Why this tech company offers four weeks’ vacation

This fast-growing company gives every employee a month’s leave – and a bonus for taking it

Why this tech company offers four weeks’ vacation
If you’ve heard staff complain their holidays are too short, or they can’t afford to take time off, your company might want to take a leaf out of Unbounce’s book.

The website landing page platform has been named one of Canada’s fastest growing tech companies – but it always puts its people first, says Unbounce’s director of people and culture Leslie Collin.

From its novel recruitment policy – Unbounce asks candidates to create their own resumé-style landing page on its simple-to-use platform – to its generous holiday policy, it’s no wonder the company’s 190 staff rate it a top place to work, with 90th-percentile engagement scores and a 4.8 out of 5 rating on Glassdoor.

When the company was formed eight years ago, its six founders decided the basis of their business would be “creating a really amazing place to work”, Collin says.

“From the get go, when they hired their very first employee, they agreed on four weeks’ vacation. They thought it was generous – everyone at the company, from entry-level to senior executives, the CEO, has the same amount of vacation.”

Soon after, the company introduced $1000 vacation bonus “as a way to not only support people taking the time off that they need to rest and relax, regenerate to do really great work here, but potentially provide them with an opportunity to do more with their friends and family that they may not be able to do without [it].”

While staff don’t have to take the full four weeks off (though there’s a use-it-or-lose-it policy), they do need to take two consecutive days to get the bonus, which can be spent on anything from flights and accommodation to taking friends and family out to dinner or other entertainment while away.

The holiday package stands out to employees as extra support for their “pause and rest time”, to “really allow them to recharge and providing a bit of funds for them to do that in whatever way makes sense for them.”

Unbounce also shows it cares for parents and kids with its family-friendly policies, including a month of paid time off for both new moms and dads, a reintegration plan when they return to work, and priority access to childcare services that guarantee their child a spot within six months of registering.

“We truly, truly believe, our entire benefits and how we run our company, is focused around this people-first [concept],” Collin says, adding that while Unbounce’s offerings might not work for every organization, each should consider how they can best support their employees.

“Every company should take a really good, hard look at what they’re employees are looking for, and if they’re looking for more work-life integration or work-life balance, does something like a $1000 vacation allowance make sense? Maybe yes, maybe no.

“There’s always an opportunity for companies to have a more people-focused approach. Remember that every interaction from the one-on-one conversations to policy creation to perks and benefits offerings, the individual is really where that policy or decision is going to be impacting the most.”


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