From the outside, Hyland Software doesn’t look much different from any other suburban company; its brick-and-tinted-glass headquarters fits in well in the wooded industrial park in Westlake and doesn’t stand out.
But it’s what’s inside that matters.
Inside, you’ll find an atmosphere that’s part shopping mall, part playground and part university. An enclosed silver-tube slide slants over the main entry, polished concrete floors reach out to walls of glass and exposed metal trusses run across the ceiling. You’ll notice a giant guitar from Guitar Mania here and there.
“There is no doubt that people around here work their tails off,” says A.J. Hyland, 33, who took over as CEO after buying the company from his brother, Packy Jr., in 2001. “They go above and beyond for customers, so I think it’s important to have an environment that supports them from the business side, but to also have a place that when it’s time to play, there’s some stuff to do.
Continuing through the building, you’ll find a full-service diner decked out in a polished metal-and-black color scheme, complete with tables, booths and daily specials. There’s a hair salon, a masseuse is in two days a week, and a state-licensed Montessori-based childcare center operates in the back building, staffed by caregivers who are Hyland employees.
A mezzanine encircles an open common area where, every Monday, Hyland gives an update on the progress of Hyland and rewards employees for excellent service by giving them a spin of a prize wheel. Prizes range from a $25 gift card to $400 in cash.
And if you need to get to the ground floor from the mezzanine in a hurry, just take the twisting red plastic slide that drops you off near the entrance to the diner — a good way to be first in line at lunch time.
Show up at Hyland on a special event day, such as the company’s recent milestone of getting its 5,000th customer, and you might find employees racing half-pint battery-powered motorcycles in the parking lot for prizes — or Hyland racing through the marketing department as he takes one for a test drive inside.
The environment clearly shows that Hyland Software isn’t your average company, and A.J. Hyland isn’t your average CEO. There are no people in suits and ties speaking in whispered tones. Instead, you’ll find people in jeans and casual shirts discussing projects in hallways, conference rooms or over a sandwich in the diner.
But don’t let the atmosphere fool you. The company is not some haven for underperforming reject employees from more straight-laced companies. There’s a lot of work getting done, and the company has the numbers to prove it.
Hyland Software, which produces an Enterprise Content Management product called OnBase, has posted 27 consecutive profitable quarters and is expecting to add 100 employees by the end of the year to the 400 currently employed there to handle its rapid growth.
The environment is set up to take care of and reward people for their hard work.
The concept is simple. Give employees the tools they need to do their jobs, get them to take ownership by showing them the respect they deserve and let them do the rest. By doing so, top employees are attracted to the company, veterans are less likely to leave and everyone has a little fun along the way.
The result is a turnover rate of 9.6 percent — far less than the industry average of around 25 percent — more than $50 million in sales and a 30 percent growth rate over the last five years.
“One of the things I’m most proud of is, as we have grown, we’ve been able to maintain that type of fun feeling,” says Hyland. “It’s easier to do when you have 20 or 30 people. The architecture of the offices contributes to the culture with the openness, and the use of glass walls shows there is no executive ivory tower somewhere where you never see anybody. My office is in the center of the company. It shows we are one team with nothing to hide. We want to grow together and win, and I think that has really permeated this place.
“I think one of the challenges we have is keeping that culture in the company. When you get to this size, you have to start to institutionalize the processes and institutionalize the culture, which is why we have a person in HR focused on events. It’s someone’s full-time job to work with employees and say, ‘Hey, here’s an idea to do a Friday Fun Night.’”
Events are optional, and some are held after hours, while others take place during the work day. The fun coordinator, whose official title is Minister of Culture, works to make sure there is something to appeal to all demographics of the company. “The events build goodwill and camaraderie among the employees,” says Hyland.
In fact, Hyland says the friendships developed among employees at these events helps with retention; it’s harder for someone to walk away from a group of people that he or she considers close friends.
“I would be very comfortable standing in front of a group of shareholders and explaining the money spent on this and what it does from a retention standpoint and as a way to blow off steam,” says Hyland. “It’s intense and ever-changing in our marketplace. We’re in the fire a lot, but we have some fun as well.
“There haven’t been any shareholder questions, but even if there were, we would be able to defend it because you have to make sure you are doing the right thing for your people. We have a great group of people here with a low turnover rate that I credit to the culture.”
