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Quality-of-Life Lessons from Elsewhere in High-Tech

Quality-of-Life Lessons from Elsewhere in High-Tech. IGDA QoL Summit – March 8 th , 2005 Kim Pallister Engineering Manager, Client Tech Marketing Software Solutions Group Intel Corporation. About Intel. We’re a fairly large high tech company ~80,000 employees, $30B revenue

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Quality-of-Life Lessons from Elsewhere in High-Tech

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  1. Quality-of-Life Lessons from Elsewhere in High-Tech IGDA QoL Summit – March 8th, 2005 Kim Pallister Engineering Manager, Client Tech Marketing Software Solutions Group Intel Corporation

  2. About Intel • We’re a fairly large high tech company • ~80,000 employees, $30B revenue • SSG: ~2400 employees. We don’t develop games but we work with some of you on yours  • Went through rapid growth phase • ~2000: ~2/3 of workforce had been there 2 years or less • We’ve grown, suffered, learned… • Memory company  CPU company  Platform company • Dot-com boom, dot-com bust • That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger… • I’m speaking to managers/employers today • If you are neither, then you work for them – take these ideas back

  3. Why does QoL matter? • Employee retention in the knowledge worker age • Happy employees are productive employees • Games industry is going through growing pains: • Time to get out of “start-up mode” • “You can sprint to the finish, but you can’t sprint the whole marathon” • Employee Diversity is key to growing customer diversity • QoL more important with some talent pools • Everybody goes through bad times – will your employees stick with you through yours?

  4. “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” – Andy Grove (and others) • Not a QoL thing, it’s a ‘run your business’ thing • Required component for 2 QoL elements coming up • Requires a fundamental shift in management mindset • Significant amount of overhead, especially for management • Creativity is not exempt • It’s possible to do too much – use 80/20 • There’s a difference between measuring and policing • Involve employees in the process • Measure output of work, not work itself • Common techniques: Management by Objectives, program/project/code reviews, post-mortem’s, etc

  5. “If you love somebody, set them free” - Sting • Measure results – not time in the office • “punching in” is a relic of the industrial age • We moved from ‘late lists’ to flextime • Included ‘core hours’ that people were required to be there - Even this is going away • Technology can help • Laptops, remote access, IM, Blackberry’s, wireless, web tools… • Give managers/departments flexibility • Results: • Your best People end up working more, but feel better about it • Those that abuse it would have abused the old system too.

  6. Meritocracy-based compensation • I thought we were talking about QoL? • All these things are related! • A system that rewards people based on measured accomplishments allows for flexibility • Superstars get rewards and opportunities • There is a place for successful 9-to-5’ers • The two aren’t mutually exclusive • Reward the tortoises, not only the hares! • Too broad a topic for here, but our process has been written up

  7. Put your money where your mouth is • Adoption of QoL measures must be more than skin deep • When going gets tough, can’t be the 1st cost-cuts • The ‘old guard’ will need to come around • QoL measures cost money • Are you prepared to be serious about this? • QoL takes work • Are you and your employees willing to do MORE work in order to WORK AND LIVE better

  8. Some caveats • Strong corporate culture is tantamount • Do your employees know what you are trying to accomplish? Can they make the right decisions on their own? • Do you trust them to do so? • Is earning and keeping your trust important to them? • Course-correction needed as snags happen • Misunderstood rules, new ways of working together, miscommunications via electronic mediums, etc

  9. Other stuff • We’ve just scratched the surface here. • Continuous improvement: Measure your changes • Be prepared to improve/abandon them – you WILL make mistakes • Involve spouses • They are stakeholders too. Involve as consultants? • Other measures we have taken: • Daycare assistance, adoption assistance • Significant recognition for significant efforts • Onsite dry-cleaning, post-office, gym, volleyball… • Sabbatical program • The “Nerd bird”

  10. In Conclusion • You’re here today because you think this important – It is! • Will only increase as industry matures, growth flattens, project scopes grow • QoL isn’t separate effort – must mesh with your culture • You WILL make mistakes and it WILL be a painful process – but the rewards are worth it • I welcome email, but won’t answer it till June – I’m on sabbatical after GDC 

  11. Additional reading: • High Output Management, Andrew Grove, Vintage Press. ISBN: 0679762884 • Leading Change when Business is Good – Samuel J Palmisano – Harvard Business Review, Dec 2004 • Interview with IBM’s CEO on involving employees in crafting corporate culture & values at IBM • Management Craft - http://managementcraft.typepad.com/ • Great blog with a number of articles about QoL & management thereof

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