Recruiting and retaining the most talented individuals in an industry with an unemployment rate hovering around 2% is challenging to say the least. As a software design and development company Aspenware has developed a culture and reward system that has minimized turnover and attracted some of the brightest minds in the Denver area. In this presentation to the Boulder/Denver Software Club Aspenware CEO Adam Roderick discusses how culture became the cornerstone of an effective recruitment and retention strategy and how perks have reinforced that strategy. No perk, benefit, or program can create a good culture, only reinforce it. However, when perks are built with the culture in mind, like the Aspenware Ventures business incubation program, the results can be a powerful motivator.

1. 6000 Greenwood Plaza Blvd
Suite 110
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
303.798.5458
www.aspenware.com
Adam Roderick
@adamroderick
On Culture
and Perks
Aspenware‟s Incubation Program

3. Culture and
Recruiting
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

4. It is hard to hire
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

5. Colorado Unemployment Rate
Correction, it should be
easy to find people to
hire
On Culture and Perks Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Aspenware Incubation Program

6. What is hard is finding and
attracting the right person
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

7. There is a division of talent,
experience, and skills
unemployment, 18-29
year olds
37 %
< 2.5 %
unemployment,
software developers
On Culture and Perks Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36150965/ns/business-careers#.UQCoBWfhdbg
Aspenware Incubation Program Source: Robert Half, http://www.denverpost.com/businessheadlines/ci_21125792?source%3DAP

8. What about keeping the people
you already have?
8.1%
¾
of work force are active
average turnover at best
100 companies to work for
job seekers
2.2 years
average tenure for young
professionals
On Culture and Perks Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/09/job-seekers-jobvite-survey_n_1952727.html
Aspenware Incubation Program Source: http://hbr.org/2012/07/why-top-young-managers-are-in-a-nonstop-job-hunt/ar/1
Source: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2012/full_list/

9. Give „em more
money, right?
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

10. Competing on salary and perks is
like a price war
On Culture and Perks Source: Robert Half
Aspenware Incubation Program

11. How long can you
keep it up?
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

12. It is not about winning over the
“best” person
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

13. It is about finding and attracting
the right person
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

14. So stay true to yourself as an
organization
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

15. Creating Culture
1. Choose what values matter
2. Hire people who share them
3. Stick to your values
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

16. No perk, program, or
benefit can create
culture. Only reinforce
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

17. They are a natural result of the
culture you create
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

18. Incubation
Program
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

19. Simple ground rules
YOU pitch idea to management and board
$3,000/month cash or $12,000/month in-kind
After 3 months, review. Iterate or stop.
If spinout, majority equity ownership available
to you and other investors
If Aspenware product or line of business,
revenue or profit sharing
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

20. Although I can‟t demonstrate
hockey stick revenue like this…
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

21. We have had a lot of great ideas
come out of it
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

22. None have spun out
into their own
companies yet
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

23. But some have come close
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

24. Many have helped shape the
company
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

25. Our first forays into mobile,
social media, and big data
were through these
experiments
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

26. Ideas have come in from
external projects as well
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

27. aspenware.com/CustomerResearch
Launching soon…
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

28. Innovation and
experimentation
continue to be a
core part of our
culture
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

29. And attract and retain the people
right for us
On Culture and Perks
Aspenware Incubation Program

30. 6000 Greenwood Plaza Blvd
Suite 110
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
303.798.5458
www.aspenware.com
Thank you
Adam Roderick
@adamroderick