training. We’re all aware that the software industry moves dizzyingly fast, making it essential that skills and knowledge are kept up to date. At Erudine, 15% of the development team’s working week is devoted to training. This is entirely down to the individual; some prefer to go to a quiet room and read a book, others run seminars and ‘show and tell’ sessions for their colleagues, while still others seek help in arranging external training with professional bodies.
Other departments are also given training and professional development opportunities. Erudine encourages team members to further develop their skills by sponsoring diploma courses and providing study leave as and when it’s required. New members of the team notice the difference straight away. Suzanne Anderson, Business Administrator, joined Erudine in March 2008: “I’ve only been with Erudine a short while but it’s certainly a unique environment to work in. The career development is great and I’m encouraged to think about my personal development.” “I don’t have the same structured training as the IT guys but I learn something new every day so I’m more than happy with that. It’s got a lovely atmosphere, I never work late and coming to work is a pleasure, not a chore.”
Of course, it’s not all work, work, work – we appreciate and understand the need for ‘down time’. Erudine has a vibrant social scene; we have everything from company bowling and summer barbecues, to film nights and quizzes. This is the place where our employees spend a lot of their time and strong friendships are born out of such an arrangement, so it's important that we give everyone the opportunity to hang out and have fun together as well as work alongside one another.