Robert.Smith-1001156 (10/7/2009)
I think the best perk management could give me and my fellow propeller-heads would be a small "skunk works" R&D project to develop something really leading edge (on the understanding that it won't take more than x% of my time).I think Google does something like this, and for geeks its better than cash bonuses or pizzas or pretty much anything else.
Robb
I think this is a great idea. I've actually had an idea like this running around in my head to break up some of the monotony.
Let one person on the team research something new each month that they feel would help the way the company does business or a new way the team does things. Then each month have an informal lunch meeting or something and sit around and discuss it. At the very least you give each person an opportunity to learn something new and put their ideas into action. Even if it turns out to be a dead end. At least they were able to express their ideas and try it out.
In the end I think it has the potential to be beneficial to both the company and the employees.