Business.com


Santa Monica

Business:

Business-to-business Web site

Founded:

1999

Local Employees:

105

When executives at Business.com set out to renovate the company’s Santa Monica office last year, they didn’t solely rely on your standard cadre of interior designers and workspace consultants. They sought input from employees.

And that involvement amounted to much more than a few staff members going over swatches one day after work. Three committees were formed and given oversight of different aspects of the renovation

The result of this inclusion: a recreation room complete with a television, a Playstation game console, couch and foosball table, as well as conference rooms named for Los Angeles neighborhoods such as Hollywood, Santa Monica and Venice, all adorned with employee-taken photos of those areas.

The company’s approach to the office makeover highlights key aspects of its workplace culture, including the high-value placed on employee input and the importance of fostering an environment that stresses a combination of fun, teamwork and success.

“We love people who take initiative, people who propose something new or show a willingness to run with something, and the organization gives these people both the freedom and support they need,” said Chief Executive Jake Winebaum.

Business.com is an Internet directory, information resource and search engine targeted at business owners, managers and executives. The company also has a pay-per-click advertising network, and last year launched Work.com, which contains more than 1700 how-to guides related to workplace and business operations.

Its own operation includes a company “green” team, which was created by a sales manager who sought to make the company more eco-friendly by creating a task force of fellow employees to propose suggestions and implement reforms.

Whether it’s a recycling program or something dealing with the company’s core business operations, employees have an opportunity to provide their views directly to the boss: Over the course of the year, Winebaum has lunch with all 105 employees.

“During the lunch I ask each person two questions,” Winebaum said, “What would you do if you had my job? What are three things you feel the company can do better?”

Jeff Copeland, a product manager for content at the Web site, couldn’t recall exactly how he responded to Winebaum’s questions during his lunch with the chief executive, which occurred just a month after he started in May 2006, but said the experience definitely left an impression on him.

“For me, as a newcomer it set a tone that they are open,” said Copeland. “They want to know what you think about what is going on.”

And at Business.com this communication highway goes both ways. Copeland said he’s “never worked in a more candid organization in terms of talking about financial performance and the direction of the company.”

From Winebaum’s perspective, the reason for the candor about the company and its direction is fairly simple.

“We are pretty careful about creating really clear goals for the company, and communicating how each individual is going to contribute to the achievement of those goals,” he said.

Drew Combs