This is a good way to unite your teams.
The American computer security company Verkada has implemented a new concept called 3-3-3, which consists of paying 30 dollars (or approximately 27 euros) per employee to spend on drinks and food with colleagues in a restaurant located not far from the San Mateo premises, in Silicon Valley (California).
To benefit from these few dozen dollars, employees must meet in groups of three, around a drink, from 3 p.m., outside of their working day.
A way to strengthen team spirit, promote social bonds but also to increase productivity at work.
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“The idea is that it’s the afternoon and three people are going out and spending time together.
Chances are, you’re talking about something relevant work-related and ultimately it’s going to benefit us,” Verkada CEO Filip Kaliszan said on “The Logan Bartlett Show” podcast.
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3 coworkers hanging out after 3pm = free drinks/dinner #buildingculture #employeeperks #teammotivation #corporatehacks #venturecapital #founders #startups #entrepreneurship #entrepreneurlife #techcompanies #theloganbartlettshow
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To participate, employees do not need to notify their superiors in advance.
The company's only requirement is that employees post a photo of themselves to the work messaging app Slack when they're done.
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Recommended to participate once or twice a week
The CEO of the company assures Business Insider that Verkada's 1,800 employees have all participated in the program at least once and that four to five times photos are posted every day on the Slack channel called "3-3-3".
The company recommends that employees participate in this program once or twice a week.
Before this initiative, employees could already spend money from the club to go out drinking, according to Filip Kaliszan, but it was the act of creating a program, giving it a name and putting up posters all over the office that allowed for its success.
While this initiative may be the dream of many employees around the world, the IT security company is known for having intense and sometimes controversial policies regarding teleworking, according to Business Insider.
During the pandemic, after two months of shutdown, Verkada forced all of its employees to return to the office.
According to Filip Kaliszan, remote working caused friction between employees.
“If we want to grow as fast as we want, we need to bring people back,” Kaliszan said.
In June 2020, the company implemented a strict policy requiring all employees to report five days a week.
Since then, Verkada has reportedly even avoided hiring remote workers.