The future of work. That is a part of the title of a book by Scott Berkun called The Year Without Pants: WordPress.com and The Future of Work. The author, who had previously worked as a manager at Microsoft, describes his experience with the unique culture of another software company where he worked, after leaving Microsoft, as a leader of a team of programmers. The company is called Automattic, the owner of the online content management and publishing system WordPress. Although Automattic has been in existence for less than ten years, a fifth of all websites in the world are already based on WordPress.
Automattic employs 120 people who can work from anywhere they want and hardly ever use e-mail. There is no traditional management structure in the company. Nevertheless, employees come up with advancements to its products several times a day. "With a fraction of the resources of Google, Amazon, or Facebook, they have a similar impact on the future of the Internet. What's different about how they work, and what can other companies learn from their methods?" asks Scott Berkun.
The main pillars of the Automattic's successful corporate culture according to Berkun's book were summarized on Ceo.com:
1. No traditional managers
There had been no hierarchy of superiors and subordinates in the company until it employed more than 50 people. Since then, employees work in multiple teams, each of which chooses its own leader. Team leaders are facilitators rather than managers of the teams.
2. The place of work is not important
Employees can work from anywhere in the world. They are scattered in forty different countries. Performance matters more than location.
3. E-mail is almost useless
Internal communication in Automattic runs through Skype, chat rooms, blogs and videos. E-mail is used only to communicate with people outside the company.
4. Hiring for trial
Automattic does not hold traditional job interviews. It does not care about the education and skills job-seekers write on their CVs either. Applicants are assigned specific tasks and offered the possibility to prove their skills in practice.
Scott Berkun is a popular American author and speaker. In his articles, books and speeches, he focuses primarily on creativity, communication and management of people and companies. From 1994 to 2003, he worked at Microsoft where he focused primarily on the development of the browser Internet Explorer versions 1.0 to 5.0. Between the years 2010 to 2012, he worked as a team leader of programmers at Automattic where he participated in the development of WordPress. Now he is fully engaged in writing and public speaking.
The book entitled The Year Without Pants: WordPress.com and The Future of Work was published in USA in September 2013. You can browse and buy it through the online store Amazon.com here.
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