Case Study on NINE-TO-FIVE NO MORE

Talk with nearly any HR manager in a company of considerable size, and they will tell you one thing. To make HR function smoothly, employees need to know what the policies are and how they are to be followed. For without such policies there can only be chaos; out of that chaos can come serious organizational problems. Well, somebody apparently forgot to tell Greg Strakosch, CEO of TechTarget, a Needham, Massachusetts–based interactive media company, that policies need to be written and strictly followed.60 Strakosch leads an organization of more than 400 employees in the high-tech media field. These employees are located in three primary locations—Needham, San Francisco, and New York. What makes TechTarget so unique is that employees are permitted to come and go as they please. TechTarget’s management has implemented no attendance policies, nor offers employees sick leave benefits. Rather, as a general rule, the company believes in hiring the best employees in the market, and then giving them the freedom and autonomy to do their jobs. Simply stated, this means leaving

them alone. Thus, if someone works better from 4 P.M. until midnight, so be it. But they must remain available to others should they need to be contacted—availability by e-mail, cell phone, and the like. Yet if they need time off during the day to attend a child’s school

Event or some other personal issue, they take it. No questions asked—ever. But don’t assume that this “freedom” is risk-free. It carries with it significant responsibilities. Employees at TechTarget are given quarterly goals that they must meet. While it’s true how and when employees complete this work is up to them, failure to meet targets is not acceptable. Should that happen, the employee is terminated. Does TechTarget’s “autonomy” work? For the most part, the answer is yes. While employees have the freedom to work when they want to, employees in the company report they often spend more than fifty hours per week on job-related activities. But they do so in a way that’s convenient to them—which is translating into success for the business. TechTarget was named one of the “Best Places to Work” by the Boston Business Journal in 2008. And during its ten years of operation, company revenues have steadily risen, even through the period from 2000–2003 when most tech companies fared quite poorly. Revenues in 2008 were up over 20 percent from the previous year. TechTarget has also started an international division. Maybe there’s something to be said about giving employees their freedom!

Questions:

1. What is your reaction to this “no attendance” plan implemented at TechTarget? Do you believe it’s too simplistic? Defend your position.

2. Do you believe that such an employee policy as described in the case can succeed in other companies? Why or why not?

3. What special HRM conditions must exist for such a plan to work? Explain. How do you believe these conditions relate to employee motivation?