NetApp如何成为全球最佳雇主

    NetApp首席执行官汤姆•乔根斯奉行一条原则：在任何一位员工遇到难关时，他希望知道。因为：乔根斯想确保他的员工在最需要的时候，能获得所有可能获得的资源。

    今年早些时候就有这样一个例子。一位员工的幼儿患上了一种罕见脑瘤，需要手术治疗。但这项手术需要全球各地的专家实时协作完成，这需要以尽可能快的速度存储和传输大量诊断信息。最终，NetApp免费提供了其大规模存储服务，帮助这项手术成功进行。

    今年在“最适宜工作的25家跨国公司”（25 Best Global Companies to Work For）中排名第三的NetApp，并不像谷歌（Google）和SAS等热门科技公司那样大肆发放福利。NetApp提供的食品有补贴但不免费，该公司没有办公室免费剪发服务，也找不到午睡小隔间和保龄球球道。但在照顾员工方面，这家数据存储和软件公司在业内的确无人能及，今年年初的脑瘤手术就是明证。

    NetApp这一独特文化，大部分应归功于自1994年起为公司服务的现任副董事长汤姆•门多萨。门多萨说：“我从不认为免费午餐、按摩和有些公司谈论的种种短期福利，长期而言对员工具有重要意义。我认为人们希望待在受尊重和赞赏的地方，而我们公司正在努力做些特别的事情。”

    这一理念可追溯到1992年，当时大卫•赫兹、刘冠华（James Lau）和迈克尔•马尔克姆创立了NetApp，提供管理客户数据所需的企业级存储服务和软件。成立两年后，NetApp还只有45名员工，年收入不足1,000万美元。而如今，公司收入已超过63亿美元，12,300多名员工遍布全球，在包括西班牙和中国在内的50个国家，设有150个办公室。

    门多萨承认，跨国企业如何给予[员工]应有的认可仍是一项挑战。NetApp正在推进名为“同一团队（1 Team）”的多项企业文化计划，大力宣传公司现行策略。公司每个月都会为新员工举行一日活动，使其与高管互动并了解公司期望。大约一年前，当管理层准备将最新的企业策略分享给员工时，他们不是通过向全员发送邮件，而是由乔根斯和其他20名高管亲自进行“策略路演”，去往全球24个城市，与员工面对面交流，并获得他们的反馈。

    “同一团队”也表彰员工的出色工作。“发现有人在做对的事”的项目（Catch Someone Doing Something Right）就是如此。门多萨表示：“这是一个简单但非常管用的理念：任何员工看到其他人有什么特别出色的表现，帮助了我们公司、客户或合作伙伴，请联系我，我会给这位员工打电话感谢他。”这些表现包括周末加班完成项目，或设计方案提高团队工作效率。

    NetApp CEO Tom Georgens has a rule: when one of his employees hits a rough patch, he wants to know. The reason: Georgens wants to make sure every possible resource is available to his employees when they need it the most.

    Such was the case earlier this year. An employee’s young child suffered from a rare brain tumor and needed surgery. But the operation itself required the collaboration of specialists from around the world working together in real-time — a task that called for huge amounts of diagnostic information stored and transferred at the fastest possible speeds. In the end, NetApp lent its vast data storage services free of charge to help make the operation successful.

    NetApp, which comes in at No. 3 on this year’s list of the 25 Best Global Companies to Work For, doesn’t dole out a slew of perks the way some buzzy tech companies do, such as Google and SAS. At NetApp, food is often subsidized, but not free; onsite haircuts aren’t an option; and nap pods or bowling alleys are nowhere to be seen. But the data storage and software company is virtually peerless when it comes to looking after employees — a reality borne out when NetApp supported that brain tumor operation earlier this year.

    The creation of NetApp’s unique culture is largely the work of Tom Mendoza, its current Vice Chairman, who has been with the company since 1994. “I’ve never thought short-term things like free lunches, massages and all the things some companies talk about are really what’s important to an employee long-term,” says Mendoza. “I think people want to be at a place where they feel respected, appreciated and the company is trying to do something special.”

    It’s a philosophy dating back to 1992, when David Hitz, James Lau and Michael Malcolm started NetApp, offering enterprise-level storage devices and the software needed to manage client data. Witthin two years, NetApp had just 45 employees and counted less than $10 million in annual revenue. Compare that with today: revenue tops $6.3 billion and its far-reaching workforce has a headcount of 12,300-plus in 150 offices in 50 countries, including Spain and China.

    Giving recognition where it’s deserved when your organization is international remains a challenge, Mendoza acknowledges, but NetApp keeps pace with “1 Team,” a mix of cultural initiatives that delivers the company’s ongoing strategy loud and clear. Every month, the company holds a day-long event for new employees to mingle with executives and learn about company expectations. When management wanted to share its updated corporate strategy nearly a year ago, instead of sending a company-wide email, Georgens and 20 other senior executives embarked on a “Strategy Roadshow,” visiting 24 cities around the globe, talking to employees in-person and getting their feedback.

    “1 Team” also calls out employees for a job well done. A program called “Catch Someone Doing Something Right,” does just that. “It’s a simple and powerful concept: Any employee who see’s others doing extraordinary things to help our company, customers or partners simply has to reach out to me, and I will call that employee to thank them,” explains Mendoza. Such efforts include working the weekend to wrap up a project or devising a solution that makes a team more efficient.